Google removes another feature.
Major 2026 update: You don’t.
I don’t either, anymore.
Google is removing a key feature that this approach relied on. See: Gmail Is Removing “Check Mail From Other Accounts” for more details.
So what can we do instead?
No more "Check mail from other accounts"
Google removed the Gmail feature that let you collect email from other accounts. That means Gmail can no longer be your one-stop inbox. Your choices now are to check each account separately, use a desktop email program, or switch to a (possibly) paid service that still lets you combine multiple accounts in one place.
Do nothing
If you have multiple email accounts, visit them individually.
- Visit Gmail.com to access your Gmail account.
- If you have multiple Gmail accounts, you can open them in separate tabs.
- Visit Outlook.com to access your Outlook.com/Hotmail/other Microsoft account email.
- Visit mail.yahoo.com to access your Yahoo! mail.
And so on.
Gmail can no longer consolidate access to multiple email accounts in a single interface.
Use a desktop email program
On the other hand, most desktop email programs are explicitly designed to provide a single interface in which to access multiple email accounts.
Desktop email programs include programs like Outlook (classic)1, Thunderbird, emClient, and many more. These programs run on your PC and can be configured to access any email account that supports POP3 or IMAP protocols. Most do.
These programs run on your PC. You can certainly set up the program on multiple PCs or even use different email programs on different devices. Each is independent of the others.
Use a different service
Another approach, if you want to retain the benefits of a single web-based interface for all your email accounts, is to use a service that still supports the feature Google is removing.
FastMail is one example. While it isn’t free, it supports:
- Checking email from other accounts. (FastMail checks your email account stored elsewhere for new messages and imports them automatically.)
- Sending email from other accounts. (FastMail sends email “From:” other email accounts by connecting to those accounts directly.)
- Hosting email for any domain you own. (FastMail can “be” the email account provider for your other domains. For example, FastMail currently handles all email for askleo.com.)
This does require creating a new account at FastMail. You can then abandon your Gmail account or, more pragmatically, deprioritize its use.
What about forwarding?
I used to recommend configuring your non-Google email service to automatically forward to your Gmail email address. For example, I’d configure leo@somerandomservice.com to automatically forward to my Gmail address.
I no longer recommend this.
The problem? Unless you have really good spam filtering on that non-Google email service, it will forward spam along with legitimate email to your Gmail account. The Google servers may perceive this as if the spam were originating from the non-Google service and take punitive measures to slow, or even block, email from arriving.
Do this
If you’re using “Check email from other accounts” in Gmail, at some point, it’ll stop working. You’ll need to do something different. Options include:
- Using a desktop email program.
- Using a replacement service that still supports checking other accounts.
- Opening each account in a separate browser tab.
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Footnotes & References
1: Note that the newer Outlook program that comes with Windows does not fit the bill — it’s a glorified interface to your account online, not that different from just visiting Outlook.com. You’d need the classic Outlook program, which is part of a Microsoft 365 subscription.
