How to Set Up Gmail in Windows 10

This guide will take you each step of the way through setting up your Gmail email address in the Windows 10 Mail app.

The process is actually quite straight forward, but we’ll make sure you get it right the first time :)

2021 Update: Theoretically, the Mail app in Windows 10 doesn’t require you to enable IMAP or POP within Gmail itself. However, there have been incidents of Mail reporting the error code: 0x80070490 – and the solution was to enable IMAP within Gmail. If you’re one of the few people who receive the error 0x80070490, we’ve provided instructions on how to enable IMAP within Gmail at the end of this guide.

  1. Click the Windows 10 Start Button and select All apps
  2. the windows 10 start menu with all apps highlighted

  3. Scroll down the list a bit, and in the M section, select Mail
  4. the mail app in the list of windows 10 apps

  5. Welcome to the Welcome screen. Click Get started to, you guessed it, get started.
  6. the windows 10 mail app welcome screen

  7. Click/tap the + Add account button
  8. adding a gmail account to windows 10

  9. From the Choose an account screen, select Google
  10. the list of mail options with google highlighted

  11. The “Connecting to a service” window will appear, and display a Google login window. Enter your gmail address in the space provided, and then click Next
  12. connecting to the google mail service from the windows 10 mail app
    click to enlarge

  13. Now enter your gmail (Google) password, and select Sign in
  14. entering a password for gmail in the windows 10 mail app
    click to enlarge



  15. Tap/click Allow
  16. the confirmation message for adding an email account to Windows 10
    click to enlarge

  17. Yep, that’s it. Click Done
  18. the finish screen for adding a new mail account in the windows 10 mail app

  19. Back at the initial Mail window, there will be a new button labelled Ready to go – click it.
  20. the ready to go message in the windows 10 mail app setup wizard

  21. Ta-da! Your Gmail is now is all set up in Window 10.
  22. the windows 10 mail app with a gmail account added
    click to enlarge

  23. You can access Mail the same way as you did in steps #1 and #2, or you can click the mail “Tile” and it will open your Gmail.
  24. the windows 10 Mail tile in the start menu

  25. Another option is to click-and-drag either the Mail ‘Tile” or the Mail entry in the All apps list, to your Desktop. That will create a shortcut on your Desktop that you can use to launch Mail, if that’s your preference.
  26. the windows 10 mail app in the start menu list of apps

  27. If you have any questions, by all means leave a comment.

Enable IMAP in Gmail

If you find yourself on the receiving end of the error 0x80070490, you probably just need to enable IMAP in Gmail, which is super easy.

  1. Open Gmail in a web browser and sign into your account. Click the Settings button (the “cog” looking icon in the upper-right corner) and select See all settings
  2. Click the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab
  3. Finally, select the Enable IMAP option in the IMAP access: section. Click the Save Changes button to make sure the change gets applied.
  4. Back in the Mail app try to check your Gmail again – it should all work just fine now.

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35 thoughts on “How to Set Up Gmail in Windows 10”

  1. Hello I have opposite problem to many. I don’t WANT my emails in and sent and Trash etc synching AT ALL between my desktop, iPad, and iPhone — I need to handle them all separately and then leave the originals on the gmail server. I had it set like that for years but after an IT engineee cured a different problem, he re/installed it all and it now endlessly synchs.
    I believe it MAY be due to the incoming seton IMAP server as it was POP before. I need to get it back to POP. Can I? And how? (Running WIN10 on desktop with MS Office 2019 and picking up gmail via Outlook management system)

  2. @Sadia –

    Here’s how to fix that error, thanks very much for pointing it out – I’ll be updating this guide accordingly!

    Sign into your Gmail via the Web and then go to Settings (the “cog” looking icon in the upper-right corner) and select “See all settings”. Then choose the “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” tab from the list of settings. Scroll down to the part titled “IMAP access:” and then place a check next to “Enable IMAP”. Click the Save Changes button and make sure it now says “IMAP is enabled”.

    Now try setting it up in Windows again, it will go through without that error.

    Cheers!!!

  3. Hi, when I follow these steps, I get a screen called, “Send your messages using this name.”
    Unless I fill this in, I can’t continue and click “sign in.” So after I write my name and click on “sign in” it says “Something went wrong. We couldn’t find your settings. Error code: 0x80070490”

    What can be done then?

  4. I did what was required to add a Gmail account to Widows 10 and it says that an account already exists. Which it did and it worked until December 14 when the emails quit showing up in Windows 10. This is the reason that I am doing what I am doing now which still doesn’t seem to work.

  5. all my emails in my windows gmail account have suddenly gone and now are in a google gmail account with all my personal details.any idea why this happened and how can i get it back to windows gmail

  6. I have gone through all the steps but the screen ends up telling me that the account I’m trying to add already exists. I can’t find it. As an experienced user I’m embarrassed.
    Thank you

  7. Hey after doing all procedure given an error is coming showing that there is a problem. but why ..???

  8. i did do as you say but they say we cant help you sorry can you lend a help wat must i do . thanks for any help that will provided as soon as possible

  9. I’ve just followed the directions (as given above) to add my 2nd email account in Windows 10. All went well, but this 2nd account shows my e-address as @googlemail.com instead of @gmail.com
    Is there anyway of changing it to its regular @gmail?
    Many thanks in advance!

  10. If you open Gmail on Windows 10, can you see more info than on a mobile device? For instance, if the thread has only the initials of the sender in a circle, can you click on that and see the entire email address? This is not possible with an IPhone, I don’ t think. Please respond as soon as you can…we have a problem with an unknown sender…

  11. Hi, is there a way to get google as my main browser search engine in Windows 10? My browsers all use Bing, but I prefer google. My laptops are all HP. Thanks for any info.

  12. Just trying to follow the instructions from your post back in 2015 to enable gmail from browsing links. Believe it or not, I can’t even locate the very first step, i.e. hit Win 10 start button, select ‘All Applications’. Where is this? I just can’t find ‘All Applications’ anywhere. Any help appreciated, thanks mate. Also, I note others have had problems in that their actual email addresses and not their plain language addresses appear in the receivers inbox.. do you actually still recommend the ‘Mail’ application in Win 10 for use with gmail? I have not been able to use ‘edge’ , and my PC has required more than one reinstall of windows. I have lost a lot of productivity by being ‘handbraked’ by these things. Your solution to enable gmail access from Windows ‘Mail’ looked so good.. yet once again, I try to give myself some help, and I just get handbraked and depressed.

  13. I have the gmail account loaded but the inbox is saying ‘nothing has arrived yet. How do I receive emails into it.

    Thanks

  14. Laura Shinn-warren Howell

    Is there a way I can get INBOX by google to open up as my mail client using the Windows 10 pins ? Instead of having it use my account and using their app?
    PLEASE like it us on my phone and tablet?
    Thanks

  15. Pretty frustrated with windows mail app. Randomly stops syncing my emails…reinstalled google once before and it worked…Now nothing…Even went back on Gmail and did the imap settings…

  16. When I sent the email from my gmail (after setting it up on MAIL app), the receiver sees my email id (xyz@gmail.com rather Name in the FROM column). How do I make my name displayed in receiver’s inbox please..?

  17. The procedure for making g mail in window 10 is seen. This make possible for all those to do so. The specified performance make possible in style for best possible action. The procedure is mention for better performance.

  18. The procedure for making g mail in window 10 is seen. This make possible for all those to do so. The specified performance make possible in style for best possible action. The procedure is mention for better performance.

  19. I’m trying to connect my gmail account but every time I try to connect I get to the part where I accept the mail app to access the account then the page goes blank and it just reads connecting to service at the top. I’ve tried three different times and its still happening.

  20. This email was sent from Google when I attempted to add my gmail to Win10. Any work arounds? It said,

    “Sign-in attempt prevented –
    Hi C,
    Someone just tried to sign in to your Google Account t***7@gmail.com from an app that doesn’t meet modern security standards.”

  21. Alas, the “”allow”” button is grayed ( well blued actually;) out. So it stops there. Windows 10 mobile RS builds.

  22. Ross, I have achieved the steps but it doesn’t pull up “Mail” for the right click, send to function on a file e.g. default mail

  23. Heya Mike – do you mean all accounts under one umbrella in “Mail” or in Outlook 2013? Since those are different Apps, it’s kind of a case of “pick one App or another, and put all your email in *that* place…” – make sense?

  24. Please let us know how to integrate all your email accounts under the one umbrella, so to speak? (for instance Eircom. net etc. using Outlook 2013)

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