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:
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.
Adding a Hotmail address
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.
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 the final step, the Gmail apps asks us to enter the Account name and the name to be displayed on outgoing messages.
Adding an AOL address
To add an AOL address to our Gmail Android app, we tap on the Add another option and since AOL is not mentioned in the list of email service providers, we tap on Other.
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.
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.
Note: While entering the App password, there is no need to enter the spaces between the four sets of four characters.
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.
Adding a Yahoo address
To add a Yahoo address to our Gmail Android app, we tap on the Add another account option and from the list of mentioned email service providers, tap on Yahoo.
We are then asked to enter the Yahoo username and password.
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.
