Solve the Gmail "Server denied POP3 access for the given username and password" error

If you’re trying to move email from an old Gmail account to a new one by using POP forwarding, you may be one of the unlucky ones who comes across this error message:

You may be wondering, "Why isn’t POP forwarding working on my gmail account?" or "Why is POP3 access being denied?"

It’s unfortunately one of Google’s bugs that a lot of people have trouble with for a lot of different reasons.

If you’re tired of scouring the internet for solutions, consider using VaultMe; a new Google-to-Google migration service that you can use for Gmail, Contacts, Google Drive, Calendars, and more.

That’s right, now if you want to move information from one Google account to any other Google account in only a minute of setup, you can with VaultMe!

Your Easiest Option

VaultMe will do the hard work of moving your emails, leaving you free to do more important things.

Here are some of the benefits:

• It's simple - Just sign in to both accounts   ✔
• It's fast - Just 1 minute to set up   ✔
• Copies your folders (labels) intact - No need to re-organize everything   ✔
• Copies your contacts   ✔
• Copies all of your drive files, contacts, and calendars - Even "Shared with Me" files   ✔

VaultMe is secure, cloud-based software, so there's nothing to download or install, and no endless searching for "workarounds". Once your copy is started, you can turn off your computer - VaultMe will email you when it's done!

Just sign in to your old account and any other Google account, then relax while VaultMe does the rest!

Go ahead - you can even try it for free!

Troubleshooting POP3 Error

We still recommend using VaultMe to move emails from one account to another because, as opposed to POP forwarding, it will:

• Keep your organization (labels and folders). POP jumbles and forwards everything into your Inbox only.
• Take only one minute to setup. Troubleshooting can take much longer and may not give you what you want.
• A VaultMe copy is done at rapid speed while POP forwarding has been reported to take over a month in some cases for all emails to move over from one account. If you have a lot of emails, you will really want to consider this.

If we still haven’t convinced you, then hopefully this troubleshooting option will help if you’re running into the dreaded "Server denied POP3 access for the given username and password" error! First, try following these steps:

PART 1: Enable POP in your Source Account

1. POP (Post Office Protocol) is the "language" which allows a computer to fetch all the emails from a server. By enabling POP in your source account, you can allow your destination account to fetch emails (both old and new) from it.
2. In a browser, sign in to your source account
3. Click the gear icon at top-right

   

4. Then in the drop-down, click "Settings"

   

5. In Settings, click the tab labeled "Forwarding and POP/IMAP"

   

6. Find the "POP Download" section and select "Enable POP for all mail" if you want to copy past AND future emails, or "Enable POP for mail that arrives from now on" if you want ONLY future emails.

   

7. Once POP is enabled, the drop-down list will become active. Select what you want to happen to any mail that gets accessed with POP from the source account.

   

8. Scroll down to the bottom and click "Save Changes"

   

PART 2: Tell your Destination Account to fetch from your Source Account

1. Still using the same browser, sign out of your source account, and sign in to your destination account
2. Again, click the gear icon..

   

3. Then "Settings"..

   

4. In Settings, click the tab labeled "Accounts" or "Accounts and Import"

   

5. Find the "Check mail from other accounts:" section and click "Add a POP3 mail account you own"

   

6. A pop-up window will appear (make sure you allow pop-ups!) Enter the address of your source account and click "Next Step"

   

7. Enter the password for the account, leave the default settings (mail.google.com and port 995), and click "Add Account"

   

8. If you get the dreaded 'Server denied POP3 access for the given username and password' message when you click "Add Account", it is either because the source account doesn't trust destination account. If this happens:
   1. In the same browser, log OUT of your destination account and log back in to your source account.
   2. Once you are logged in to your source account, visit the Allow Access page and click "Continue". This temporarily reduces the security of your source account so other apps can connect to it.

      

   3. Once you Allow Access to the source account, you'll have 10 minutes to sign out of the source account, sign back in to the destination account, and click "Add Account" again. Once you do this, it should stay connected.