Knowledge Base & Forums/Google Apps/Google GMail

Gmail account will not connect to Gmail server using iPhone/iPad/Apple Mail

Michael
posted this on July 19, 2011 03:13 pm

Symptoms

If you cannot receive or send email with a Gmail account set up on your iPhone or iPod touch, you may experience the following errors:

  • When checking for new mail, this error appears: "Cannot Get Mail. The connection to the server 'imap.gmail.com' failed."
  • When trying to send mail, this error appears: "Cannot Send Mail. The connection to the server 'smtp.gmail.com' failed."
  • If the account is removed and added again to the device, this error appears: "Could not connect using SSL. Would you like to try setting up the account without SSL?" Saying yes to this message repeatedly will result in a message saying "Cannot Get Mail. The connection to the server 'imap.gmail.com' failed."

Products Affected

iPod touch, iPhone, Gmail

Resolution

  1. Check that your device is connected to the Internet by opening Safari and loading a webpage, such asgoogle.com. If you cannot connect to the Internet, try the steps in this article.
  2. If you have other email accounts on the device, check if those accounts can send and receive email.
  3. If the issue is isolated only to the affected Gmail account, visit this website: https://www.google.com/accounts/DisplayUnlockCaptcha.
    Complete the form to unlock the account.
  4. Once the account has been unlocked, check that the issue is resolved on the iPhone or iPod touch. If not, remove the affected Gmail account from the device and add it to the device again: Settings > Mail, Contacts and Calendars > Add Account > Gmail.

Additional Information

If the issue persists after following the above steps and your Gmail account is checked by more than one device or computer, see Using a Gmail account on multiple devices.

If the issue persists, consult Gmail's support site. These articles may help:
 
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