You can download messages from Gmail and see them using a program like Microsoft Outlook, Apple Mail, or Thunderbird, even when you aren’t online. This process is called POP or IMAP, and is free for all Gmail users.

Tip: We recommend using IMAP if possible because it’s the best way to make sure you can see all your mail at any time on all of your devices. If you’d like to use POP instead, learn how to enable POP in Gmail.

Enable IMAP in Gmail

• You can retrieve your Gmail messages with a client or device that supports IMAP, like Microsoft Outlook or Apple Mail.

Step 1

• Sign in to Gmail at https://mail.google.com/

Step 2

• Click the gear in the top right .

Step 3

• Select Settings.

Step 4

• Click Forwarding and POP/IMAP.

Step 5

• Select Enable IMAP.

Step 6

• Click Save Changes.

Note: This setting is not available while using the basic HTML view of Gmail. To enable IMAP, use the standard view instead. Find out more about standard view and basic HTML view.

Step 7

• Use the table below to update your email program with the correct information.

Incoming Mail (IMAP) Server:	imap.gmail.com Requires SSL: Yes Port: 993
Outgoing Mail (SMTP) Server:	smtp.gmail.com Use Authentication: Yes Port for SSL:: 465 or 587 Use same settings as incoming mail server
Full Name or Display Name:	[your name]
Account Name or User Name:	your full email address (including @gmail.com or @your_domain.com), e.g. myself@mydomain.co.uk
Email Address:	your full email address (including @gmail.com or @your_domain.com)
Password:	your Gmail password