Gmail SMTP and IMAP Settings for Cold Email (with App Password)

Server settings

These are Google’s published values for third-party mail apps. They are the same for free Gmail and Google Workspace accounts.

• SMTP (outgoing): smtp.gmail.com, port 465 with SSL or port 587 with STARTTLS
• IMAP (incoming): imap.gmail.com, port 993 with SSL
• Username: your full email address, for example you@yourcompany.com
• Password: an app password, not your normal Google password

Create an app password

Google does not accept a normal account password from third-party apps. An app password is a separate 16-character password that lets one app sign in over SMTP and IMAP. You can revoke it at any time without changing your main password.

• Turn on 2-Step Verification for the Google account.
• Open your Google Account, search for “App passwords” and create one with a recognizable name such as “MailQV”.
• Copy the 16-character password into the SMTP and IMAP password fields.
• If the App passwords page is missing, a Workspace admin may have restricted it, or the account uses security keys only or Advanced Protection.

Google Workspace accounts

Google has retired password-only (“less secure app”) sign-in for Workspace, so a normal password is refused. App passwords still work for Workspace users who have 2-Step Verification, unless an admin has turned them off. Admins can also disable IMAP access for users; if a connection fails with the right password, ask your admin to allow app passwords and IMAP for the mailboxes you send from.

Why IMAP matters for cold email

Sending only needs SMTP. Knowing what happened after you sent needs inbox access. With IMAP, a cold email tool can notice that a prospect replied, or that a message bounced, and stop the remaining follow-ups for that person.

Without it, the sequence keeps going and a prospect who already answered receives the next step. That is the fastest way to turn a warm reply into an annoyed one.

Sending limits still apply

Connecting over SMTP does not raise Gmail’s limits. Google’s published sending limits and its sender guidelines still apply, and a cold campaign should run well below them, spread across the working day.

Connecting Gmail to MailQV

MailQV offers two ways to connect a Gmail address. Signing in with Google is the quickest and supports sending, open tracking and click tracking, but it does not read your inbox, so replies and bounces are not detected for that mailbox.

Connecting the same address through SMTP/IMAP with an app password adds reply and bounce detection: MailQV checks the inbox for replies to campaign emails, stops the remaining steps for that contact and stops sending to addresses that bounce.