Gmail on Mail.app going away in May

[LannyC]

After months of Gmail giving me grief about using the "insecure" Apple Mail.app, today it told me that starting in May it would no longer allow Mail.app to login to my Gmail account. I assume that also means using Safari for Google webmail will stop working. What are my fellow Gmail users planning to do? The thought of changing email clients is almost enough to make me stop using email on iOS entirely. And it will be even worse for my wife, who relies on me to make things "just work" on her iPads.

I do have another email account with my service provider, but I'd hate to lose the Gmail spam filter, which keeps hundreds of spams a day from ever reaching my iPad.

 

[scifan57]

Are you saying that Google will no longer allow Gmail accounts to use the iPadOS stock Mail app?

 

[LannyC]

Yes, as I interpret the warning. If you have a Google account (who doesn't?) it's in the security section, under Less Secure App Access.

Please let me know if you find a workaround. Reviews of the iOS Gmail app complain about constant nagging to use Chrome instead of Safari, among other things.

 

[J. A.]

Do you use 2-step verification for your Gmail account?

 

[LannyC]

No, I don't have a cell phone.

 

[BikeFlagAZ]

Has anyone else received such a notification? I have not.

 

[J. A.]

I didn‘t either. A few months ago, I‘ve enabled 2-step verification on my iPad, and I‘m using the iPad’s Gmail app for verifying.

 

[LannyC]

Google's cryptic "help" pages suggest using "sign in with Google" to log into Mail.app. However, I can't figure out how to add this to my existing Gmail account, or how to sign out of Gmail without deleting the account from my iPad and probably losing all my old mail.

 

[twerppoet]

Since all your mail in Gmail is stored on their server, you won't lose anything by removing the account from the iPad. If you need assurance, go to Gmail via a web browser and make sure it's all there.

Changing to two-step verification is something you have to do in Google's setting in your browser. They should have instructions on how to do it. Since it's Google, you should be able to find them with a search.

Part of those instructions will be on how to recover your account in case you lose your varificaton device/email/phone number. Be sure to follow them. It's been a while, but I'm pretty sure there is at least one option that does not require a cell phone.

You may have to remove and re-add your account on the iPad after the change, but that should not cause problems. Well, not long term "I lost all my email" problems.

The only possible exception is if you've set up and are using local email folders with Gmail. You would have had to intentionally set this up in Mail's advanced settings for Gmail.

 

[LannyC]

Thanks. I didn't mean actually losing the mail, just off my iPad. After deleting and readding the account in Mail.app, I presume I will have lost instant access to everything, which would have to be found and downloaded, one message at a time, from the IMAP server. I could search, but not browse.

I'm not inclined to do that without some assurance that it would solve the problem. Right now, I can't see the path forward. Google's help page doesn't match what I see on my tablet. I see no "sign in with Google" opportunity, nor a way to log out of my account and back in.

 

[twerppoet]

When you open a Gmail folder in Mail, it may or may not have the email downloaded. It may or may not have all the email headers downloaded. It will, however immediately start downloading the most recent headers and emails, and continue downloading them as you scroll further down the list. Browsing may be slower, but still possible.