Completely Off-Topic: How to change your Gmail address?

Those who do follow this blog, this post is a one-off thing that I just discovered and want to share. Others, who landed here for the first time, read on.


Well, Google doesn't really allow you to change your Gmail address, but it does offer you a way around it and use two Gmail IDs from one account. I am summarizing the way t do it:


Suppose you have one Gmail account with ID abc @ gmail.com. You want to change it to xyz @ gmail.com. As I said, you can't really change it, but you can use two Gmail IDs from one account.


Step 1: Sign Up for a new Google Account.(the other one you wanna use - xyz@gmail.com)


Step 2: Once you are done with the sign up process, sign in to
xyz @ gmail.com and go to Settings >> Click on "Accounts and Imports" tab >> Click on "Add Another Account"

Step 3: Add abc @ gmail.com in the window that opens:

Step 4: You will get a mail at abc @ gmail.com, stating that xyz @ gmail.com has granted you access to his Gmail account. Use the link in that mail to accept it. You can now send mail from abc @ gmail.com with sending address as xyz@gmail.com. BUT  there is a catch here.

To be able to see xyz @ gmail.com in your "From" box while sending / replying to mails, you need to tweak another setting:

Step 5: Log in to abc @ gmail.com. 

Go to Settings >> Click on "Accounts and Imports" tab >> Click on "Send mail from another address".

Here, in the new window, add xyz @ gmail.com in the window that opens. Follow the procedure and confirm it. You may choose to set which address of yours as default. 

Now, when you compose / reply to a mail, you'll get drop-down box "From" to select the address from which you want to send the mail. This is how works:

And FINALLY!! You have set up another Gmail ID to be used from your current ID. but wait!! You are not quite done with the process as yet.

With the steps above, you send a mail from your new Gmail ID (i.e. xyz @ gmail.com) from within your old ID (i.e. abc @ gmail.com). But what about mails that get delivered to xyz @ gmail.com? They still stay in that ID. 

To be able to forward your incoming mails to another ID, follow the steps as below:

Step 6: Log in to xyz @ gmail.com. Now, 

Go to Settings >> Click on "Forwarding POP / IMAP" tab >> Click on "Add a forwarding address"

Add "abc @ gmail.com" in the small pop up that appears. Follow the confirmation procedure again.

Once the confirmation is done, VOILA!!! Now, all the mails arriving at xyz @ gmail.com will be forwarded to abc @ gmail.com. And you can reply from abc @ gmail.com with "From" address as xyz @ gmail.com.

In short, the entire set up process is lengthy, but once you are done with it, it is actually quite liberating to be able to use 2 Gmail IDs from the same account

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