Unified inbox via forwarding

You can view and manage emails across multiple accounts from a single inbox in Shortwave. This works by forwarding emails from your secondary accounts to your primary Gmail account, and setting up Gmail to send replies from your other addresses.

How linking works for a unified inbox

To unify your inboxes, choose a primary Gmail account to sign into Shortwave. Forward emails from your other accounts to this Gmail, then set up "Send mail as" so replies come from the correct address.

This approach works for both Gmail and non-Gmail accounts.

Step 1: Set up forwarding from your secondary account

Configure automatic forwarding in your secondary email provider to send all incoming mail to your primary Gmail address.

Gmail & Google Workspace accounts

1. Sign in to the Gmail account you want to forward from
2. Go to Settings → Forwarding and POP/IMAP
3. Click Add a forwarding address and enter your primary Gmail
4. Confirm the forwarding request from your primary inbox — Google Help

Outlook accounts

1. Sign in to Outlook.com
2. Go to Settings → Mail → Forwarding
3. Enable forwarding and enter your primary Gmail address
4. Optionally keep a copy in Outlook — Outlook Help

Step 2: Set up "Send mail as" in Gmail

This allows you to send emails from your secondary addresses while logged into your primary Gmail account.

1. On your computer, open Gmail
2. Click Settings ⚙️ → See all settings
3. Go to the Accounts and Import tab
4. Under "Send mail as," click Add another email address
5. Enter your name and secondary email address → Next Step
6. Enter your secondary provider's SMTP server details:
   • SMTP Server (see below)
   • Port (typically 587)
   • Username (your full email address)
   • Password (use an app password, not your regular password — see below)
   • Connection (choose secured connection using TLS)
7. Click Add Account
8. Verify by clicking the link sent to your secondary email — Google Help

⚠️ Note: Outlook.com, Microsoft 365, and Exchange accounts are not supported — Microsoft requires OAuth2 which Gmail's "Send mail as" doesn't support. Outlook users can still forward mail to Gmail, but replies will come from your Gmail address.

Step 3: Sign in to Shortwave

1. Sign in to Shortwave using your primary Gmail account
2. Go to Settings→Support→Refresh Gmail data to sync your alias settings
3. Your unified inbox is now ready!

Troubleshooting

Shortwave automatically keeps things in sync with Gmail. For linked accounts from other providers, you can see how Gmail syncs with non-Gmail accounts here.

If you encounter issues when linking your accounts:

• Use an App Password instead of your regular password
• Refer to this troubleshooting guide
• For Google Workspace accounts, confirm the setting "Allow per user outbound gateways" is enabled via Google Admin Console > End User Access settings → Allow per-user outbound gateways
• If Gmail does not automatically import your historical emails, follow these steps to import your old emails manually

Related resources

• Learn about upcoming changes to Gmailify & POP in Gmail
• Send emails from a different address or alias
• Best practices for forwarding email to Gmail