Send As Multiple Addresses in Gmail (Google Workspace) using Android (etc)

If you are a Google Workspace (Gmail for domains) customer and you have more than one domain and/or more than one email address you would like to send from (or “Send As”), then chances are you’ll want this to work on all your email clients and devices.

This is particularly relevant if you have multiple aliases under one Google Workspace or Gmail account, and you’d like to know how to “send as” any of them from your Android phone or tablet device.

A number of times, users have experienced trouble getting this setup to work on their Android smartphone / tablet.

Is there a solution to this issue of email not sending as your other aliases when using an Android device? Yes. It is below.

Step One – Setup Additional “Send As” Aliases in Gmail

  1. Login to your Gmail via your web browser.
  2. Press the cog symbol and hit “settings”.
  3. Click the “Accounts” tab
  4. Under “Send Mail As…” follow the settings to add your additional email address(es);
  5. IMPORTANT! Save your “Name” as a different name as your “main” account. i.e. if your name is Arthur Smith, use Arthur P. Smith, or A Smith. This is a quirk in the Gmail app. A bug. If you don’t do this, you won’t be able to “send as” from your Gmail app!
  6. Follow the additional steps to setup your alias, and be sure to confirm the number which is emailed out to you.

Step Two – Sending from Gmail App in Android Device

That’s all great, but how do you “send from” that address in your Gmail app?

How to change from address in the Gmail App

When you come to send your email, you need to select the alias from the dropdown menu at the top of your email.

The picture to the right demonstrates where this is, when you come to send.

Assuming you added your address correctly as above, and gave your alias a slightly different name, you will be able to see it in the list. Select it and send from!

Any problems, or success stories, feel free to leave a (public) comment below.

9 thoughts on “Send As Multiple Addresses in Gmail (Google Workspace) using Android (etc)”

  1. I have a question about this.

    I set up a POP3 account and a “Send as” email to go along with it. Gmail lets me specify that when a message comes in through the POP3 account, responses will automatically be sent through the corresponding “Send as” account.

    This doesn’t work when I reply to a message using the Gmail app on my Android phone. By default, it replies from my main Gmail address, requiring me to make the change myself.

    Is there any way to get the Gmail app for Android to send replies from the corresponding “Send as” account by default? I am afraid I won’t always remember to make the change when I send emails, and that this will cause me to accidentally use my personal email on business correspondence.

    Thanks!

    Reply
  2. This tutorial helps me a lot because I also want to send multiple addresses Gmail using android. But I have a question. Why it is compulsory to save the name different from the main account. But when I follow all your steps then I got success.

    Reply
    • Okay, well here’s the short answer: I don’t know why. But I do know it works, and always works, and does not work if the name is the same. I sort of thought (2-3 years ago when I originally wrote this) that it would be updated and this would fall away and not be used… but not, this is still an issue, today. I routinely have colleagues and clients I send here even now.

      Reply
  3. Hey Robin, thanks for the information! I was able to set up the alias information in the desktop gmail suite, but when I go to the mobile android app it is not showing any of the aliases in the drop down menu. I have force stopped the app and restarted it hoping it would catch the changes, but it doesn’t look as though it has. Am I missing something?

    Reply
    • Unless you add the aliases with different names, they don’t show up in the Gmail app. This is usually the step to resolve this. Though it may take some time to kick in.

      Reply
  4. Hi Robin,

    I’ve been unable to make this work. I tried all the recommended steps on both my PC and phone (in browser, since the “Account” settings aren’t available in the app), and have tried all the combinations I can see in settings and while sending.

    There are two clues that could help diagnose the bug if anyone were to look:
    1. When composing email in the app (only), the From: field shows the alias I’m trying to get it to use; But When I tap on that field, the popup menu shows that the original email address is currently selected, and shows my preferred alias as an option which is not selected but could be.
    2. The above test is with the reply-to address for my original email set to the preferred alias. If I change that to the original alias, then compose a new email in the app, I now see the autofilled “From:” field as showing the original email address. Tapping this shows the same pull down as described above. If I pick the preferred alias, it changes the compose form, but again has no effect on how the “From:” field shows up in the email as received.

    All my software is the latest, Android 8.1 on a Moto X4.

    Any thoughts?

    Reply

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