Why can I no longer connect to Google Drive through the Android app from version 12.1 onwards?

Occasionally, from Android version 12.1 onwards, there is the problem that Password Depot can't connect to Google Drive anymore.

If you are trying to connect to Google Drive through Password Depot for Android and, while trying to log in, you can only see a white and empty screen showing an hourglass instead of getting logged in successfully, you are probably using a Gmail address with the domain googlemail.com and not gmail.com.

This actually has nothing to do with Password Depot itself, but is rather an error regarding authorization on the part of Google. We have already informed Google about that.

Thus, we always recommend to use name@gmail.com instead of name@googlemail.com.

Background: In 2012, changes regarding the use of Gmail were rolled out in Germany. New Gmail users there are assigned a gmail.com domain. People who signed up for Gmail prior to this change have the option to switch to using gmail.com as well. In order to do that, please go to the Accounts tab under Settings. The good thing about this change - if you haven’t already done it—is that Gmail will automatically update everything, so that there will be no disruption in receiving emails. For example, if someone emails you to your old name@googlemail.com address, it will automatically arrive at your name@gmail.com inbox.

Furthermore, another possibility in order to solve the connection issue with Google Drive is to log out from GMail on the device you are currently using if you are logged in with the domain name@googlemail.com. When using an Android device, it is only possible to log out from Gmail by completely removing your Gmail account from your device. Then, your Gmail account will also be removed from all apps you are currently using on your Android device, for example, you will also be logged out from Google Maps.

Note: If you remove your Gmail account from your device, your account itself will not be deleted. If you wish, you can still access and use it from another device.

In order to log out from your googlemail.com address and log in with your gmail.com address, please proceed as follows:

Open the Gmail app on your Android device and click on your profile picture which you will find at the top on the right. Now, go to Manage accounts on this device -> Google and select the account you would like to remove. Then, click on "Remove account" (this depends on the device you are using. On a Samsung Galaxy S4, for example, you first need to click on the menu button at the bottom of your device on the left in order to get to the option "Remove account"). You will see a notification that removing the account will delete all of its messages, contacts, and other data from your device. Confirm by clicking on "Remove account". Please note again that your Gmail account itself will NOT be deleted. After finishing this process your Gmail account was successfully removed from your device.

Now, open the Gmail app on your Android device. Again, click on your profile picture at the top on the right and select the option Add another account -> Google. Please enter your email address now with the domain gmail.com and proceed. Enter your password. Afterwards, your Gmail account is added again to your device. All settings, messages etc. are still available.

Now, go back to the Password Depot app and try again to connect to Google Drive by selecting your Gmail address with the domain gmail.com, that is, the one you just changed.

If you do not wish to proceed as mentioned above, you can also choose to do the following:

Create a new account in Gmail by using the domain name@gmail.com as an alternative. Please go to Gmail -> Settings -> Add account -> Google. Create a new email address and a new password. As soon as you have finished, go back to the Password Depot app and go to DB Manager -> Google Drive. You will see a window where you can choose the gmail account with which you would like to connect to Google Drive through Password Depot. Select the new account with the domain name@gmail.com. Password Depot will now ask you to allow the program to access your new Gmail account. You need to confirm this in order to be able to connect to Google Drive. After confirming, you should be able to connect to your newly created Gmail account and therefore also get access to Google Drive in order to see your databases stored there.