How to Setup Mail on Mac

Updated May 24,2017 | by Shannon

Setting up an email account on Mac might be a problem if you're new to the Mac operating system. Below are the steps involved in setting up an email on your Mac.

Adding a Mail service

The first thing to do when adding a mail service is to launch the System Preferences. In the Internet & Wireless area, click Mail > Contacts & Calendars. If you take advantage of the offer to set up an iCloud account when you first configured your Mac, an iCloud entry will be displayed in the list of accounts on the left side of the resulting window. To the right of that list is a series of commonly used services, including (in the United States) Microsoft Exchange, Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Vimeo, and Flickr. At the very bottom of the list, you have the option to Add Other Account.

To use these services, you must first set up an account with them—something that you can't do within this preference. If, for example, you wish to set up a Gmail account, launch a Web browser (Apple's Safari is the default)then visit http://www.gmail.com. Create your Gmail account there, noting down your username and password. 

Set up Gmail Account on Mac

After creating the Gmail account, the next thing is to set it up. You have to click the Gmail icon in the Mail, Contacts & Calendars list. You will see a pop-up with Name, Email Address, and Password fields. Then, enter your Gmail address, your password, and click Set Up.

As long as your Mac is connected to the web, the correct settings will be created for you to use Gmail, calendars, reminders, messages, and notes features. After successful configuration, a pop-up will appear which lets you choose which of Gmail's features you prefer. If you don't wish to use all of the features, simply uncheck the ones you'd prefer to do without. 

When you're done, click on Add Account. You'll see a spinning gear icon next to the enabled features, which indicates that your Mac is syncing Gmail's data with the appropriate applications on your computer. You will notice as well that your Gmail account now appears in the list of configured accounts. If you'd like to use a different name for your account, select it, click the Details button to the right, and in the pop-up that appears, enter a new name in the Description field and click OK.

More useful tips for Mac users:

How to Activate Siri on Mac

How to sync Calendars and keep your events up to date on iPhone, iPad and Mac

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