The following articles were included in our Exchange Messaging Outlook (EMO) newsletter published on May 26, 2022.
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Today's Highlights
- Outlook Gmail error: This browser or app may not be secure.
- Reminder times on Meeting Invitations
- Google’s Less Secure Apps Removal Reminder
Outlook Gmail error: This browser or app may not be secure.
A number of users, myself included, receive an error message when they try to add a Gmail (or Google workspace) account to Outlook. They enter the address and the Google sign in screen comes up, with an error message:
Couldn't sign you in
This browser or app may not be secure.
Try using a different browser. If you're already using a supported browser you can try again to sign in.
Trying to sign in again is pointless since it brings up the same error.
The solution: you need to change the Internet Explorer compatibility settings in Edge’s Settings.
To “fix” the error:
Open Edge's Settings and search for Internet Explorer (or open this link: edge://settings/defaultBrowser)
Change one of the following settings (or both, if desired). If one of the options is already on the setting below, you need to change the other option.
1. Let Internet Explorer open sites in Microsoft Edge to Always (Recommended)
2. Allow sites to be reloaded in Internet Explorer mode to Allow
Now when you add the account, it should work as expected. (You'll need to exit the Add account screens and start over.)
In my short testing period, I was able to revert to the original settings and had no problems with the account over a 24-hour period and several reboots. That’s not really long enough to know if I might have log in problems later, but I suspect it is caused by a missing registry key and changing one of the settings adds the key, which fixes the problem forever.
That said, if you use Outlook’s View in Browser option, you’ll want to use the Recommended settings since Edge needs IE mode to open the MHT files created by View in Browser.
Screenshots: Outlook Error: Google Couldn't sign you in
Reminder times on Meeting Invitations
Reminder times on meetings requests may seem to be all over the place when you use a Microsoft Exchange mailbox.
The complaint: “The behavior I'm seeing is that my default reminder time always overrides what the sender has sent along with the invite. I see this working for another colleague of mine, but after comparing settings in Outlook, I was unable to find any differences that would seem to make a difference."
The reminder time on incoming meetings depends on your settings in Outlook and Outlook on the web and the organizer’s reminder settings.
Did the organizer leave the reminder set to his default reminder time when he sent it? If so, the meeting will use your default reminder time when added to your calendar. If Outlook desktop and Outlook on the web have different default reminder times, the reminder time in Outlook on the web is used.
If the organizer changes the meeting reminder to None, it will be set to None on your calendar.
If the organizer chooses a different reminder time, the meeting will have that same reminder time on your calendar.
If you have default reminders disabled in Outlook desktop but not in Outlook on the web, a reminder will be added, because Exchange uses the Outlook on the web’s reminder setting.
If the recipient uses a POP or IMAP account, the reminder is always set to the recipient’s default reminder time.
Google’s Less Secure Apps Removal Reminder
Just a reminder that Google is disabling the Less Secure Apps option this weekend. If you are using Outlook 2019, Outlook 2021, or Office 365 you don’t need to do anything.
If you use an older version of Outlook, you can continue to use it but will need to enable two-step verification and use an app password in place of your normal password.
If you don’t want to use two-step verification but upgrading Office is not in the cards, try eM client. It has many of Outlook’s features, can sync Gmail’s calendar and contacts, and is free if you only have one or two email accounts.
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[WORKAROUND] Outlook for Mac “Account already exists” error
When adding a mailbox to Outlook for Mac, you might encounter the error “Account already exists”. This error occurs because you’ve tried to add a shared mailbox through the main “Add email account” window.
Other Resources
Outlook Error: Google Couldn't sign you in
Solution for problem adding Gmail account to Outlook. Error message: This browser or app may not be secure. Try using a different browser. If you're already using a supported browser you can try again to sign in.
Error: Message archive has reached maximum size
Outlook error message: The message archive has reached the maximum size. You can reduce the amount of data in this message store by selecting some items that you no longer need to permanently delete (Shift + Del) to delete them.
New Outlook for Windows
Office 365 subscribers in the beta channel and with an Office 365 business account in their profile, will have a switch in the upper right corner for Try the New Outlook.
Rename Outlook Attachments
This macro allows you to rename attachments on incoming or outgoing messages.
Update GoDaddy Accounts for Office 365
GoDaddy is in the process of moving email accounts to Office 365 servers. After you account is moved, you'll need to update the account in Outlook to use the new server.
Manually add POP or IMAP accounts to Outlook
How to change Outlook account settings using manual setup when you add an email account to Outlook 365, 2021, 2019 or 2016.