Introduction
If you're experiencing issues in using your Gmail account in Mailbird for Mac, a potential cause for this could be that IMAP access has not been enabled in your Gmail settings.
In your Gmail settings, you may also need to ensure that all of your folders are marked as visible through IMAP.
Some example of the kind of behaviour you might experience if IMAP is not enabled in Gmail are:
- If IMAP is fully disabled, you won't be able to add the account to Mailbird, and it will show an error.
- If your Gmail account has already connected to Mailbird, then it will stop syncing and show an error if IMAP is disabled.
- If some of your folders aren't set to visible in IMAP, then the folders will also not be visible in Mailbird.
Part 1: Activating IMAP in your Gmail Settings
Below you will find some simple steps which will allow you to enable IMAP for your Gmail account.
- In Gmail, click on the gear icon top right of the screen to open the drop-down list.
- Now click on Settings.
- In the Settings window, click on the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab at the top of the page.
- In this tab, make sure that Enable IMAP is selected (as shown below).
Part 2: Make system labels visible through IMAP
Mailbird for Mac uses the Gmail system labels for various operations, in order to ensure a more seamless experience. It therefore requires that all system labels (except Chats) are shown in IMAP. Below are steps for you to follow which will allow you to see whether or not these folders are shown in IMAP.
- In Gmail, click on the gear icon top right of the screen to open the drop-down list.
- Now click on Settings.
- Click on the Labels tab at the top.
- In this tab, make sure that the far right checkbox Show in IMAP is selected for all required system labels (as shown in the screenshot below).
We hope that this article has helped you resolve any issues you were experiencing with your Gmail account or folders, but if you require any further assistance simply create a Support Ticket here.