Gmail configuration

Gmail accounts are fully supported by the Feng Office e-mail client.

While Feng Office auto-detects Gmail accounts and fills out most of the configuration information automatically, it is always helpful to know that:

  1. Your Gmail accounts must allow access from external clients.
  2. If the browser auto-fills your password, it may be entering a wrong password.
  3. Google may be preventing access to your account through different security measures

So if you can't connect immediately (or Feng Office says 'connected' but retrieves 0 e-mails), don't despair. You'll get it to work. But you may need to check for connection issues following the checklist and instructions below.

Depending on the way your Gmail or GoogleMail account is set up, the following obstacles may arise:

  • You don't have IMAP access enabled on your Gmail account.
  • Your Gmail account is blocking external application.
  • Your Gmail account has 'captcha' activated for log-in.
  • Your Google account has two-way authentication enabled.
  • Other Gmail configuration issues

Here is how to troubleshoot each one of them:

Your account is not enabled for IMAP use.

Please visit your Gmail account settings page and enable your account for IMAP access.

Here are the steps:

  1. Sign in to your Google account.
  2. Click on Settings in the upper-right corner of your gmail screen.
  3. Click on the ‘Forwarding and POP/IMAP’ tab.
  4. In the IMAP Access section, click on Enable IMAP.
  5. Click on Save Changes.

Gmail may be blocking external applications (including Feng Office).

If that is the case, you can enable it here:

https://security.google.com/settings/security/activity

Here are the steps:

  1. Log in to your Gmail account and do the following
  2. Click on your profile picture (top right corner) and then select My Account
  3. Click on Sign-in & security
  4. Scroll down to the Connected apps and sites section and click on Manage apps
  5. Scroll down to the Recent Activity section, and access to Devices. In there, make sure that Gmail is not blocking the server where Feng Office is running. For instance, if you are setting this email account in Feng Office's cloud, do not worry if you see there is connection attempt from Germany or the USA as we have our servers for trials there.

Gmail is not letting you connect because your account has the “Captcha” security setting activated. If that is the case, you can disable the “captcha” feature here:

Unlock the Gmail CAPTCHA

If you have two-step authentication enabled ( Learn more about Google two step authentication here) you need to create a 16-digit passcode to give Feng Office permission to access your Google Account.

Here are the steps to do it:

  1. Click on Get Started
  2. Follow instructions on the page
  3. Generate a password for Feng Office
    • This will give you a 16 character code in a yellow bar. Copy that password and paste it in your Feng Office e-mail settings.
  4. Done!

Once you are finished, you won't see that App password code again. However, you will see a list of apps and devices you’ve created App passwords for.

The generated password is the one to be used when configuring the e-mail account in Feng Office

See more details here: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/185833

How to set up FengOffice Gmail integration

  1. Open FengOffice
  2. Click on the Email tab on the top of the screen
  3. Click Accounts
  4. Click Add Email account
  5. Add an Account name
  6. The name used to identify the account (e.g. ‘Home email account’)
  7. Under Email Address, enter your Gmail account email address

Incoming Settings

  1. Account ID - Enter your Gmail account email address
  2. Password - Enter your Gmail account password
  3. Server Address - imap.gmail.com
  4. Connection Method - IMAP
  5. Make sure you check the box for “Use SSL for incoming email connection”.
  6. SSL port (ok if not visible) - 993

SMTP Settings

  1. SMTP Server - smtp.gmail.com
  2. SMTP Server Port - 465
  3. SMTP Server Authentication - Use Incoming
  4. Secure Connection - SSL
  5. Save Changes

Google Account

  1. Open up a browser and navigate to google.com
  2. If you are not already signed up, click “Sign In” on the top right corner of the screen
  3. Once signed in, click the Google Account icon on the top right corner of your screen
  4. Click on “Manage your Google Account
  5. On the left hand side of your screen, click on “Security”
  6. Scroll down until you find a section labeled “Less secure app access”
  7. Click on the word “off”
  8. You should now see a box labeled “Allow less secure apps”
  9. Move the slider to the right, adjusting the setting from “off” to “on”
  10. Click the back arrow and proceed below

Gmail Account

  1. Open up google and make sure you are signed in to the account that you use for Gmail
  2. Click the square with nine dots in the top right corner of the screen
  3. Select Gmail to enter into your Gmail account (if not already in Gmail)
  4. Once in Gmail, click the gear icon on the top right corner of the screen.
  5. Click on “See all settings”
  6. You are now presented with options on top of the screen that should start with “General”
  7. Click on “Forwarding and POP/IMAP
  8. Under the section labeled “IMAP access, select “Enable IMAP”.
  9. Scroll down and click “Save Changes”

Test your connection

  1. Navigate back to your Feng Office installation
  2. Click on Accounts
  3. Hover over Edit account
  4. Select the account you wish to test
  5. Under Incoming settings, click on Check connection data
  6. You should now see the folders in your Gmail account show up with blank check boxes beside each
  7. So long as the folders match, go ahead and check all of the boxes under “Folders to check
  8. If you encounter a problem, read below for troubleshooting options

Troubleshooting

  1. For some mail accounts, Gmail does not allow you to connect to them from everywhere. To allow the connection needed for Feng Office to sync with Gmail, you have to login using your web browser and allow our servers to make the necessary connection.

This can be done by navigating to: https://security.google.com/settings/security/activity

If that doesn't work, you can also use the gmail unlock captcha feature: http://www.google.com/accounts/DisplayUnlockCaptcha

More information can be found in: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/14257?rd=1

Your account may have a different set of configuration values than the standard.

If that is the case, you may need to change the default configuration retrieved by Feng office to match your Gmail settings.

You can find more information about Gmail settings here: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/7126229

And here: https://support.google.com/accounts/topic/2401957

If you are installing Feng Office in your own server, make sure that your Firewall or any other security setting are not blocking the SSL connections.

If you tried all of the above and your Gmail account is still not connecting, please contact us through the support channels. The support team will gladly help you set it up on your Feng Sky account or on your supported Feng Onsite installation.