If you are using an old email client or is trying to add a gmail, gsuite email address which uses POP, you might have encounter the issue where you are unable to add in your email despite keying in the correct credentials multiple times.
And at the same time, you receive an alert in your gmail email account that a sign in is being blocked or you receive a less secure app notification message?
If yes, the issue is unlikely to be related to your keyboard, fingers. It could be a setting in your Google account which is preventing the email client from establishing a connection to your email account.
What is happening that prevents this connection
Google is a platform where they take security seriously. To be fair, not just Google, other companies take security seriously as well.
There is a specific setting which you will need to enable in order to enable older email apps, or programs, accordingly to Google, doesn’t support modern security standard.
Allow less secure apps access
Specifically, it is this particular setting that prevent certain programs to link up with your email account.
You can enable it using the follow steps.
- Login to your Gmail account using the web browser by heading over to Gmail.com
- Sign in with your credentials
- Look at the top right, and click on your account picture or Logo.
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Google account icon at top right - And click on “Manage your Google Account”
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Gmail – Google – Manage Account - And another tab will open up. Click on the “Security” on the left column.
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Google Account – Manage Account – Left Column - Scroll and down the setting in the middle until you see “Kess Secure App Access”
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Google account – security – less secure app access - Click on “Turn on Access (Not recommended). Well, you need it to work with your email program? No choice then, we will need to allow less secure app access for it to work.
- Next. another view will appear
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Google account – security – less secure app access on - You should be able to setup your google email on your preferred email client once “allow less secure app” is turned on.
** Take note, “Less secure app access” setting will only appear when 2 step verification (2SV) is turned off **
Less secure app access didnt appear for me as i had 2SV on. I had to disable 2SV in order to see this setting in point 12.
If you have 2SV on, you will see the above error message will be “This setting is not available for accounts with 2-Step Verification enabled. Such accounts require an application-specific password for less secure apps access”
This means that if you have 2 step verification / 2 factor authentication turned on, instead toggling the less secure app access on, it requires you to create application specific password for less secure app. More to that in future guide.
** Another point **
Even though you allow “less secure app access”, it might disable itself again. You might need to refresh the page several times and toggle the settings again to ensure that it is really enabled.
Another method to enable less secure apps
A direct link to allow you to modify the settings for less secure app, as follows https://myaccount.google.com/lesssecureapps
You might need to sign in to check the settings. This will bring you directly to the view on point 12 or 14, depending on your security settings.
Here the Gmail support page on control access to less secure apps.