How to Add Gmail Accounts to Outlook 2013

Just finished adding my Gmail accounts to MS Outlook 2013.  Hope this helps.

Modify Your Gmail Settings:

1. Login to your Gmail account.

2. Under Settings, select "Forwarding and POP/IMAP."

3. Enable IMAP.

4. Follow the Google link below to Turn On access for "Less Secure Apps."  https://www.google.com/settings/security/lesssecureapps     *See Background below for explanation.

Setup Outlook Email Settings:

1. Incoming Mail Server:
• imap.gmail.com
• Require SSL
• Port: 993
2. Outgoing Mail Server:
• Use Authentication
• SSL Port: 465 or 587
• Account Name/User Name: Full email address including "@your-domain.com"
• Add Gmail password

Background

In 2014, Google decided that any app, including MS Outlook, that allows Basic Authentication for POP3/IMAP email accounts was a security risk and, after July 14, 2014, began blocking MS Outlook from syncing with gmail accounts.  (Basic Authentication is the use of unencrypted plain text to transmit passwords.)

However, the classification of Outlook as a security risk is a faulty generalization with some questionable motives.  There is no question that if POP3/IMAP accounts transmit passwords as plain text they are risky. But MS Outlook and other email clients also provide secure authentication options. If you have configured POP3/IMAP accounts with SSL or TSL authentication then you have a secure environment.

Do not be thrown by Google's generalized labeling of Outlook as "less secure" than Gmail; it is misleading.  Nevertheless, we have to play along to sync our gmail with Outlook.


http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vsto/bb430779(v=exchg.149).aspx

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa997149(v=exchg.141).aspx