6 Common issues Gmail has with Microsoft Outlook

As an Outlook Expert, I get calls all the time from people who are suffering from various issues- slow Outlook, Outlook not working right, emails won’t send or receive, emails are missing, folders are missing, etc.

And many times, they are using Gmail as their server.  These clients are either using the free Gmail account or are paying for Google Apps, but not using the whole program (installing the Google Apps synch tool).

When it comes down to it, Outlook is a great program for email management, but it has limitations. Gmail really doesn’t have limitations.

In my opinion, Gmail was never intended for Outlook use, meant to be a browser based platform (and, in the past few years, an Android based email platform). Gmail and its big sister Google Apps were not made for Outlook, so this is exactly why people have problems if they use Outlook. Although Google does offer apps for syncing (for a fee), many of my clients still just use the IMAP settings and this is the cause of their problems.

Before you go farther into this blog, I have found it becoming very popular on the internet and on LinkedIn. I am starting to receive requests from people who want to ask me questions and want free answers. I do not give free answers over email, only book appointments. I’m a nice person and all, but there are so many issues that I can’t help until I am remoted in and recommend getting on my calendar.

Update May 14, 2017

Before you read further, please take note of one important thing. If you use Gmail in Outlook and are on IMAP, it’s possible that your contacts and calendar entries in Outlook are in a “cached” OST file in your computer. Most backup programs do not back up this file by default, you must select the directory it’s being stored. As well, an OST file cannot be imported into Outlook. OST files need to be converted to PST files to be opened in Outlook again. I have found many clients with years of data in these very unsafe OST files. If you want my help moving your entries to a safe PST file, we can schedule an appointment.

I’ll review with you here the most common issues I get calls to fix. You will see a pattern here: I move a lot of email out of Outlook to a local PST file. That is the common fix to most issues. Be sure to read my “Basic rules” at the bottom of this blog.

#1. Email overload

Even though you are supposed to have a limit of email with Gmail…well, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Clients tend to call me when it doesn’t, and what I find is that their local copy of their Gmail in the Outlook profile is very large and corrupted. What that means is that the profile in Outlook doesn’t match what Gmail says on the server, and I have to fix that to make it match up. What I do is create a new Outlook profile, bring down a good copy off the server, and let it sync and then match up. Then the corrupted emails are gone and the client is fresh. Still, most of the time we have to move mail off the new profile as, of course, Gmail hoards email. (See #3 below.)

#2 IMAP synchronizes constantly

After you start having email overload, the folders in your Outlook stop synchronizing nice and easy. You may see the “synchronizing” at the bottom right of Outlook, a sure sign of problems starting. Gmail uses a platform called “IMAP” (you can use POP if you want, the platform that does not synchronize) and IMAP is really a great way to have your email sync, but the issue most people have is that the more email you have and the larger your attachments are, the longer synchronizing takes for Outlook to sync with the Gmail server. I can fix this, but how I fix it is by moving out all large emails to a local PST file and remove some IMAP folders from being subscribed by Outlook. This helps immensely!

#3 Hidden Filters/All Mail and Important

If you are using the free Gmail version, your browser may never show you problems with email size as it’s intended to just not have problems. But with Outlook, it can download folders in a sub folder of your Gmail account. You have to go look for this as it might appear collapsed. Click on the + sign next to Gmail and you should see a set of folders.

• All Mail
• Important
• Junk
• Sent
• other folders (not sure what you will have)

The All Mail is a duplicate copy of all of your emails/sent and received. The important folders are emails that Gmail deems as important. I have tried to figure out how this works and I have never really figured it out other than it’s probably people you have emailed often and Gmail has it trained.

NEW! This is a new video I created for those with a lot (and I mean a lot!) of Gmail email in their Outlook. This nifty trick will help you remove the All Mail and Important folders.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PQlQZxMpxc

In this section, I will also add that Gmail and IMAP add on a “Filters Applied” and it can hide your email in folders. Check out this video to fix that asap!

 #4 Your email stops sending or receiving

If you cap out with your email limits, your Outlook Gmail will stop sending, or receiving, or both. To solve this problem, you have to move a lot of email. I usually start with sent items, as those are usually the easiest to move off the server. I move them to a local PST file. Then I move old “All Mail” and “Important” to a local PST file. These 3 folders cleaned up puts Outlook back in running shape again.

#5 Not using the Google Apps Sync tool

If you are using Gmail as a server and Outlook as the platform to read the email, the Google Apps sync tool can be downloaded and installed on your computer. This will then synchronize your email, contacts and calendar within the Google Apps system. You will have fewer issues using this tool with email, but if you have issues synchronizing with the Google Apps tools, it’s because of conflicts. (Yeah, a whole new story.) Many of my Google Apps clients just move to Microsoft Exchange as it works perfectly with Outlook and no sync tools.

#6 Cannot setup Gmail in Outlook using basic information

If you try to setup a Gmail account in Outlook, you may have to setup your email account manually. Many times you also need to lift a security measure Gmail has: turn on or off Less Secured Apps. You can click on this link to help: https://www.google.com/settings/security/lesssecureapps

Basic rules

If you are using a free Gmail account for your business, upgrade to business class email! Not only does it add a level of professionalism, but you will be on a good Microsoft server with almost no problems. Outlook and Microsoft Exchange are meant to be together, like ice cream and cake. Gmail and Outlook are like ice cream and salsa. But never fear: I can help you set that up, so contact me with the form below

If you are using Google Apps and Outlook and are having sync issues, you probably have too many conflicts. Be sure to use the details button to find those conflicts and delete them or fix them. If it’s set up right and with no conflicts, Google Apps Sync Tool does work, but it’s dang annoying for the end users as it constantly pops up and syncs.

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Category: Outlook Support