Outlook 2016 repeatedly asking for Password for gmail account

Anonymous
2022-10-03T04:14:03+00:00

Today, I've had to clean re-install Windows 10 and, therefore, also had to re-install Office 2016.

Everything is working fine except that I can't configure Outlook to retrieve emails from my gmail account and have been browsing/searching the subject for hours.

Have had the same problem a few times before and solved it by changing the following gmail settings:

(i) to accept "less secure apps" (which option, by the way, is no longer available),

(ii) turn off "2-step verification".

Those settings have not been changed since, but Outlook is repeatedly asking for a password and I can't set up the account. I get the same result if I let Outlook configure the account or if I do it manually using the settings from the gmail page or via the mail link in Control Panel.

Have also checked that Microsoft apps & services has been given access to gmail.

The only new thing I found was this: https://accounts.google.com/DisplayUnlockCaptcha and I confirmed.

Question: Is this a Microsoft problem or a gmail problem . . . each not trusting the other's security?

Anyway, whichever it is, I would be most grateful for suggestions.

Many thanks in advance.

Outlook | Windows | Classic Outlook for Windows | For business

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Anonymous
2022-10-03T05:04:36+00:00

Hello JohnTCI

Hi, I'm Karl and will be happy to help you today.

What you need to do is enable 2 factor authentications on your Gmail account and then generate an <App Password> to be used as the password or the email account in Outlook. This is a Google change that took effect June 1, 2022

Recap of steps

#1 - enable 2 factor authentication for the GMail account

Turn on 2-Step Verification

https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/1858...

#2 - generate a Google <App Password> for this account (do not turn off 2FA fter generating the <App Password>)

Sign in with App Passwords

https://support.google.com/mail/answer/185833?h...

#3 - Change the password in Outlook for the email account to use the <App Password> you generated in step #2 (suggest using copy ;n paste - the <App Password> is a contiguous 16 character string - no spaces)

*** for an account already configured in Outlook, to change the email account password

#4 - press CTRL+ALT+S to bring up the Send / Receive dialog

#5 - Select the <Group> (most people only have one) --> click on ,<Edit>

#6 - Select the GMail account --> click on <Account Properties>

#7 - paste the <App Password> for the email account password

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  1. Karl Timmermans 3,685 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2022-10-27T17:34:13+00:00
    1. Unlink the existing .pst from the current Outlook profile (assuming it allows me)
    2. Then associate the new profile with the .pst file or create a new .pst file and associate that with it. (if necessary I could copy every thing folder by folder across from the old .pst file to keep it all together)

    There is nothing to "unlink" - just make sure that you configure the POP account to use the same PST file as used with the account in the other profile. Outlook can only use one Outlook profile at aa time so it doesn't mater how many profiles the PST files is used un.

    When using the Control Panel Mail app to add a new profile and configuring a POP account

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  2. Anonymous
    2022-10-27T14:44:18+00:00

    Hi Karl,

    Please excuse my stupidity. I was so desperate trying to fix this yesterday that I misread what the responder on the Gmail community said in relation to switching on 2FA and it affecting use of the Android app on my phone.

    I always used to use Outlook POP3 access to pull down copies of emails I had received on Gmail (leaving copies on the Gmail server) and I could reply form within Outlook without affecting my mobile device access which is what I am trying to retore.

    It has taken a long time to backup my computer files to a portable USB hard drive before I start making changes.

    I now intend to;

    1. Create a new Outlook profile with the system as is and reconfigure access to Gmail with an APP Password.
    2. Unlink the existing .pst from the current Outlook profile (assuming it allows me)
    3. Then associate the new profile with the .pst file or create a new .pst file and associate that with it. (if necessary I could copy every thing folder by folder across from the old .pst file to keep it all together)

    See if that works and I get embedded images in emails. If not then it has to be the full nuclear route to fixing the PC and if that doesn't work it means I will have to find another email provider that has better support than google. That last option would be even worse given the link of email to so many other systems etc.

    Thank you for your kind help.

    Phil

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  3. Anonymous
    2022-10-26T21:19:37+00:00

    HI Karl,

    I hope you are still seeing this thread.

    Since we last exchanged messages I have been trying hard to find out more information on the Gmail Community regarding their account settings.

    I am told by one of the Gmail community rated advisors that if I switch on 2FA in my Gmail account and get an 'App Password' for Outlook that it will prevent access to gmail using my mobile phone and the Gmail App.

    See here; Is here anybody here who can properly walk through Googles Account App Passwords and 2FA info - Google Account Community

    So it now looks like I need to finally go the nuclear route and wipe my PC, reinstall windows and all my software and try again with Outlook 2019.

    The question I have now is, is it possible to setup with the IMAP and get it to put my emails into my .pst file instead of the .ost files that sit outside that?

    Things used to be ok, now I am just desperately depressed and thinking I will have to switch all my email and contacts to something else and bin Gmail which is a major upheaval with so many contacts and accounts that use my gmail address.

    Thanks

    Phil

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  4. Anonymous
    2022-10-12T13:08:59+00:00

    Hi Karl,

    I hope that you are still seeing this thread, I know its been a few days and I also know that you have been burried in One Drive stuff with John so I took a step back here and was trying to get some Google help with setting on their systems (unsuccessfully).

    As you suggested I started to play around with the '<Control Panel> <Mail> features in windows with the intention of setting up a new Profile as you had also suggested. Anyway, I followed the Mail notes that show telling you what to try and use (see first image below), and <Data Files> tab selected the new gmail account files set that was setup, so the first one in that list pointing to the .ost file. ;

    I then tried to look at it's settings as the note suggests, and got this;

    I am wondering if I am doing something wrong, or if there is an access problem to this set of files that is preventing any Security Center settings I toggle for the images to download being changed. Am I being daft or are those settings actually held in the .pst file which has the tick on it?

    Thanks Phil

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