Gmail-only resolution for "Failure, Error message: Process Activities failed"

[texvet_webmaster]

Howdy,

Short version
If you're getting the "Failure, Error message: Process Activities failed" log error, and the email address you're checking is a Gmail address, Gmail may be blocking CiviCRM/CiviMail from logging in.  Check your Gmail "Access Attempts" page at https://security.google.com/settings/security/activity?pli=1, then follow the troubleshooting steps at: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/14257?p=client_login&rd=1

Long Version
I was setting up an email-to-activity account to check a Gmail account for messages and file them.  However, every time I ran the scheduled job to process Inbound mail, I got the following error in the list of log entries for "Process Inbound Emails"

Parameters parsed (and passed to API method):
a:1:{s:7:"version";i:3;}

Full message:
Finished execution of Process Inbound Emails with result: Failure, Error message: Process Activities failed

I checked and re-checked my settings for correctness, started scouring Google and the Civi forums, and so on.  I'd've been lost if Gmail hadn't sent me a message ("Suspicious sign in prevented") telling me that it had blocked an attempt to log in with my password from an unfamiliar, distant location, I would not have realized that it was the cause of the problem.

That email directed me to the troubleshooting steps at: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/14257?p=client_login&rd=1  I followed those steps and they resolved the issue.  I *did* have to use the "Display Unlock Captcha" step.

If you encounter this situation, you may also find the Gmail "Access Attempts" page at https://security.google.com/settings/security/activity?pli=1 useful.

I'm posting this here because if I'd found a post like this, it'd've saved me a few hours.  I figure it can't hurt to put this here for a future info-seeker.

Regards,

Jonathan L.