How to Use Multiple Gmail Accounts on an Android Phone

Set up more than one Gmail account on your phone in minutes

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Updated on December 4, 2021

What to Know

Tap the Gmail icon to open the app. Go to the menu button and select Settings > Add account. In the Set up email screen, choose Google.
In the Gmail sign-in screen, enter an existing Gmail address and select Next or select Create account and follow the prompts.
Enter your credentials and information as prompted. In the Gmail Settings, the new account is listed below your previous account.

This article explains how to configure multiple Gmail accounts on an Android. It includes information on why you might want to have multiple Gmail accounts. Instructions in this article apply to Android 2.2 and above and should work with any Android phone.

How to Configure Multiple Gmail Accounts on an Android

Gmail is Google's free email service that does much more than send and receive email. If you have more than one Gmail account, you can configure an Android smartphone to use all of them.

Adding one or more additional Gmail accounts to your Android phone is a straightforward process.

Tap the Gmail icon on the phone's home screen or find it in the application list.
In the upper-left corner of Gmail, tap the menu button to display additional options.
Scroll to the bottom of the menu, then tap Settings.
In the Settings page, tap Add account.
In the Set up email page, choose Google.
The phone takes a few seconds to load, and depending on its security, prompts you for a password. That's because you're adding a second Google account to the phone by adding this email address.
When it's done, the Gmail sign-in screen appears. Either enter the existing Gmail address or select Create account at the bottom of the page. If you enter an existing Gmail address, press Next to continue.
Follow the on-screen steps to enter your credentials and other necessary information.
When you're done, the Gmail Settings appears. The new account is listed below your previous account.

After you add the second account, both of the Gmail accounts are linked to your Android phone, and you can send and receive emails from either of the accounts as needed.

Reasons for Having More Than One Gmail Account

There are many reasons to have more than one Gmail account. Having separate accounts is one way to separate personal email accounts from work email accounts to preserve a work-life balance. This way, you can go on vacation and ignore your work email account while staying in contact with friends and family.

A separate Gmail account can be used for non-essential email, for example, to sign up for promotions or other marketing-related programs such as newsletters, sale alerts, promotional emails, and sweepstakes registrations. When you give your email address to these sources, they send lots of messages. If that promotion or sweepstakes sells your email address and information to another legitimate organization for marketing purposes, your inbox is going to fill with even more messages. Finally, less reputable sources of spam can obtain your email address, and the result is a lot of junk email.

With a separate Gmail account, these messages are collected in one place, away from your important personal or work email inboxes. You can choose to ignore that account and avoid sifting through the junk to find important messages.

Gmail also provides filtering help with email messages, so even in your marketing and promotional email account, spam and junk mail can be separated from those newsletter and sale promotions you are interested in.

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