Mail connection error while setting up a Google account

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Mail connection error while setting up a Google account

This is not so much a question but a potential solution for a problem I encountered setting up a Google account in Mail on my new MacBook Pro.

I use a number of Google Apps, Gmail in particular. I started to add an account in in Mail preferences, selected the 'Google' radio button, entered my username, email address, and password, but continually kept getting a 'connection' error even though ensuring my account credentials were correct.

From the Google site:

I tried setting up 2-step authentication - No Joy.

I tried setting up an application-specific password - No Joy.

Finally, from the Mail-Preferences-Accounts page, I clicked on the 'Other type of email' option, entered my account credentials, and Mail reached out and gathered the account information it needed and set up my account with no problems or errors.

The account listed in the left of the accounts page was 'Gmail' not a 'Google' account. i wouldn't think that mail would draw a distinction between Google and Gmail. It would seem to me that a 'Google' email account is actually a 'Gmail' account.

Anyway, that's the fruit of my efforts. Hope someone finds it helpful.

Leon Derrick

Leonldgmlcm@gmail.com

MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.2), Setting up Gmail in the Mail App

Posted on May 28, 2015 5:49 PM

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Answer 1

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elCapitan13

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0 points

May 31, 2015 9:11 PM in response to ld78642

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

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Answer 2

Nalls

Level 1

1 points

Jun 17, 2015 8:14 PM in response to elCapitan13

Hello ld78642,

Did you later receive a prompt from the OS X 'Internet Accounts' system preferences prompting you for your normal gmail 2 factor authentication sequence? This happened to me. It seems to be stable, but for the last two nights I've had to redo my gmail accounts. Very tedious. It seems Apple mail in 10.10.3 is trying to making this 'easier' by using the normal google 2 factor authentication, but then google's mail servers are (recently??) requesting that this is not acceptable to use the human login password, it throws an error saying :

"The server returned the error: Application-specific password required: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/185833 (Failure)"

That google help page tells you all about setting up and using an application specific password. Which I'm fine with. I just want apple mail to fracking accept it.

So now my setup sequence to try to avoid two different errors one error is reported by an icon with the image of an exclamation mark inside of a triangle next to my account in Mac Mail (10.10.3):

"The server returned the error: Application-specific password required: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/185833 (Failure)"

The other error is:

"There was a problem setting up the Mail account. An unknown error occurred." from the Internet Accounts System Preferences pane or from mail, I can't recall now.

My current sequence to set up Gmail as of June 17 2015 on Mac Mail 10.10.3 (14D136) is:

Final method:

1. Delete account from internet accounts.

2. Log in to gmail via website

- remove all extra labels

- show in imap only:

sent, drafts, all mail, spam, trash. inbox

- enable pop

- Setup application specific password for my mac.

3. Recreate email account using System Preferences in Internet Accounts.

IT says ‘Discovering settings’ then slides up and looks fine . Account is named ’google’. Click on the account.

4. System Preference pane will respond with a drop down webpage like login for gmail where I use the NON app specific password, and also enter my 2nd factor code and select: don’t ask for codes again on this computer.

I really hope when I sit down to do some actual work tomorrow night that it doesn't give me some wonderful new excuse not to work. OS X is usually very dependable, and not full of annoying errors like this.

Fingers Crossed.

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