What is "Check mail from other accounts"?
For over fifteen years, the "Check mail from other accounts" setting in Gmail (under Accounts and Import) allowed users to fetch emails from third-party hosting mailboxes via standard POP3.
Google is removing this legacy backend tool to modernize security standards and streamline webmail operations.
Official deprecation roadmap
- Q1 2026: Adding new external POP accounts is disabled in Gmail settings. Existing connections continue working temporarily.
- January 2027: Full shutdown of the backend POP fetch engine in Gmail. No new incoming messages will be pulled through this tool.
What happens to already imported emails?
All previously fetched emails will remain safe in your Gmail account. The cutoff only affects fetching new emails arriving after January 2027.
Gmail Web vs Gmail Mobile app
The Gmail mobile app for iOS and Android will still support adding third-party accounts as a local IMAP client. However, this does not unify your mail in the cloud or make those emails visible when you log in to Gmail on desktop.
Impact on "Send mail as" and SMTP
Along with POP fetch, Gmail will deprecate native "Send mail as" support for third-party external accounts in early 2027. While SMTP itself remains alive and functional on your host, Gmail’s built-in web alias manager is being retired.
Technical alternatives: Forwarding vs API Bridge
Users facing this change typically have two options:
- Email Forwarding: Setting forwarding rules in cPanel/hosting. Prone to SPF/DKIM validation failures and spam false positives.
- Independent Cloud Bridge (POP3 for Gmail): Connects directly to your POP3/IMAP mailbox and inserts messages via the Gmail API with full fidelity and labels.