iCloud email mistakenly connected to my gmail account

[maclover9771]

I recently had to change the password on my primary google account, and because macOS appears to have no means to update an email password, the only option I could find was to remove the gmail account and then re-add it (note I've done this before with no bad side effects). Soon thereafter I discovered my Mail Rules would no longer work. Digging in I discovered that Mail (macOS?) has associated my gmail email to my iCloud account. Was never like this before today. I can't set rules that look for "Account = gmail" because it forces the rule to "Account = iCloud", but that doesn't find emails in the gmail account. Admittedly, this in itself is not a major issue, but I'm more concerned about the underlying issue of iCloud being connected to my gmail account.

• To be clear, my primary email address is my iCloud ID but it's been that way for many years and this issue has only popped up recently
• My wife has a similar email address but on her user profile Mail rules allow her to elect her account as her gmail; it's not forced over to her iCloud account like mine is.

Ideas?

 

[MacBiter]

I use Mavericks which is now pretty ancient, but I have different ways to add email accounts in Mail:
1. add it via the Accounts tab in Preferences
2. Click 'Add account...' which ends up associating it with iCloud.

How exactly did you re-add your gmail account?

(ignore this reply if not relevant to your system.

 

[MacInWin]

because macOS appears to have no means to update an email password,

Actually, it does. In Mail, Settings, Accounts, Server settings, you can edit the passwords for any account. But it's too late for that, I guess, so hold that for the next time you need it.

Digging in I discovered that Mail (macOS?) has associated my gmail email to my iCloud account.

What does that mean? How is gmail "associated" with your iCloud email? Is Gmail actually properly set up in Mail? I have four email addresses and four different providers and Mail keeps them all nicely sorted, so it's something in your setup.

 

[ferrarr]

macOS appears to have no means to update an email password

You can change the password for any saved site, in the password settings, or on older macOS versions through the browser.

 

[maclover9771]

Actually, it does. In Mail, Settings, Accounts, Server settings, you can edit the passwords for any account. But it's too late for that, I guess, so hold that for the next time you need it.

What does that mean? How is gmail "associated" with your iCloud email? Is Gmail actually properly set up in Mail? I have four email addresses and four different providers and Mail keeps them all nicely sorted, so it's something in your setup.

I went through "Mail | Settings | Accounts | Server settings and on my system there is no password option. I recall back in the day there used to be, but it's not there now. All that I'm offered is an outgoing mail account that offers an "edit SMTP Server list..." option...but all parameters (including PW) say "no selection" and are grayed out. If it is in your system, please do a screen capture.

The previous time I did this I researched like crazy and eventually was told nope, can't do it.

As for associated with iCloud...I have no idea how it happened. I never use my iCloud email account. Never. Is Gmail properly setup in mail? I have 5 different accounts (crazy but there's a reason) and the other 4 work find. I removed my primary account and re-set it up multiple times. Even rebooted between setup attempts. The only clue there's something wrong (and the only real impact) is that when I build a rule that says "if account = {primary email account}" the rule gets changed by Mail to read "if account = iCloud". But that rule doesn't capture any emails that are in {primary email account}. It worked for months, then after the PW change (and subsequent removal/re-addition of my {primary email account}), it suddenly doesn't work. So saying it's something in my setup sounds obvious, but I've found nothing that fixes the issue. Again, the 4 other accounts work just fine.

I tried removing the iCloud account from Mail but Mail won't let me...it pushed me to Settings | Internet Accounts where iCloud mail is already disabled. I have no clue where to go next.

Thanks

 

[maclover9771]

You can change the password for any saved site, in the password settings, or on older macOS versions through the browser.

I can change the password for GMail, but I need to match that in macOS Mail or I can't get email. I have yet to find a way to do it. Used to, many moons ago, but that option no longer appears anywhere. If you have a way to change a Gmail PW in macOS mail, please provide screen shots.

Thanks

 

[MacInWin]

Here you go:


Mail>Settings>Accounts>Server Settings and pick any account that has servers (iCloud does NOT have the same settings because it relies on your AppleID). I did black out my email address/account information, and the passwords are hidden by default.

 

[maclover9771]

Wow...none of that appears on my system except an option to select the Outgoing Mail Account which should be the same as the selected account so that makes no sense (unless one wants to send emails via a different account)

 

[maclover9771]

Here's mine...same screen as yours. Yes, I'm an admin so can't assume that's the issue

 

[MacInWin]

I don't use Gmail, so I cannot say what should be there for Gmail. Another way is to use System Settings/Internet Accounts/<<account>> and click the right pointing arrow and then "Details" to see how to set the password. See if that works to get your one account working again.

 

[maclover9771]

Nothing there. I'm only presented the option to on/off various features (mail, contacts, calendar, notes)

 

[MacInWin]

Here is what I see in System Settings>Internet Accounts:


You can see the arrows I referred to on the far right side for each account. Click on that to open the account and I get this:


And finally, click on the Details button and this pops up:


Again, I don't use Gmail. I do note that Gmail is one of the systems that is preloaded in macOS and that may make a difference. If you do an "Add Account" on the Internet Account page you get this:

That seems to imply that Apple has the configurations for the various servers and doesn't present the same information as in my accounts that were added with the "Add Other Account..." option.

At this point, I think it's a Gmail issue and I don't use it, so I'll drop out and let others who do use Gmail, see if they have something for you to try.

 

[maclover9771]

Maybe I'll try the "add other account" and see if that fixes the issue.

Thanks for trying!

 

[Rod]

I do have a Google Gmail account and when I have changed the passsword i have done it via the Google home page.
I then delete the existing Gmail account from Internet Accounts then Add it again via the Google option the Add Account window as below.

 

[maclover9771]

That's what everyone else told me to do. Worked multiple times just fine until now. Now Mail seems to be confusing my iCloud account (which is deselected in iCloud options so it shouldn't even be there) with my primary email account which is my iCloud account ID.

Do your Gmail accounts in Mail show all the options as MacInWin shows above or like my screenshots?

 

[MacInWin]

I do have a Google Gmail account and when I have changed the passsword i have done it via the Google home page.
I then delete the existing Gmail account from Internet Accounts then Add it again via the Google option the Add Account window as below.

View attachment 39706

Those are two different things. The first, changing the password at the Google home page, sets Google to accept the new password for the account. The second, which is probably overkill, now sets the Mac to have that new password to use when it tries to access the Google account. I say overkill because you should be able to use the screens I've posted to change the password the Mac uses to access Gmail without having to competely delete and recreate the account. In that regard, it is much like going to iCloud to change your AppleID password and then having to tell the Mac what the new AppleID is for it to connect.

 

[MacInWin]

Now Mail seems to be confusing my iCloud account (which is deselected in iCloud options so it shouldn't even be there) with my primary email account which is my iCloud account ID.

Did you ever say how you think Mail is "confusing" the two accounts? I don't recall you addressing that, sorry.

 

[maclover9771]

"I can't set rules that look for "Account = gmail" because it forces the rule to "Account = iCloud", but that doesn't find emails in the gmail account."

Minor issue but the underlying problem is what really concerns me...

 

[maclover9771]

OK, so I removed the account and re-added it but not via the built-in Gmail option but rather as a generic email account (thanks for the inadvertent suggestion MacInWin!). It worked but a couple of nits. One, I had to go to Google and create an app-specific password (it refused my google password) and (2) I no longer have the option to use google calendar or contacts...but I never did so I really don't care about that. Another really minor nit is that when I look at the list of accounts it shows as generic and all the rest are Gmail. I can certainly live with that. Good news is that the rules now work as before. Yea.

 

[maclover9771]

Those are two different things. The first, changing the password at the Google home page, sets Google to accept the new password for the account. The second, which is probably overkill, now sets the Mac to have that new password to use when it tries to access the Google account. I say overkill because you should be able to use the screens I've posted to change the password the Mac uses to access Gmail without having to competely delete and recreate the account. In that regard, it is much like going to iCloud to change your AppleID password and then having to tell the Mac what the new AppleID is for it to connect.

Except that for some reason gmail account password are no longer exposed to the user that would allow changing them. Weird but that seems to be the case. As I stated above, I removed and re-added the gmail account in question as a generic account and all is good now (and yes I can change the password without have to remove/re-add the account).