Google accounts - aaagh

zagmund

Can someone please help unmelt my head with regard to google accounts & android please?

I set up a new phone for #2 son yesterday - I went into settings.accounts and added his Google account which is in the form number2son@zag.ie. As expected his contacts and stuff just appeared as if by magic. This was good.

Today I wiped the old phone belonging to #1 son - I went into settings.accounts and tried to add his Google account which is in the form number1son@zag.ie but it complained that "number1son@zag.ie is not a gmail account". I know it's not a gmail account, but it is a Google account. I can log into Google with it.

I tried adding #2 sons account (which worked on the other phone) but it hit the same issue - telling me this isn't a gmail account.

Is this something the phone manufacturers can decide themselves or should I be able to add any Google account to any Android device? Or is it a feature of old Android versions. The problem phone is a Samsung GT-S5369 running Android 2.3.6.

z

user99

so #2 son account is working on 1 phone and not the other and #1 son account is not working on either phone?
both are non gmail accounts but they are google accounts?

sentient_6

zagmund wrote: »

I know it's not a gmail account, but it is a Google account.

Ya wa?

zagmund

Almost correct - I didn't try #2 son on the new phone because it's not his phone.

I've (just as you were posting) worked out a partial work around - for *whatever* reason it wants to have a gmail.com account loaded up first, so I added in one that I don't use much. Then I added #1 sons Google account (the one which failed to add when I tried it first) and it accepted it.

It looks like the phone/software was set up to only accept a gmail.com account first, but after that it will accept anything. It looks like it will allow me to remove the gmail.com account too, so that's what I will probably do once it has operated OK for a day or two.

z

user99

@sentient_6

you can use a non gmail email address as your google account. you dont get a gmail inbox but you get access to their other services like the play store etc.

you can also use google apps (google.com/a) to use your own domain with the standard gmail interface meaning your login wouldnt be @gmail.com

@zagmund

last time i had this problem i setup a dummy gmail account and used that. then it let me add non @gmail.com addresses to my phone

this issue seems to be fixed in later android versions

-- edit -- you posted at the same time as me!

zagmund

sentient_6 wrote: »

Ya wa?

Different things. Go to https://accounts.google.com/SignUp and click on "I prefer to use my current email address."

Fight the power.

z

zagmund

Thanks 99 - it looks to have done the trick.

z

user99 wrote: »

@sentient_6

you can use a non gmail email address as your google account. you dont get a gmail inbox but you get access to their other services like the play store etc.

you can also use google apps (google.com/a) to use your own domain with the standard gmail interface meaning your login wouldnt be @gmail.com

@zagmund

last time i had this problem i setup a dummy gmail account and used that. then it let me add non @gmail.com addresses to my phone

this issue seems to be fixed in later android versions

-- edit -- you posted at the same time as me!

sentient_6

zagmund wrote: »

Different things. Go to https://accounts.google.com/SignUp and click on "I prefer to use my current email address."

Fight the power.

z

Ah right didn't know that.