Unified inbox

You can view and manage emails across multiple accounts from a single inbox in Shortwave. You can do this by setting up a configuration in Gmail that links your secondary accounts to a single primary account, and then using that primary account in Shortwave.

How linking works for a unified inbox

To unify your inboxes in Shortwave, first you’ll need to choose a primary account. This is the account you will use to log into Shortwave. Then you will link your other accounts to your primary account. Linking your accounts allows you to view all of your emails in a single inbox, sync email history, and send messages from your other account addresses using aliases.

This works to unify both Gmail and non-Gmail accounts alike.

Connect your secondary accounts

  1. Enable POP in your secondary account’s settings

    • For Gmail & Google Workspace accounts, you can enable this via Gmail’s Forwarding and POP/IMAP settings → Enable POP for all mail
  2. On your computer, sign in to Gmail with your primary account

  3. Open your Gmail settings for Accounts

  4. Under the “Check email from other accounts” section, click Add a Mail account

  5. Enter your email address → Next

  6. Select your connection process → Next

    • Link with Gmailify – select this option if available to you
    • Import POP3 – for other POP addresses, this will be the only available option
  7. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process

    If you see an error for incorrect information during this step, you may need to create a one-time App Password and use that instead of your regular email password

  8. Optionally, you can update your Gmail alias settings if you’d like to change your default alias for sending emails

  9. Sign in to Shortwave using your primary account

  10. Click the Refresh Gmail data button to sync your Gmail settings changes to Shortwave for your unified inbox

Connection settings

Below are the standard settings for linking Gmail and Outlook-based accounts in Step 7

Gmail & Google Workspace

  • Username: your full email (example@domain.com)
  • Password: your Gmail password for that email address
  • POP Server: pop.your_domain.com (ex. pop.gmail.com, pop.acme.com)
  • Port: 995
  • ✅ Always use a secure connection

Outlook & Exchange accounts

  • Username: your full email (example@domain.com)
  • Password: your Exchange password
  • POP Server: outlook.office365.com
  • Port: 995
  • ✅ Always use a secure connection

For other POP3 accounts, ask your Administrator for these settings

Sync and troubleshooting

Shortwave automatically keeps things in sync with Gmail. For linked accounts from other providers (i.e. Outlook), you can see how Gmail syncs with non-Gmail accounts here.

If you encounter issues when linking your accounts:

  • Ensure you have POP access enabled in your secondary accounts
  • Try using an App Password instead of your regular Gmail password for Step 7
  • Refer to this troubleshooting guide
  • If Gmail does not automatically import your historical emails, follow these steps to import your old emails manually