How to adjust your Gmail settings to display your custom email address

Make sure recipients see your custom email address displayed, not your personal email address.

Written by Carolyn Smiga

The default email forwarding settings mean that your personal email address will be displayed as the reply-to email address unless you update your Gmail settings. You can follow these steps to ensure that your custom email is what recipients see instead.

Once you’ve created a custom email and added a personal email that it will forward to, you need to adjust your Gmail settings.

1. Generate a new app password

Note: In order to generate an app password, you must first turn on 2-Step Verification, if it isn't already. If you aren't sure, please follow the steps linked to make sure it is turned on.

A. First, you’ll need to generate a new app password by clicking this link.

B. On the App passwords page, Type in a name for the generated password such as "Custom Email Password" .Then click Create to get your password.



C. Your new app password will appear. Copy this password to your clipboard.

2. Add another email address

A. In a new window, open your personal Gmail account

B. Click the gear icon in the upper right corner, then click See All Settings

C. Navigate to the Accounts or Accounts and Import tab.

D. In the Send mail as: section, click Add another email address.

3. Add name and the new custom email address

A. A pop up window will appear with fields for you to type in your name and the new custom email address you are adding.

B. Select the checkbox for "Treat as an alias" after typing in the name and email address, then click Next Step >>.

4. Adjust the Server, Username & password

A. In the SMTP Server field, put smtp.gmail.com.

B. In the Username field, use your full personal Gmail address, including @gmail.com. 

C. In the Password field, do not use an existing password. Instead, paste the generated app password you can copied/written down . Make sure Secured connection using TLS is selected, then click Add Account >>.

Note: If the pop-up window shows a message that Gmail is unavailable, you may need to click Try Again, close the window, and start over at the Add another email address step. If this issue persists, contact customer success for assistance.

5. Confirm the addition of the new email address

A. After you click Add Account >>, you should now see a confirmation message that asks you to enter a confirmation code.

B. Check your personal account for an email from the Gmail Team with the confirmation code. Copy the confirmation code from that email.

C. Enter that code in the confirmation window and click Verify.

D. After you verify the confirmation code, the pop-up window should close on its own. If it doesn’t, you can close it and return to your personal Gmail account. We recommend refreshing your Gmail tab in your browser window to ensure the new address/update shows.

6. Using your new custom email address

Now when you compose an email, the From field will include a dropdown that lets you send messages from your personal email address or your custom email address.

Note: If you use an email provider other than Gmail, contact B12 customer success for help at hello@b12.io.