What device will provide emails to the laptop

IMAP

IMAP allows you to access your email wherever you are, from any device. When you read an email message using IMAP, you aren't actually downloading or storing it on your computer; instead, you're reading it from the email service. As a result, you can check your email from different devices, anywhere in the world: your phone, a computer, a friend's computer.

IMAP only downloads a message when you click on it, and attachments aren't automatically downloaded. This way you're able to check your messages a lot more quickly than POP.

POP

POP works by contacting your email service and downloading all of your new messages from it. Once they are downloaded onto your PC or Mac, they are deleted from the email service. This means that after the email is downloaded, it can only be accessed using the same computer. If you try to access your email from a different device, the messages that have been previously downloaded won't be available to you.

Sent mail is stored locally on your PC or Mac, not on the email server.

A lot of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) give you email accounts that use POP.

Webmail accounts vs email apps

If you've used Gmail, Outlook.com, Hotmail.com, or iCloud, then you've used webmail. To get to your webmail account, you access the Internet and sign in to your email account.

If you have a PC or Mac, you've probably used a program like Outlook, Apple Mail, or Thunderbird to manage your email. Outlook, Apple Mail, and Thunderbird are email apps: programs that you install on your computer to manage your email. They interact with an email service such as Gmail or Outlook.com to receive and send email.

You can add any email account to your email app for it to manage your email. For example, you can add webmail accounts - Gmail, Outlook.com, Hotmail.com, AOL, and Yahoo - to the Outlook or Apple Mail app to manage your email, and you can add work email accounts.

Adding webmail accounts to email apps such as Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird

When you add your email account to your email app, it will usually attempt to set it up with IMAP access, without any input from you.

If the email app has difficulty adding your email account, it's usually because the email account is set up for POP access. In this case, you need to go to your email provider and find out the name of their POP and SMTP server so you can enter the info into the email app. The info usually looks something like this:

Use Google Workspace on your device

Want to use Google apps at work or school?  Sign up for a Google Workspace trial

With Google Workspace apps, you can work more securely from anywhere on your phone, laptop, or tablet.

Device setup
 

Manage my device

Mobile tips

More resources
 

 Set up Google Workspace

What device do you want to set up for work or school?

Android

• Switch to Android
• Set up Google Workspace on an Android device
• Get Google Workspace apps on Android devices
• How your Android device can be managed

iPhone or iPad

• Set up your iOS device
• Get work apps on your iOS device
• iOS security and management

Laptop or desktop

• Set up endpoint verification on your computer
• Sign in to Windows after GCPW installation
• Change your password on a managed Windows 10 device

 Manage my device

• Remotely manage lost or stolen work devices
• Get Google Workspace contacts in your mobile Contacts app
• Customize Gmail and calendar settings on iOS
• Remove an account from an Android device

 Mobile tips

Drive on mobile

• Use Google Drive files offline
• Scan files as PDFs with your mobile device
• Fill out PDF forms in Google Drive

Gmail on mobile

• Get notifications for new email
• Snooze email or reminders until later

Calendar on mobile

• View your personal and work calendars together in your Android Work Profile
• Send quick Calendar responses on the go
• Add personal goals to your schedule

 More resources

• How Google handles user information in the Google Device Policy app

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