Gmail error "The user name or password for Gmail is incorrect"

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Level 1

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Gmail error "The user name or password for Gmail is incorrect"

Starting the other day I am getting the above error when I try to access my gmail account on my iphone4 and I get the same error on my iMac. This is the 2nd or maybe 3 time this has happened. The last was exactly month ago.

Also keep in mind I can access gmail directly on the web using the same id and pw that is in iphone and mail app on imac. The last time in Jan I tried deleting and reinstalling my gmail account 4-5 times but with no luck, same error msg and gave up. A couple days later and it just started working again.

Any idea's on what could be causing this and is anyone else having similar issue with gmail?

iMAC, Mac OS X (10.6.6)

Posted on Feb 11, 2011 7:44 AM

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Answer 1

wjosten

Level 10

95,321 points

Feb 11, 2011 7:52 AM in response to Kevin Frey

Go here, do this, see if it fixes things:

https://www.google.com/accounts/DisplayUnlockCaptcha

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Answer 2

Kevin Frey Author

Level 1

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Feb 11, 2011 8:17 AM in response to Kevin Frey

Wow thanks wjosten that worked perfectly and I can not replicate to the server with no user name or pw issue!

thanks again

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Answer 3

wjosten

Level 10

95,321 points

Feb 11, 2011 8:24 AM in response to Kevin Frey

You're welcome.

FYI:

Gmail does this to stop spammers. The mere act of setting up your account on a mobile device can trigger the lock. You then have to go there and prove you are human and not some computer spammer.

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Answer 4

MVP85

Level 1

0 points

Feb 23, 2011 2:46 PM in response to wjosten

Hey guys, I seem to be having the same problem with my Hotmail account on my iPhone 3GS. I changed my password on my Hotmail account a few days ago and since then I keep getting a message saying 'Cannot get Mail - Username or Password are Incorrect'. I've updated the new password on my phone but it's still not working. Any help would be appreciated.

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Answer 5

Mar 8, 2011 10:37 AM in response to wjosten

word, thanks wjosten

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Answer 6

Mar 11, 2011 3:52 AM in response to Kevin Frey

I've experienced the same issue where gmail on my mail client (Mail 4.4) goes haywire while I can still access the account via the browser and via the iPhone. I've changed the password on all three and the Mail client on the Mac continues to have issues when trying to retrieve the mail. Even trying the link suggested in this thread https://www.google.com/accounts/DisplayUnlockCaptcha has not helped. A friend in overseas experienced the same issue yesterday.

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Answer 7

Gerosa

Level 1

10 points

Mar 28, 2011 11:45 PM in response to Kevin Frey

I had the problem of the gmail not working on 3G but fine on my home wifi. I followed Wjosten's advice and it now seems to be working fine on wifi and 3G.
TYVM

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Answer 8

Mar 29, 2011 3:24 AM in response to Kevin Frey

Hi, I went on my computer and ended up changing my password for my gmail account and when i went to check it on my iphone 4 app it came up with this message. I went into settings, then Mail, Contacts, Calendars. And then under Accounts it is not highlighted which means i can't get into there to change settings or even add an account. This *****.....pleeeease someone tell me what to do

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Answer 9

Mar 30, 2011 11:07 PM in response to wjosten

Thanks! it's work!

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Answer 10

Gerosa

Level 1

10 points

Apr 10, 2011 8:28 PM in response to Kevin Frey

Update on this. I kept on getting this at intermittent times and I found I had a problem with forwarding.
I have a number of mailboxes being forwarded in different ways. One from a little used address was circular and, I think, when emails went to it the forwarding caused the Gmail alerts to block the accounts. I have fixed the forwarding issue and it all seems to be working fine now.

So big hint before wasting heaps of time on changing accounts and passwords etc. check your forwarding arrangements from other addresses and map them out to see if anything is circular. Unlocking captcha is a fix but might not be going to the root cause of the problem.

If I had done this I would have saved a couple of days fiddling about.

Hope this helps somebody save some time .

Cheers

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Answer 11

Apr 11, 2011 12:51 PM in response to Gerosa

I second this from Gerosa. I had several email addresses with forwarding so I just cleared out the settings from all but my main address, made sure I was only forwarding to that email address from the others, and voila, it worked perfectly.

Thanks Gerosa!

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Answer 12

Narek

Level 1

0 points

Apr 30, 2011 2:05 AM in response to Kevin Frey

THis link worked for me, thanks! https://www.google.com/accounts/DisplayUnlockCaptcha

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Answer 13

Jun 26, 2011 6:11 PM in response to Kevin Frey

I've been fighting this for a week. Here is what worked for me. I had to put the period in my email address and username when creating the account on iphone.

for instance: when I signed up for "johndoe@gmail.com", google gave me "john.doe@gmail.com". I can receive emails at either address, but unless I use the "period" email when setting up the account on my iphone, I get errors.

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Answer 14

Jul 3, 2011 11:53 PM in response to Kevin Frey

Got it! This problem started when I updated my Gmail password to make it more secure. And also, I finally realised, 11 characters long. Keep it under 10 and it works -- I tried this with four different passwords just to check. Anything between 10 and 8 is OK. Spread the word -- this kind of question is on lots of threads. Could an engineer perhaps make updates or even include a note in the next software release?

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Answer 15

Lansdown

Level 1

0 points

Jul 16, 2011 3:30 AM in response to wjosten

Thank you very much Wjosten! I had the same problem this morning & the Captcha unlock worked perfectly 😎

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