Connecting a mailbox can fail with “That connection didn't complete” or another error. The most common cause is a missed Gmail tickbox on Google's permission screen. A mailbox is an email account you connect to JournoFinder so your email campaigns send from your own address.
Find the message you saw in this article. When a connection fails, nothing is connected, so you can try again safely.
Tick the Gmail box on Google's permission screen
What you see: A page with the heading “One checkbox was missed” and this text:
“On Google's permission screen, tick the Gmail box before pressing Continue. It looks like this:”
Why it happens: Google lets you leave the Gmail box empty. Without it, JournoFinder cannot send or read email from the mailbox.
How to fix:
Click Try connecting again.
Sign in to Google with the same account.
On Google's permission screen, tick the Gmail box.
Click Continue.
Try the sign-in again
What you see: A page with the heading “That connection didn't complete” and this text:
“The sign-in was cancelled or timed out. Nothing was connected. Try again below.”
Or a “Connection Failed” message with “Connection cancelled. You can try again anytime.”
Why it happens: The Google or Microsoft sign-in did not finish. You closed the window, clicked Cancel, or waited too long.
How to fix:
In the sidebar, under Outreach, click Campaigns.
Go to the Email Accounts tab.
Click Connect account.
Click Gmail or Outlook / Microsoft 365, then finish the sign-in.
Note: Try connecting again always starts a Gmail sign-in. To connect Outlook, use Connect account on the Email Accounts tab.
If you see “Authorization failed. Please try again.”, sign in to JournoFinder again, then repeat the steps in this section. This message also shows if your plan does not include Outreach.
Ask your IT admin to approve JournoFinder (Microsoft work accounts)
What you see: Microsoft shows “Need admin approval”. Then JournoFinder shows “That connection didn't complete”.
Why it happens: Your company does not let staff approve mail apps themselves.
How to fix:
On the “That connection didn't complete” page, click Your IT admin can approve JournoFinder once for your whole company. Microsoft says "Need admin approval" has the full steps and a message you can send to IT.
Check whether a teammate already connected the address
What you see: A “Connection Failed” message, or a message in the Connect via IMAP / SMTP window, with this text:
“This email account is already connected to another account. Contact support if you need assistance.”
Why it happens: Only one JournoFinder user can connect each email address. Someone else, often a teammate, has already connected it.
How to fix:
Ask the person who connected it to share the mailbox with your team. Share a mailbox with your team explains how.
If nobody on your team connected it, contact support.
Free up a mailbox slot or upgrade
What you see: For Gmail and Outlook, a page with the heading “You've reached your connected-account limit” and text such as:
“Your plan includes 1 connected email account, and they're all in use. Disconnect one you no longer need, or upgrade to connect more.”
For IMAP / SMTP, the Connect via IMAP / SMTP window shows one of these:
“You've reached your connected account limit (1 account). Upgrade your plan to connect more email accounts.”
“Your team has used all 3 connected email accounts on its plan. Disconnect one, or upgrade to connect more.”
The numbers show your own plan's limit.
Why it happens: Your plan allows a set number of mailboxes. On a team, every member's mailboxes count toward one shared total.
How to fix:
Disconnect a mailbox you no longer use, then connect the new one. Disconnect a mailbox explains how. Or click See plans to upgrade.
You can check your limits at Preferences > Limits.
Fix a failed IMAP / SMTP test
What you see: In the Connect via IMAP / SMTP window, “Incoming (IMAP):” or “Outgoing (SMTP):” shows a failure message. JournoFinder tests both before it saves anything. This table lists each failure message and what to do.
Message | What to do |
“The mail server rejected this password. If your provider uses app passwords, make sure you pasted one, not your normal password.” | Create an app password with your provider and paste it into Password. |
“Couldn't reach the server. Check the host name in Advanced settings.” | In Advanced server settings, check IMAP host and SMTP host. |
“The server didn't answer. It may be down, or a firewall is blocking us. Try again in a minute.” | Wait one minute and try again. |
“Couldn't make a secure connection. Try switching the security setting (or port) in Advanced settings.” | In Advanced server settings, check each Port. Most providers use 993 for IMAP and 587 for SMTP. |
“Your provider says too many apps are connected to this mailbox. Close another mail app or wait a few minutes.” | Close another mail app, or wait a few minutes. |
Click Technical details under a failed line to see the mail server's own reply.
Other messages in the IMAP / SMTP window:
“We couldn't auto-detect the mail server for that address. Open Advanced settings and enter your IMAP/SMTP server details manually.” Enter the hosts and ports from your provider's help pages.
“Could not reach the mail server to test the password. Try again in a minute.” Wait one minute and try again.
Connect another email provider with IMAP and SMTP explains the form and which providers cannot use it.
Still not working?
Contact support. Send us:
the email address you are connecting
the provider (Gmail, Outlook or IMAP / SMTP)
the exact message you saw, and the Technical details text if there is one
a screenshot of the message
the time it happened