After some time it gives you an error. This issue occurs when basic authentication has not been enabled for a Gmail account. So we need to get rid of this situation. So let’s configure Outlook and see how to resolve the error (you can also take a look on our guide on how to setup Gmail in Outlook 2016).

How to solve Outlook not connecting to Gmail issue

So, the first thing we need to do is to enable POP/IMAP.

Log into your Gmail account and click on small gear in the right top of the window and select Settings. After that, go to Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab. Here you can see that Status: POP is disabled and Status: IMAP is disabled. You can choose either one of them, but we are going to enable IMAP. Once it is done, click on Save Changes.

The reason behind selecting IMAP is that IMAP is a special protocol of communication between the e-mail client and the mail server. It means that if you open your mail on web browser and perform some actions on Outlook, then you can see the changes turn to Outlook instantly and appear on the web mail. This is not a case with POP.

Connecting Gmail to Outlook

Now go to the Start menu and open your Outlook. Click on FILE and then click on Add Account.

From here select Manual setup or additional server types and click on Next.

In the following window select POP or IMAP and go ahead.

Now type in your name (this name will be displayed in the emails you send) and email address. As the account type select IMAP and as incoming mail server type type in imap.gmail.com. Outgoing mail server (SMTP) is going to be smtp.gmail.com. Also, you should fill the Logon information form and then click on More Settings.

The option Require logon using Secure Password Authentication (SPA) should not be checked, because this is a proprietary Microsoft protocol based on NTLM authentication, which is not supported by Gmail.

Go to Outgoing Server and tick on My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication.

Now, go to Advanced and change some mail server settings. Select SSL to encrypt your connection for Incoming server (IMAP) by selecting from the drop-down list. The port number for IMAP should be 993. For the outgoing SMTP server select TLS as an encryption protocol and change the port number from 25 to 587. Click on Ok and go ahead.

Now you can see, that there is the same form we have earlier. We still cannot connect to Gmail, but the error is not the same.

So, as explained in the beginning, this issue occurs due to the fact that you have not enabled the basic authentication for your Gmail account. The fact is that since July 15, 2014, Google has strengthened the protection of accounts by blocking applications that use a simple validation for access the Gmail mailbox (such as Outlook). Currently, Outlook does not support OAuth and 2-Step Verification, so the only way to allow a connection for Gmail via Outlook is to use App-Specific Password. You can enable this feature only on Google Account website.

Let’s see how to enable this feature from your Gmail account.

1. Login to your Gmail account with your browser;
2. Click on your account picture in the right upper and press My Account;
3. In the Sign-in and Security section press on link Aps with account access;
   
4. Scroll down a little bit and you will see the option Allow less secure apps. You need to enable this option;
   
5. Enable 2-Step Verification (you must confirm your phone number using SMS or phone call);
6. Next press on the App passwords. Here you need to generate a new password for your Gmail connection from Outlook;
   
7. From Select app drop-down list select Mail and Windows computer as a device type;
   
8. Press on Generate button. Google generates a new app password for you;
   
9. You must use this password (without the spaces) instead of your password from the Goggle account when you connect to the Gmail in Outlook.

Once it is done, go to Outlook and just try to connect again with newly created password.

If you have set up everything properly, both test tasks for verifying the connection to Gmail will succeed. As you can see, the process is completed successfully and you will see that there is no Outlook not connecting to Gmail problem.

That’s all, your Outlook account for Gmail has been configured now and issue when Outlook not connecting to Gmail is solved. It will download all your mails and synchronize all the information