Your email should follow you from the web to your phone and back, of course. Find out here how to add a Gmail account to your iPhone right in iOS Mail and using the Gmail IMAP settings (no separate Gmail app needed).
First, Alfred Hitchcock Buys a Book
Filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock bought one book several hundred times in 1960. He did it for quite sensible a reason, of course: this book contained the surprise ending to a movie he was about to release onto an unsuspecting public.
Perhaps as a consequence, chances are you have heard of (or seen) Psycho, the film. Only few, meanwhile, had access to Psycho, the Robert Bloch novel.
Now, with that out of the way, are you looking for (literally, ahem, “gripping”) access to Gmail on your iPhone?
How to Add a Gmail to iPhone Mail (IMAP Settings)
Automatic Gmail IMAP for iOS Mail Using OAuth2
Time needed: 3 minutes
To add a Gmail account to iOS Mail on iPhone and iPad in the simplest manner:
- Open the Settings app on iPhone.
- Select the Mail category.
- Now choose Accounts.
- Tap Add Account under ACCOUNTS.
- Now select Google under Add Account.
- Tap Continue for “Settings” Wants to Use “google.com“ to Sign In.
- Type your Gmail email address over Email or phone on the Google sign-in page.
Just the username: You need not enter your complete email address if it ends in “@gmail.com”; the username—what precedes the @ symbol—is enough.
- Tap Next.
- Now type your Gmail password over Enter your password.
- Tap Next again.
- Complete a Google 2-factor authentication if requested.
- Do enable Mail under Gmail.
Optional data: You can also enable Contacts, Calendar and Notes, of course, to synchronize these as well.
- Tap Save.
This sets up Gmail using IMAP and OAuth2 with standard settings.
You can also add a Gmail account to your iPhone using custom settings.
Add Gmail to Mail for iPhone Using Manual Gmail IMAP Settings
To set up a Gmail account in iPhone Mail using ‘manual configuration:
- Open the Settings app.
- Open Mail.
- Now select Accounts.
- Tap Add Account.
- Select Other.
- Now choose Add Mail Account (under MAIL).
- Type your name under Name.
- Now enter your Gmail
- Set up a new Gmail app password for iOS Mail.
- Enter the app password you just created under Password.
- Tap Next.
- Select IMAP.
- Type
imap.gmail.comfor Host Name under INCOMING MAIL SERVER as the Gmail IMAP server. - Enter your full Gmail address for User Name.
Copy: You can copy and paste that from the Email field, of course. - Enter
smtp.gmail.comfor Host Name under OUTGOING MAIL SERVER as the Gmail SMTP server for sending mail. - Type the Gmail app password from before for Password under OUTGOING MAIL SERVER.
- With everything filled in, tap Next.
- Enable Mail under IMAP.
Notes: You can also have Apple Notes use a Gmail folder to synchronize (but not synchronize with Google Keep notes); enable Notes. - Tap Save.
If you add Gmail using manual configuration, you need to also configure the Archive folder manually (to use [Gmail]/All Mail) if you want to use it.
How to Add a Gmail to iPhone Mail (IMAP Settings): FAQ
What IMAP port should I use for Gmail?
If you set up Gmail manually as an IMAP account, use port 993 as the Gmail IMAP port.
How can I change the display name for Gmail in iPhone Mail?
You can change the name that appears in the From: line when you send an email using your Gmail account in iPhone Mail account settings, both for accounts using OAuth2 and those set up using an app password.
(How to add a Gmail account to Mail on iPhone tested with iOS 15–17 and the Gmail IMAP settings; updated March 2024)