Gmail no longer connected to outlook classic how do I fix

Question

Outlook classic connected to gmaila ccount stopped working and the IMAP seems correct how to fix

Answer 1

@James Biesty @Raymond Sternot
This is a known bug with Classic Outlook and any IMAP email account (e.g. GMail, Yahoo). Microsoft has published two Support Articles on this bug with possible workarounds.

For details, see the Answer by "Hornblower409 Mar 15, 2026, 4:15 PM" in
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5822942/imap-email-server-connection-error

Answer 2

Follow these steps in order, testing Gmail in Outlook after each major step.

1. Confirm IMAP is enabled in Gmail
2. In a browser, sign in to Gmail.
3. Select Settings (gear) > See all settings.
4. Go to Forwarding and POP/IMAP.
5. Under IMAP access, make sure Enable IMAP is selected.
6. Select Save Changes.
7. Re‑grant Microsoft access to the Google account If Outlook previously worked and suddenly stopped, the Microsoft apps & services permission may be broken.
8. Close Outlook.
9. In a browser, sign in to the Google account.
10. Select the profile picture > Manage your Google Account.
11. Go to Security.
12. Under Your connections to third‑party apps & services, select Microsoft apps & services.
13. Under Access you've given to Microsoft apps & services, choose Remove all access, then Confirm.
14. Remove old Google OAuth credentials from Windows
15. Open Credential Manager (Start > type “Credential Manager”).
16. Select Windows Credentials.
17. Under Generic Credentials, find entries starting with MicrosoftOffice16_Data:OAUTH2.
18. Expand each and hover over the name; remove those that include tp_google_imap_oauth2.
19. Remove both credentials for each affected Gmail account.
20. Add or re‑sign‑in to Gmail in classic Outlook If the Gmail account is still in the profile but failing:

• Start Outlook and use any Retry or Sign in via browser prompt.
• In the Google sign‑in window, after entering the account and password, on the permissions page make sure the checkbox for:
  • “Read, compose, send, and permanently delete all your email from Gmail.” under Microsoft apps & services is selected, then choose Allow.

If the account was removed from Outlook:

1. Open Outlook classic.
2. Go to File > Add Account.
3. Enter the Gmail address and select Connect.
4. Complete the Google sign‑in and on the permissions page select Allow (including the email access permission above).
5. Finish the wizard.
6. Ensure Outlook is on a fixed build (if errors persist) If errors like “We weren’t able to set up your Google account with IMAP” or “The browser or app may not be secure” continue, update Office so classic Outlook includes the Gmail sign‑in fixes:
7. In Outlook, go to File > Office Account > Update Options > Update Now.
8. After updating, retry adding/signing in to the Gmail account as in step 4.
9. If automatic setup still fails, verify manual IMAP/SMTP settings When using manual setup, confirm these values match Gmail’s settings:

• Incoming (IMAP) server: imap.gmail.com, SSL required, port 993
• Outgoing (SMTP) server: smtp.gmail.com, SSL or TLS required, authentication required, port 465 (SSL) or 587 (TLS/STARTTLS)

If Outlook still will not accept the password on older builds, an app password (with two‑factor authentication on the Google account) may be required instead of the normal Gmail password.

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References:

• Unable to add a Gmail account to classic Outlook
• Unable to sign in or add a Gmail account to classic Outlook
• Add a Gmail account to Outlook for Windows
• Fix problems connecting your Google account to the Microsoft Cloud
• Troubleshoot Outlook email setup