With the recent release of the iPhone on the Verizon network, I’ve had quite a few clients contacting me to ask for help to access their business email on their new phone. Many are using Google Apps for Business, the professional version of Gmail, which allows you to use your own domain name with all the Gmail features.

As amazing as these services and devices are, so many people still have difficulty getting them to work correctly. Below are the steps I use for:

  • Desktop Email Applications like Microsoft Outlook, Apple Mail, Mozilla Thunderbird, etc.
  • Smartphones like Apple iPhone, Android, Blackberry, etc.
  • Mobile devices like Apple iPad, iPod Touch, etc.

Try These Steps…

  1. Read this important info/steps to first login to your Google email account via web browser to make sure IMAP is enabled before attempting to connect a desktop application or mobile device:
    http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=77695
  2. Then start with these configuration instructions for your particular desktop application or mobile device:
    http://mail.google.com/support/bin/topic.py?topic=12913

Your desktop application/phone/device might have some sort of email setup wizard. But if your having difficulty, try to manually enter these settings:

Incoming Server = imap.gmail.com
Encrypted Connection = “SSL”
Authentication type = “password”
Server Port = 993

Outgoing Server = smtp.gmail.com
If using Apple Mail, put check next to “Secure Socket Layers (SSL)”
If using MS Outlook, make sure Encrypted Connection = “TLS” (Click for example)
Authentication type = password
Server Port = 587

Whenever asked for a user name by the application settings, try entering your entire email address in this format: myname@mydomainname.com

If you have a problem, do a Google search. The answer is usually a few clicks away. If you are totally frustrated, bring your mobile phone/device to the cell phone store you bought it and ask their customer support staff to help you set it up.

You should also take a quick look at these tips:

Hope this is helpful to you.
-Roland