Adding non-Gmail addresses to Gmail Android app

Quite regularly, in the Gmail Help Community, we receive queries on how to add a non-Gmail email address to the Gmail Android app since it comes as the default Email app in most Android devices and dispenses with installing other similar email apps. In this blog article, I plan to document the steps, with screenshots, on how to do so.

The non-Gmail addresses used are p*****@hotmail.com, a*****@yahoo.com and f*****@aol.com. All the three email addresses have 2-factor authentication enabled. One of the 2-factor authentication options being codes from the Google Authenticator or any other TOTP app.

For  ease of navigation, I am going to divide this blog article into three sections, namely:

1. Adding a Hotmail address
2. Adding an AOL address
3. Adding a Yahoo address

Adding a Hotmail address

We begin by opening the Gmail Android app on our mobile device and tap on the circular profile icon that's in the top-right corner. It opens a pop-up screen to display the currently set-up accounts and the options to Add and Manage accounts on the device.

 

Tapping on the Add another account option gives us the option to select from different email service providers. Since we are adding a Hotmail address, we tap on the Outlook, Hotmail and Live option.

The next couple of screens asks us to enter the Hotmail address username and password.

Now, because this Hotmail address is secured with 2-factor authentication, we are asked to enter a code from the Authenticator app. The next verification step asks us to confirm if we want to remain signed in, to which I normally tap on the Yes button.

 

At this point, we have finished entering the account details and also verifying ourselves. The Gmail now verifies the IMAP and SMTP server details.

In its penultimate step, the Gmail app asks to confirm different Account options specific to the newly added Hotmail address.

In the final step, the Gmail apps asks us to enter the Account name and the name to be displayed on outgoing messages.

The Gmail app should close itself. We can verify the Hotmail address is added by reopening the Gmail app and tapping the circular profile icon displayed on the top-right corner.

Adding an AOL address

To add an AOL address to our Gmail Android app, we tap on the circular profile icon that's in the top-right corner and since AOL is not mentioned in the list of email service providers, we tap on Other.

This opens up the screen to enter our AOL username and password.

But here, we receive an "Email address or password is incorrect" error message. This happens when an account has 2-factor authentication enabled, and an attempt is made to sign in using the regular username-password combination.

To resolve this issue, we sign into our AOL username from a desktop browser and visit the Account Security page of that AOL account and click on the Generate app password link as shown in the screenshot below.

Thereafter, we read through some details on why an Application-specific password is required by AOL in certain cases.
 

We provide a name for this specific App password

 And finally receive our App password to add our AOL address to the Gmail Android app.

 Keeping this screen open (or by writing this App password down), we go back to the Gmail Android app and for the password, enter the 16-character app password we generated for our AOL address. 

Note: While entering the App password, there is no need to enter the spaces between the four sets of four characters.  

 

Our password is now accepted for the AOL address as the Gmail app verifies the different server settings.

The Gmail app then asks to confirm different Account options specific to the newly added AOL address.

Finally, we enter the name for our newly added AOL address and the name to be displayed on outgoing messages.

With this, we can reopen the Gmail Android app, tap on the circular profile icon that's on the top-right corner and confirm the addition of the AOL address to the Gmail Android app. 

Adding a Yahoo address

To add a Yahoo address to our Gmail Android app, we tap on the circular profile icon that's in the top-right corner and from the list of mentioned email service providers, tap on Yahoo.

 We are then asked to enter the Yahoo username and password.

At this point, we are asked to confirm if we want to remain verified on this device or not. We tap on the Stay verified option.

 

  

Because we have 2-factor authentication enabled on the Yahoo account, we are asked to enter a code to complete the 2-step verification process.

 

 

At this point, we are asked to confirm access of the Gmail app to the Yahoo profile and Yahoo Mail for that address. 

 

The Gmail app thereafter proceeds to verify the different server settings for the Yahoo address.

The Gmail app confirms the various Account options for the Yahoo address.

In the next step, the Gmail app confirms the name for the Yahoo address and the sender's name on the outgoing emails sent from that Yahoo address.

This completes the setup process of adding a Yahoo address to the Gmail Android app. We can verify the addition of the Yahoo address to the Gmail Android app by reopening the Gmail Android app, tapping on the circular profile icon that's on the top-right corner. The recently added Yahoo address will be shown in the list of accounts.
 

In conclusion, I always advocate enabling 2-factor authentication for your email addresses irrespective of the service provider. They help to keep the account secure and accessible. It also ensures a smooth and consistent process while setting up the account on mobile apps and email clients. 

Note: While setting up 2-factor authentication, do not setup a single method of verification, such as - Voice call or Text messages. Ensure you at least have a few other methods like Authenticator apps, Backup codes, Passkeys, etc. Take your time to understand how these processes work independently and with each other to improve your understand of the security of your email address.