An email has become one of our primary method of communication. Professionals can’t even think of living without email as their day to day work depends on the same. Because of the same reason, there are many email service providers present who offer great features in their email. Switching from one platform to another has also become common these days because of the same reason.
The Outlook and Gmail are two popular email application that has a large number of users all over the world. The two email applications are the leader in their respective field, and therefore, the instance of switching from Gmail to Outlook and vice versa is also common. Gmail users switch to Outlook to enjoy its features.
If you are also a Gmail user and looking for a way to move your data to Outlook then this article is for you. In this article, we are providing you with a complete guide on how to sync Gmail account data with Outlook for Mac and Windows.
But before we proceed to this migration process, have a quick look at both email application introduction.
Gmail – Gmail is a web-based email application that stores data on the cloud. To access data, the user has to login to their account. No data is stored on the device.
Outlook – Outlook is a desktop-based email client and it is also software. The software allows you to access email account either web-based or desktop based. Outlook also gives functionality to users that they can access Gmail in Outlook.
There are two types of Outlook available at present. Outlook for Mac and Outlook for Windows. The Outlook for Mac is for Mac devices and Windows is for Windows devices.
Various Methods To Sync Gmail In Outlook
- Syncing and adding Gmail to Outlook automatically.
- Adding Gmail to Outlook manually
Adding and syncing Gmail to Outlook Automatically
If you are Outlook 2016 and above version user then you have a more refined way of adding an email account to Outlook. To add a Gmail account in the Outlook higher version, all you have to do is enter the username and password of your Gmail account in Outlook. The rest of the setting changed, Outlook does on its own. The manual option is also there to add your Gmail account in Outlook. In the manual process, you need to enter IMAP and POP server details and other relevant information manually.
Before syncing Gmail to Outlook PST automatically, you first need to make some changes to the Gmail setting page. The first action is enabling IMAP in the Gmail account. The step by step guide for the same is
- Step One: Open your Gmail account and go to the setting page.
- Step Two: Click on option Forwarding and POP/IMAP
- Step Three: If the POP/IMAP is enabled, leave it. If it is disabled, enable it.
The Step By Step Guide To Add Gmail In Outlook Using IMAP
- Step One: Open Outlook and then go to option File.
- Step Two: Then to option ‘Add account’
- Step Three: Enter your Gmail account email ID and click on the ‘Connect’ button.
- Step Four: Enter your Gmail account password and then click on the ‘Finish’ button.
After these steps, Outlook picks the IMAP setting of the Gmail account automatically and set up everything as required.
If you are using Outlook 2013 and 2016, then the process is the same. The only difference is that in this version, Outlook will ask for name, email address, password. It asks to retype the password on the same page in the ‘Auto Account Setup’.
Here it is important to note that sometimes Outlook doesn’t accept the password. In that condition, you could try the following things.
- Check if you are making any typo error.
- Let Gmail access less secured apps.
- Check if you have activated two-step verification. If yes, you need to enter an app-specific password to Outlook.
How To Add Gmail To Outlook Manually
If you are unable to add Gmail to Outlook automatically, follow the manual process to do the same. This process will help you synching Gmail to Outlook in the older version of Outlook as well. For manual syncing of Gmail to Outlook, use the POP protocols. This is an older protocol to migrate email from the email account. The POP protocol doesn’t sync data in real-time with the client and server. It only downloads them to your device. In this case, any changes that you will make in Outlook will be local and not affect the data of Gmail.
Here is the step by step guide to syncing Gmail to Outlook manually
Step One: Start your Outlook and click on the option ‘Add Account’
Step Two: Select the option ‘Manual setup’ if you are doing this in the older version of Outlook, and ‘Advanced option’ if you are using a higher version of Outlook.
Step Three: Enter the following details in the account
- Your name
- Your email address
- Account type POP
- Income mail server details: pop.gmail.com
- There will be no Outgoing mail server as POP does not sync
- Enter details like address/username and password
Step Four: Click the Next button after entering all the details correctly and then wait for Outlook to connect.
For adding IMAP, follow the same step. In the ‘Account Type’ option select IMAP.
It is advised that you use automatic methods to sync Gmail to Outlook as this method is more secure and smooth. The latest versions of Outlook work smoothly with Gmail, and users don’t have to make any other changes in the account setting after entering all the shared details.
Now that you have learned methods to add a Gmail account to Outlook, now let’s learn the process to import Gmail account data to Outlook. The above method will only help you in adding your Gmail account in Outlook not importing the data.
Importing data to Outlook is for those users who are switching to Outlook from Gmail and want to retrieve Gmail data in Outlook for future use.
However, if you want to transfer all the data of Gmail to Outlook, then the step by step guide for the same is here.
Transfer Gmail Data To Outlook Using MBOX and PST File
The Widows Outlook mailbox file is PST. It applies to all versions of Windows. Talking about Gmail, then it supports the MBOX file format. It does not support PST anyways. Therefore, when it comes to transferring MBOX data to Outlook, it is not possible to do so without taking some alternate methods.
Before we give you the solution to transfer MBOX file data to Outlook, let’s know the method to create an MBOX file from the Gmail account.
- Step One: Google allows you to download complete data from any of its applications like Gmail, blogger, contacts, etc. to the file with which it is compatible. Emails of Gmail account are downloaded in the MBOX file format.
- Step Two: For that go to option takeout.google.com and then select options mail from the list of services.
- Step Three: Select here Gmail “Labels to download specific emails or select all emails”
- Step Four: Click on the Next button after that.
- Step Five: Choose the format to save the MBOX file .zip or .tgz.
- Step Six: Select the Archive size. (Large than limit file will be split)
- Step Seven: Select the delivery method.
- Step Eight: Click on the option Create Archive and wait.
- Step Nine: Once Google prepares the archive, the job is complete. Now you can download the file.
Take The Help Of Third Party Tool To Export Gmail Account Data To Outlook
Plenty of software present that will help you converting Gmail MBOX file to Outlook PST file. Softaken MBOX to PST converter tool is one of them. This is an efficient software in which users don’t have to do anything to convert data. Al that you need to do is upload the MBOX file in software and select the .pst file format to save the file.
The rest of the work the software does on its own. Here is the step by step guide to convert data using this tool.
Step One: Launch MBOX to PST converter tool.
Step Two: Upload MBOX file in software using the browse button. The Software allows you to upload single or multiple MBOX files.
Step Three: Get the preview of the data.
Step Four: Select file format (.pst) to convert MBOX file data to PST. You will get other options as well.
Step Five: Select the location where you want to save the file.
Step Six: Click on the next button to end the process.
The features of the software are
- It supports any size MBOX file.
- It exports hundred per cent data, including attachments, meta details and many other data.
- It retains folder hierarchy.
- It supports automatic uploading of Thunderbird file.
- You can also try its free version to check how it works.
Conclusion: If you want to migrate Gmail account data to Outlook not just access Gmail in Outlook, then it is best to take the help of a third-party tool and convert data. It is more secure and safe.