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Gmail Setup for Mac Mail

  1. Log into your Gmail account using the web interface and click on the gear icon located near the top-right of the screen. Select "Settings" from the menu that appears.

    Screenshot of Gmail window with the gear icon circled and an arrow pointing to the Settings menu item.

  2. Below the word "Settings", click on the "Forwarding and POP/IMAP" subheading. Scroll down to the "IMAP access" setting and click the radio button next to "Enable IMAP".

    Screenshot of the Gmail Settings screen with the Forwarding and POP/IMAP subheading circled and an arrow pointing to the Enable IMAP radio button.

  3. Click "Save Changes". Your Gmail account is now ready to be configured on an external client.

    Screenshot of the Gmail Settings window with the Forwarding and POP/IMAP subheading selected and an arrow pointing to the Save Changes button.

  4. Open the Mail application. From the list of providers, select the radio button next to "Google" and click "Continue".

    Screenshot of Mac Mail with the "Choose a Mail account provider" window at the foreground and the Google radio button selected

  5. Enter your SSU email address and click "Next".

    Screenshot of the Google sign-in window with an example Sonoma State email address entered in the "Email or phone" field

  6. You will be prompted to log into your SSU account again via the web. Enter your username (without the '@sonoma.edu') and password and click "Login".

    Screenshot of the pop-up window showing the SSU Online Services login screen, with a sample username and password entered in their respective fields.

  7. You will then be prompted to select whether you want your contacts, calendar items, and notes to populate to their respective apps on your Mac. Check the boxes next to each app you would like to use with your SSU account and click "Done".

    Screenshot of a Google window asking the user to select the apps they want to use with their account, with the Mail, Contacts and Calendars checkboxes checked and the Notes checkbox unchecked
  8. Your email should now be in the process of saving locally to your machine. This may take a while if you have a particularly large mailbox, so please be patient!