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Link Gmail accounts

Can be used to link a student account and a staff account, or to set up Administrative Assistants to be able to send email for those in their department.

Step-by-step guide

To access a secondary gmail account through a primary gmail account:

  1. Change the POP settings in your secondary account:

    1. Open your secondary gmail account by navigating to https://mail.google.com and logging in with your secondary account's credentials.

    2. At the top right, click the gear Settings.

    3. In Settings

      1. Select the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.

      2. In the "POP Download" section, select Enable POP for all mail.

      3. In the drop-down menu next to "2. When messages are accessed with POP," choose what to do with messages in this account, such as keep Gmail’s copy in the inbox (recommended).

      4. At the bottom of the page, click Save Changes.

  2. Adjust the security setting of the secondary account

    1. Navigate to the Security settings of the secondary account: https://www.google.com/settings/security/lesssecureapps
    2. Next to "Access for less secure apps," select Turn on. 

  3. Update settings in your primary gmail account

    1. Open your primary gmail account by navigating to https://mail.google.com and logging in with your primary account's credentials.

    2. At the top right, click the gear Settings.

    3. Select Settings.

    4. Select the Accounts and Import tab.

    5. Optional To import your mail or contacts from your secondary account Optional

      1. In the "Import mail and contacts" section of your primary email account, click on the link labeled "Import mail and contacts"

      2. Follow the steps on the screen to import emails from your secondary account to your primary account.

      3. Provide your full secondary email address as your username, and your secondary account's password

      4. The POP server is pop.gmail.com

      5. Click Start import.

    6. Optional To send mail as your secondary email address from your primary account Optional

      1. In the "Send mail as" section of your primary account, click on the link labeled "Add another email address you own"

      2. Follow the steps on the screen to add your secondary email address as a "Send As" option. 

        1. Provide your name and full secondary email address.

        2. Uncheck "Treat as an alias" and "Specify a different reply-to address" as desired.

        3. It is recommended you leave the default settings. Follow this link to understand the setting: https://support.google.com/a/answer/1710338?ctx=gmail&hl=en&authuser=0&rd=1

        4. Click on the "Next Step" button.

        5. Provide the requested information

          1. SMTP Server = smtp.gmail.com

          2. Port = 465 (SSL required) OR 587 (TLS required)

          3. Username = your full secondary email address

          4. Password = your secondary account's password

        6. Click the "Add Account" button and follow any remaining instructions to verify ownership of your account

    7. Optional To view mail sent to your secondary email address from within your primary account Optional

      1. In the "Checkmail from other accounts" section of your primary account, click on the link labeled "Add a POP3 mail account you own".

      2. Follow the steps on the screen to view mail from your secondary email account

        1. Enter your full secondary email address when prompted.

        2. Provide your full  secondary address as your username, and your secondary account's password

        3. The POP server is pop.gmail.com

        4. Port = 995

        5. The option to "Leave a copy of retrieved message on the server" must be unchecked

        6. The option "Always use a secure connection (SSL) when retrieving mail" must be checked.

      3. Click the "Add Account" button

  4. If you receive a login error, please follow these troubleshooting steps. https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/6010255?hl=en


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