GMX (gmx.net): sign-in refused or mail stopped syncing

This page is for GMX accounts at gmx.net, the ones that connect to the servers imap.gmx.net or pop.gmx.net. GMX's international service at gmx.com has different menus, see How to add GMX accounts for that one.

GMX can refuse a mail app's sign-in for several reasons, and only one of them is a wrong password. Work through the steps below in order.

1. Turn on POP3/IMAP access

A new GMX mailbox has POP3 and IMAP access turned off. Until you turn it on, no mail app can connect, GMX's own troubleshooting lists this as the first reason a mail program fails.

And it does not stay on. For security reasons, GMX automatically switches POP3/IMAP access back off if no mail app uses it for an extended period. That is why an account that worked can stop on its own. Turn the access back on by the same path and sync resumes.

To turn it on (or back on), in GMX webmail in a browser:

1. Click the icon showing your initials in the upper menu bar.
2. Choose E-Mail-Einstellungen (Email Settings).
3. Under E-Mail empfangen (Receive Email), choose POP3/IMAP.
4. Turn on the slider POP3- und IMAP-Zugriff erlauben (Allow POP3 and IMAP access).
5. Complete the security check by sliding the two symbols over each other.

This switch is on GMX's website, not in BlueMail. Then sign in again in BlueMail with your GMX password.

2. Two-factor authentication on? Use an app password

If two-factor authentication is on for your GMX account, your normal GMX password does not work in mail apps. GMX requires an app password instead, and asks you to turn POP3/IMAP access on again (step 1).

To create one, in GMX webmail in a browser:

1. Click the icon showing your initials in the upper menu bar, then choose Account verwalten (Manage account).
2. On the left, choose Login & Sicherheit (Login & security).
3. Scroll down and choose App-Passwörter (für externe Apps) (App passwords for external apps).
4. Choose Neues App-Passwort erstellen (Create new app password).
5. Enter a name, for example BlueMail, and choose Weiter (Next).
6. Copy the password straight away. GMX shows it only once.

When BlueMail asks for your password, enter this app password instead of your GMX password.

3. Still refused? Check at GMX

• Sign in at gmx.net in a browser. If GMX has temporarily locked the account or needs something from you, the message appears only there, never in a mail app.
• If that browser sign-in fails too, the password itself is wrong. Reset it at GMX, then use the new one in BlueMail.

gmx.net server settings

You only need these if you set the account up by hand.

GMX requires TLS 1.2 or 1.3. TLS 1.0 and 1.1 are no longer accepted.

GMX's own help, in German: POP3/IMAP einschalten and App-Passwort einrichten.