Electronic mail or email has such significant place in today’s world that it’s quite hard to imagine being without it. It’s a modern communication tool with the attractive qualities of being fast, portable, and versatile. It’s nearly indispensible in business, personal tasks, and the affairs of daily life.
What if something suddenly goes wrong in email wonderland after an OS update? This guide will focus on the issue of macOS Mojave not adding Gmail accounts and preventing other forms of access – and some solutions you can try.
The Advent of macOS Mojave
macOS Mojave was launched some two months ago, and we previously reported the buzz around new changes introduced with it. One of those changes has to be initiated by the user, the interface change dubbed the Dark Mode. It’s where you can opt to make all elements of the interface dark and configure the system to take on a darker hue in the Settings.
Mojave also came with new features including Desktop Stacks, the reinvented Finder feature, the improved Gallery View, and Apple’s new file structure called APFS.
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In our quick review, we highlighted that Mojave is an exciting development with these new and innovative features; it’s made more thrilling by Apple’s pronouncements that Mojave is going to be a strong and stable update.
A couple of Gmail users who have updated to Mojave, however, have plenty of things to say about this update as it appears to interfere with their email access.
Help – Mojave Won’t Add Gmail Accounts!
Gmail is a highly popular free email service developed by Google. Users can access it on the web as well as by using third-party programs that synchronize email content via POP or IMAP protocols. It can also be accessed through mobile.
According to some users, Mojave won’t add Gmail accounts on Apple Mail, a struggle that persisted even after deleting the keychain access for Gmail accounts, deleting the accounts themselves through System Preferences and re-adding them back, and running Disk Utility or First Aid as a repair for the keychain access.
Others have revealed being unable to access Gmail on their Mac after the Mojave update, where there’s a constant password prompt and they merely get a blank grey screen with Cancel as the only option.
What To Do When You Can’t Add Gmail to macOS Mojave
In case you can’t sign in to your email client, you are likely to see one of different errors, such as being asked to enter your password over and over again and the messages “Username and password not accepted” and “invalid credentials.”
This issue appears to be an Apple problem versus a Gmail one, and there are a couple of methods you can try to solve it. Here are some techniques that are worth exploring:
- Make Sure Gmail Is Properly Configured – Verify that you have your Gmail account properly configured with the correct server names, ports, and other essentials. You need to set up IMAP and change your SMTP settings in order to read Gmail messages in mail clients such as Apple Mail. To check that IMAP is turned on, follow these steps:
- Open Gmail on your computer.
- Click Settings found on the top right section.
- Click Settings, and then the Forwarding and POP/IMAP
- Select Enable IMAP in the IMAP Access
- Hit Save Changes.
Check out this page to change SMTP & other settings in your email client.
- Manage Your Password – Check your password and ensure that you’re using the right one. If you’re using 2-Step Verification, try to sign in with an App Password, a 16-digit passcode that gives an app or device permissions to access your Google Account. If you recently changed your Gmail password, you might need to re-enter your mail account information or completely repeat the account setup in your email client.
- Try the Unlock Captcha Function – Follow the steps outlined on this page and see if they work.
- Sign In Directly On Gmail App – This might seem counterproductive, but it might be the best step to take if your Apple Mail’s sign-in method is insecure.
- Is Your Mail App Set to Check for New Emails Too Frequently? – If it’s set to check for new messages more than once every 10 minutes, the app’s access to your Gmail account could be blocked.
Final Notes
If none of the workarounds above actually work, then it might be worth deleting your Gmail account from your Mac or device and setting it up once again.
Make it a habit to also regularly run a complete checkup of your Mac to locate junk files, speed-reducing issues, and potential causes of system or application errors and crashes. A safe, reliable tool like Mac repair app is your go-to for this crucial task.
Did you previously encounter this problem? What made your Gmail account finally work and what seemed to cause the error? Let us know about your experience in the comments below!