How do I sign in to Gmail?

You may have heard that it's pretty easy to set up and use an email address with Gmail—you just need to follow these simple steps. But if for some reason you run into problems logging in, here are all the reasons why that might happen, as well as how to fix them when they come along.

\tThere are many ways to access Gmail besides using the web interface (which we'll talk about later), but sometimes things go wrong while setting up those other methods. If this happens to you, don't worry! We've got solutions, too. Some work better than others depending on what kind of issue you're having, so let's take a look at the most common ones.

Why can't I log into my Gmail account?

\tIf you try to sign in on another device like a smartphone, you won't be able to because you haven't added that device yet. You should see instructions on adding devices after entering your password, which usually looks something like "Continue" followed by the name of a different device.

\tWhen you first start getting new emails, it could also mean that you didn't verify your identity correctly. In order to make sure that doesn't happen again, head over to Settings & Accounts and choose Get Started under Add Another Email Address. This will walk you through creating an additional account.

\tSometimes people forget their two-step verification codes, especially since the process isn't exactly intuitive. If you lost your code recently, then someone else has probably used yours. To change your security settings, click Security on the left side and scroll down until you find Two Step Verification. From here, select Change 2-Step Verification Code. Enter a different code and confirm it. Then hit Save Changes.

\tIt's possible that your browser needs updating. Head to Settings & Browser Connection and pick Update Chrome.... Follow any prompts to update Firefox or whatever browser you use.

\tGoogle changed its authentication system several times during 2012, and occasionally users were caught off guard. This happened often enough that Google introduced automatic updates for browsers, meaning anyone who hadn't updated was automatically logged out of their accounts. If you ever notice yourself suddenly unable to sign in, you'll want to update your browser and/or operating system immediately. Click the link above to learn how to update your browser or OS.

\tIf none of these suggestions help, you still might have a bigger problem. Keep reading for troubleshooting tips.

Why is my Gmail login not working?

\tFirst thing's first: Did you enter your password properly? The most likely cause is that you mistyped it or entered one character incorrectly. It only takes a few seconds to type in a long string of characters, so double-check everything before clicking Log In. Make sure that each letter appears next to the correct key, including capitals where applicable. Don't hold anything down unless absolutely necessary, either.

\tNext, keep in mind that passwords aren't case sensitive on computers, so pay attention to capitalization. Also note that numbers aren't required. All you really need to remember is that letters appear alongside keys such as Shift + A and Ctrl + L. Finally, avoid obvious phrases, names, dates, etc. Try coming up with a random sentence instead.

\tMost importantly, however, make sure you know what your actual password is. That way you can tell whether it worked or not without looking at cryptic error messages. You can always ask us for assistance if needed.

\tThe biggest culprits behind invalid logins are typos and forgetting special symbols. Even though modern systems attempt to prevent mistakes from happening, human error does slip through every once in awhile. There is no excuse for making careless errors like this, so don't give yourself permission to become lazy.

\tIn addition, if you have forgotten your password, there are multiple options for recovering it. First, visit Password Recovery. Type in your email address and create a temporary password. Remember this because you'll need it shortly. Next, fill out your security questions, answer truthfully, and tap Submit. Afterward, you'll receive a message asking you to call customer support. Do so, and they'll reset your password for you.

\tFinally, if you suspect someone else knows your password, you can report phishing attempts via PhishCheck.net.

\tAlso, consider removing unnecessary apps from your Android home screen. These apps can interfere with the proper function of certain features, causing issues even when they shouldn't matter. For example, if you have Facebook installed, disabling Messenger would remove notifications and spamming abilities. On iOS, uninstalling iMessage can stop push notifications altogether. Uninstall unnecessary software, and make sure nothing runs in the background that could affect your connection.

Why is there a problem signing into my Google Account?

\tThis is typically caused by misconfigured proxy servers. Many companies block incoming traffic based on IP addresses, so if you live in a country with restricted internet access (like China) you may encounter trouble accessing sites hosted outside your region. Thankfully, Google offers an easier solution called Access Blockers. Here's how to enable it:

\tHead to http://www.google.com/preferences#access_blocker and turn it on.

Access Blockers gives you the option to whitelist specific websites, rather than blocking entire regions outright. However, doing so comes with risks. As you'd expect, hackers can exploit vulnerabilities within blocked domains, potentially stealing personal information and taking control of affected machines. So if you use Access Blockers, you must treat it with caution and never leave it enabled 24 hours straight. Instead, disable it when you aren't actively browsing online.

\tIf you still experience problems, it's time to contact your ISP directly. They might already offer free services that solve your problems, or refer you to their technical department. Alternatively, there's a list of reputable proxies available right here. Just search for "[your location] best VPN."

How do I get access back to my Gmail account?

\tWhat happens if you lose your Gmail password? Or what if someone gets ahold of your username and password? Fortunately, you can recover both with single clicks thanks to Google's recovery tools. Open a new tab and navigate to https://myaccount.google.com/. When prompted, Choose Help Center. Under the heading Login Not Working?, click Reset Your Password.

\tForgot your password entirely? Visit https://support.google.com/mail/?p=forgetpasswordandrecover. Now you can enjoy peace of mind knowing that your important data is safe and secure.

\tGot an extra copy lying around? Share your own experiences below!

If you use multiple devices like an iPhone and Macbook Pro, iPad, Android device (or maybe even some other brand), then there's no reason why you shouldn't have all those accounts synced together with one master password. If you don't want that hassle though, here are three ways you can access Google Mail through different platforms without having to worry about remembering yet another login code.

We'll show you how to set up Gmail for mobile as well as desktop so you can manage your emails anywhere you go. Let's start by explaining what it takes to actually create an email account.

How do I log into my email account?

Signing up for a new email service is pretty simple these days — just type "www." followed by whatever web address you'd like to visit. In this case we typed www.gmail.com because that's where our email would be sent. This will bring us to the main page of gmail.google.com.

You'll see two sections at the top right corner of the screen. The first section has your name next to the logo. You should enter your full name if you really care about getting spam filters to work correctly.

The second section gives you options that let you change things like your language preference, time zone, etc., depending on which country you live in. Click Next when you finish filling everything out.

Now once you've clicked next, you'll be taken to your Google Account homepage. Your profile picture and cover photo appear in the upper left-hand side of the window. On the bottom part of the window, you'll find your user settings.

On the upper right-hand corner of this window you'll see a box labeled Sign in & security. It shows information about your current privacy settings including who can send you messages, view your email history, etc. Make sure they match your preferences otherwise you won't receive any important emails! When done click Get Started.

Once again, you'll now become redirected back to your Google Profile Page. From here, scroll down until you come across the option to choose your primary email ID. Select that field and hit Continue.

Your account setup process may take several minutes to complete. During this time, you might notice a series of popups asking you to verify your identity. These steps usually involve entering text such as passwords and answers to security questions. Don't panic. Just keep clicking Continue. After each step, you'll need to retype your username and password before moving forward.

After finishing all the verification checks, you'll arrive at your final destination: Gmail. Congratulations! Now you know how to make an actual Gmail account.

How do I log into my email account?

If you already created an email account but aren't using it to read your emails anymore, then you probably noticed that you can only log into it via your browser. So what happens when someone sends you a link to download their favorite iOS app and wants you to install it on your smartphone? Or perhaps you have forgotten your old login details? Either way, you could end up being locked out of your own account unless you update them manually. Luckily, there's a tool called LastPass Password Manager available for both Windows and macOS users. With LastPass installed, you can easily sync your online banking credentials, social media profiles, payment portals, ecommerce sites, and much more directly within its interface.

LastPass also allows you to generate secure passwords, auto fill forms, and store personal data securely. To begin setting up Lastpass, head over to lastpass.com/install/. Then follow the instructions given on the website.

While signing up for a new email provider, you’ll automatically be offered to save your existing login details or you can create a new password instead. We recommend choosing Save My Details. That said, you can always delete your previous email account later on if you wish to.

When you finally reach Gmail after logging in, you'll immediately realize that the layout looks quite similar to Apple Mail. There isn't anything confusing about switching between the two interfaces. However, if you prefer something else, simply switch to Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Microsoft Edge, or whatever browser works best for you.

As mentioned earlier, while viewing your email inbox, you'll find four icons located at the very top of the window. Each icon contains quick links to perform various actions related to managing your mailbox. For example, clicking on Settings lets you adjust your general settings, compose new emails, reply to messages, filter junk, unsubscribe from newsletters, review your activity history, and so on.

Keep scrolling down further to discover additional features. At the very bottom of the window, you'll see a small line containing your total number of unread mails, along with two buttons: Compose New Message and All Mail.

At the moment, clicking either button opens a popup window. But since we're interested in accessing Gmail on our mobile device, let's focus on the latter option first. Simply tap the All Mail tab located under the hamburger menu. A list of every single message currently inside your inbox appears.

Scroll down until you locate the desired letter. Tap on the envelope symbol beside the respective message. It will reveal a dropdown menu with your email addresses listed underneath. Choose whichever address you used to sign up for Gmail.

This action puts you straight into the corresponding email account. Since we chose to select All Mail, we ended up opening our default Mail app on our iPhone. As soon as you land on the correct inbox, you can swipe away the toolbar located above the list of emails. Doing so reveals a navigation bar at the bottom of the screen.

Tap More Actions near the middle portion of the bar. This brings up a whole slew of useful tools that allow you to quickly deal with incoming messages. Scroll down until you spot Filter Messages. Once tapped, this feature will help you decide whether you want to mark certain messages as Important or Delete Unwanted Emails.

Want to look at specific types of content? Hit the Search Bar located at the top center of the screen. Type what you're looking for and press Enter. Alternatively, you can search for keywords too.

Next, scroll down until you find Mark as Read. You can then sort through your emails one at a time by tapping Sort By. Finally, hit Done to return to the home screen.

In addition to marking individual emails as unimportant or deleting unwanted ones, you can also customize various aspects of the Gmail interface itself. Head over to Manage Accounts and pick whichever email provider you wish to modify. Then, choose Customize Email Preferences.

From the resulting menu, scroll down to Find and Use Shortcuts. Here, you can turn off notifications, enable snooze functionality, tweak the appearance of the app, and disable images altogether.

It's worth mentioning that you cannot edit your preferred language or keyboard shortcuts within this menu. Instead, you must navigate to the respective tabs in order to do so.

One thing to note is that you can't assign custom names to certain labels. Therefore, if you plan to leave the label names unchanged, it's better not to mess around with them.

Finally, tap Advanced Settings and scroll down until you find the Change Language option. Change the location in the dropdown menu according to where you reside.

How do I log into my email on my phone?

Google offers apps specifically designed for almost every platform you can think of, including smartphones. One of them is Gmail Mobile, which comes preinstalled on most Android phones running KitKat 4.4 and newer versions.

Head over to the Play Store and launch the Gmail app. Log in and grant permissions to the app accordingly. Remember that you can only do this if you have enabled automatic login for your email account. Otherwise, you'll need to input your credentials manually.

After granting permission, you can continue browsing through your inbox. While doing so, you can tap Menu once you see a notification bubble popping up. This triggers the sidebar to slide in from the left edge of the screen.

Using the aforementioned shortcut, you can toggle between the Home Screen and Sidebar views. This means that whenever you feel the urge to check your latest correspondence, you can pull out your phone to see what's waiting for you.

There's one caveat however. Gmail doesn't offer push notifications by default. Thus, if you miss out on receiving a message, you won't be able to tell until you physically check your inbox. Thankfully, there's an easy workaround to fix this issue.

Simply go to Settings and activate Push Notifications. You can then choose which particular services you'd like to receive alerts for. Unfortunately, you can't apply this method to your regular Gmail inbox.

Instead, you must rely on third party applications. Popular choices include AirMail, ActiveInbox, Boomerang, FollowUpLater, and others. Some of these solutions require premium subscriptions, whereas others provide free trials. Whichever route you choose, make sure you test drive the product yourself prior to committing to it.

You've probably been using Google's web-based e-mail service for quite some time now. But what if you want to take advantage of all that it has to offer without logging into its website every single day? Luckily, there are ways around this problem—you just need to know where to look.

Here we'll guide you through how to log into and use Gmail outside of your browser. We'll cover everything from setting up an account with your current provider (if possible), adding your existing Gmail address as an alias, and even opening your new Gmail tab directly within Chrome itself. If these methods aren't enough for you, make sure to read our comprehensive beginner’s guide to managing multiple accounts.

How do I get to my Gmail on phone?

If you already have a Gmail account but don't remember which one is yours, head over here. It will ask you questions about yourself, including whether you'd like to receive notifications for new messages, then give you instructions on how to set up your account. The next step depends on which device you choose to send your password to.

For Android users who prefer not to enter their passwords manually, tap "Send My Password" at the bottom of the page. You'll be able to view your password by clicking the link that appears under "Confirm Your Email." For iPhone users, follow the same steps, except you won't see any links until after you click "Create Account," since Apple doesn't allow third-party apps to request sensitive information such as usernames and passwords.

Once you have a Gmail account, you may also wish to change your primary language so that certain features work better. To do so, go to Settings & General Controls & Language Support.

How do I access my Gmail?

Now that you've got your account set up, let's talk about actually accessing your emails. There are three main methods you could use: downloading the official Gmail mobile app, creating a bookmarklet, or signing in via another browser window. All three options require that you have two things in common: 1) A way to download apps onto your smartphone/tablet and 2) An active internet connection.

1.) Downloading the Gmail App: As long as you own a compatible Android device running 4.0 or higher, installing the official Gmail app should only take a few seconds. Head over to the Play Store and search for gmaiL. This version was last updated in 2017, meaning it works well on most modern devices. On iOS, you can find the app by searching for googleMail in iTunes or visiting the App Store.

2.) Creating Bookmarklets: If you don't mind being limited to browsers other than Chrome, you can create bookmarks containing shortcuts to specific parts of Gmail instead of entire pages. In addition to making the process quicker, this method allows you to open tabs easily whenever you're away from home. First, visit https://chrome.google.com/webstore/category/extensions/inbox%20by%20gmail. Then scroll down to the section labeled "Bookmarklets." Click the "+ New Tab Button" icon to save a bookmark called NewTabGmail. When you open it, you'll immediately see your inbox pop right up.

3.) Signing Into Another Browser Window: Perhaps you're tired of saving bookmarks when you travel and would rather keep them stored locally. Or maybe you use Firefox, Opera, Safari, Edge, etc., and you feel comfortable keeping those extensions installed across several different browsers. Either way, there's no reason why you couldn't simply sign into Gmail while browsing elsewhere. Simply open Gmail inside whatever browser you normally use and type in your username and password. From there, you can enjoy full functionality of the site!

Note: Some people have reported problems with this approach working properly. If it does start acting buggy, try uninstalling the extension/bookmarklet first. Also, if you find yourself unable to access Gmail due to privacy settings, try disabling Incognito Mode altogether.

In general, however, this method seems much safer than leaving your browser logged in anywhere else. Just remember to close the tab before navigating back to something unrelated. Otherwise, you might end up giving hackers free reign over your personal data.

How can I open my Gmail?

Opening Gmail requires you to install additional software depending on which operating system you use. However, once you've done that, it shouldn't differ too much between Windows 10, Mac OS X, Linux, or your favorite smartphone platform.

On macOS: Open the Terminal application and run the following command: sudo nano /Library/Application\\ Support/Google/Chrome/Default/User Data/. Here, replace "your_email@domain.com" with your actual email address. Hit Ctrl + O to write the file contents, followed by Ctrl +X to exit. Now restart your machine. Finally, navigate to System Preferences & Security & Privacy and select the Lock Icon menu item. Enter your admin name and password to unlock the User Options panel. Scroll down and select Other Users. Check the box beside Guest Account and hit OK.

Next, launch Chrome. Tap Shift+Command+P to bring up the Power Menu. Select Relaunch with Voice Input turned off. You should hear a confirmation message saying that Chrome wants to reopen automatically in a couple minutes. Wait patiently until it comes up, then log into Gmail as usual.

On Windows 10: Most likely, you downloaded Chrome Canary build 5387.85.2. After doing so, you must update it to the latest version available by heading to Help " About Google Chrome. Next, open the folder where you extracted Canary Build 5387.85.2 and locate the shortcut named chrome.exe. Right click on it and select Properties. Navigate to Compatibility mode and ensure Run this program as administrator is checked. Lastly, press Apply and continue updating it.

Afterwards, open the newly updated Chrome and fire up the Command Prompt by typing shell:AppsFolder\chrome.exe --user-data-dir=C:\Users\[YOUR USERNAME]\AppData\Local\.cache\chromium\

Enter your user credentials when prompted and wait until the prompt disappears. Then input your desired password. Since your default profile directory changes based on your environment variables, C:\Users\Your Name\AppData\Local.Cache\chromium will appear regardless.

Mac OS X users should consult our previous post detailing how to fix issues that prevent Chrome from launching correctly.

Linux users should note that they cannot edit the.profile configuration files in order to customize the location of the cache folder. Instead, they must copy the executable from the Applications folder to /.config/google-chrome/Browser\\Profiles/Username/path/to/folder/. Therefore, the above path becomes /AppData/Local.cache/chromium/

The final option offers a slightly slower experience compared to the others because it involves reopening Chrome entirely each time. This makes sense given that it relies upon the native Chromium browser framework, which differs significantly from Chrome proper. Still, it's worth mentioning in case you happen to encounter errors.

Head over to this thread on tech support forum SuperUser and search for "[your_username] chromedriver". Copy the standalone binary located at [the URL] into C:/Program Files/Google/ChromeDriver/ and paste the rest of the commands listed therein to a text document. Save it somewhere safe, preferably the desktop. Press F5 to relaunch Chrome. Type in your credentials again and wait until the authentication screen goes away. Proceed to log into Gmail as normal.

Keep in mind that none of these solutions are ideal. Opening a second browser window is far from convenient and can cause security concerns. Relying on bookmarklets means that it takes extra effort to move between tabs. And having to rely on special tools means you're missing out on some useful features.