Google Apps error with Apple Mail – invalid credentials

24th Dec 2010

If Apple Mail is constantly returning the error “invalid credentials failure” while authenticating to a Google Apps hosted IMAP account, try the following :

  1. Unlock the CAPTCHA at https://www.google.com/a/(your domain name here)/UnlockCaptcha
  2. Go to the Mail menu > Preferences > Accounts > the IMAP account in question > delete the password saved to the account > close the window & save
  3. Reconnect to the IMAP account

For future reference, set Apple Mail to automatically check a Google Apps hosted account for new mail no more than once every 10 minutes