Zoho CRM User Passwords for Email Integration Explained

Zoho CRM User Password for Email Integration

When setting up email integration in Zoho CRM, it's worth understanding that there are two entirely separate passwords involved, and Zoho Admins, and Zoho itself, don't have access to one of them.

Two different passwords

  • Your Zoho password. Used to sign in to Zoho CRM itself.
  • Your email account password. Used to connect your specific mailbox, whether that's Gmail, Microsoft 365, Zoho Mail, or another provider, to Zoho CRM for email integration.
Note: Zoho Admins cannot see a user's actual password for either their Zoho account or their connected email account. This is a deliberate security measure, so that actions taken in the CRM, such as sending an email, can always be traced back to the individual who actually authorised the connection, rather than an administrator being able to act as someone else undetected.

This matters less than it used to for Gmail and Microsoft 365

For Gmail and Microsoft 365 accounts specifically, Zoho CRM now typically connects via OAuth authorisation rather than a stored password at all, so the underlying account password is never entered into Zoho CRM in the first place. This distinction is more relevant for providers connected via IMAP or POP, where a password, or an application-specific password if 2FA is enabled, is used directly.

A known limitation for admins

Because passwords for IMAP or POP accounts can expire independently, and admins can't see or manage them directly, a user's email sync can quietly break without an obvious signal to the CRM administrator. Zoho CRM doesn't currently provide a clear "sync broken" indicator on the Email Sharing or Zoho Mail Add-on Users pages, so an admin managing many connected mailboxes may need to check periodically with individual users, particularly after they've changed their email password, rather than relying on the CRM to flag it.

Need help? 1 Cloud Consultants can help you set up and maintain reliable email integration across your team, including moving accounts to OAuth-based connections where available. Book a discovery call with 1 Cloud Consultants.