11 Ways to Troubleshoot If Gmail Is Not Working Properly. What to Do If Gmail Is Not Working? 11 Quick Fixes.
Gmail, not working problems can come in many forms. Sometimes the Gmail app won’t deliver emails to your inbox. In other cases, your Gmail inbox is constantly failing to load in the web browser. Issues with email notifications are also quite common in Gmail.
11 Ways to Troubleshoot If Gmail Is Not Working Properly
This article explains how to troubleshoot some issues with Gmail on mobile (Android and iOS) and desktop.
1. Is Your Internet Connection Working?
Your device won’t lose the Gmail app or your inbox if you have problems connecting to the internet. If you’re accessing Gmail through a web browser, open other websites in a new tab and make sure they load correctly.
Do the same on your smartphone or tablet. Alternatively, open other internet-dependent apps on your device and check if they work without problems. If the problem persists across all apps or web pages, your Internet connection is most likely to blame.
If you’re on mobile or cellular data, make sure you have an active data plan. Putting your phone in and out of airplane mode can also help you reconnect to the internet.
To troubleshoot Wi-Fi connectivity, move your device closer to your router, update your router firmware, or restart your router if you still can’t access the Internet. Similarly, check your network admin panel and make sure your device is not blacklisted.
For more troubleshooting solutions, see our guides to fixing slow mobile data connections and getting high-speed Wi-Fi Internet access.
2. Check Gmail Service Status
If your internet connection issue isn’t related to Gmail not working, make sure your Gmail servers aren’t experiencing temporary downtime or crashes. Go to your Google Workspace status bar and make sure Gmail is available.
A green checkmark next to Gmail means the email service is available and running smoothly. A yellow exclamation mark or a red “X” means that Gmail is down due to outages or service downtime, respectively.
You can also check for service outages on website monitoring platforms such as DownDetector. Go to the Gmail status page in DownDetector and check if there are any reported issues with Gmail.
3. Use a Supported Browser
Gmail may not work properly in web browsers that are not optimized for the email service. For the best user experience, Google recommends using Gmail on the latest versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Edge.
In addition, you must have cookies and javascript enabled in any browser you are using. Otherwise, Gmail may not load and you may not be able to use some Gmail features. The recommended browsers mentioned above have cookies and Javascript enabled by default. This way, unless you have previously disabled cookies or Javascript, you do not need to enable them manually.
If Gmail still doesn’t work in your browser, close and reopen your browser and try again. You should also make sure your browser is up to date.
4. Try Gmail in Incognito Mode
Faulty browser extensions or add-ons can interfere with some Gmail features and prevent the email service from working properly. Accessing Gmail in incognito mode can help determine if the problem is caused by malicious extensions or apps.
Incognito mode (or private browsing) disables all browser extensions, preventing any bad extension from affecting Gmail performance. If Gmail and other websites work properly in incognito mode, disable browser extensions one at a time to find the problematic extension or add-on.
We recommend that you read this guide to installing safe browser extensions only to learn more about low, medium, and high risk browser extensions.
5. Adjust Date and Time Settings
Your device may not be able to connect to the Gmail servers if its date or time is incorrect. Go to your device’s settings menu and make sure the date and time settings are set to update automatically.
On Android, go to Settings > System > Date & Time and enable both “Use Network Provided Time” and “Use Network Provided Time Zone”.
To update the date and time on iPhone and iPad, go to Settings > General > Date & Time and select the Automatic checkbox.
6. Enable IMAP in Gmail
IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) is an email program that allows you to access your Gmail inbox from other email clients/applications. If you’re not receiving Gmail messages in Apple Mail, Yahoo Mail, Outlook, or other apps that use IMAP to access Gmail, make sure IMAP is enabled in your Gmail account settings.
Open your Gmail inbox in a web browser, click the gear icon, and select View all settings.
Click the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab, scroll to the IMAP Access section, and select Enable IMAP.
Click the Save Changes button at the bottom of the page.
7. Check Gmail Notification Settings
If Gmail isn’t delivering new email notifications to your device, check your account settings and select the type of messages you’d like to receive notifications about. Similarly, make sure that Gmail notifications are enabled at the system level.
Change Gmail notification settings on Android
Open the Gmail app on your device and follow the instructions to check and change your email notification settings.
Tap the hamburger menu icon in the top left corner and select “Settings”.Select the account whose notification settings you want to change.
Select “Notifications” under “Notifications” and click “All”.
Return to the Notifications section, click Manage Notifications, turn on Show Notifications, and select Deliver Alert Notifications.
Changing Gmail notification settings on iOS
First, you need to make sure that Gmail notification is enabled in your iPhone’s settings menu. After that, open the Gmail app and configure your inbox notification settings.
Go to Settings, select Gmail, select Notifications, and turn on Allow Notifications.
Make sure you also enable Sounds, Icons, Lock Screen, Notification Center, and Banners under Alerts.
Open Gmail, tap the menu icon at the top left and select “Settings”.Select the email account whose notification settings you want to change.
Scroll to the Notifications section and select the type of email you want to be notified about.
The All-New Mail option will notify you of all new emails in your inbox, while Primary Only will only notify you of new emails in the main section of your inbox. Select High Priority only if you want to receive notifications for email messages that Gmail defines as high priority.
Change your Gmail notification settings on the web
Open your Gmail inbox in a web browser and follow these steps.
Click the gear icon next to the search bar and select View all settings.
On the General tab, scroll to the Desktop Notifications section and select Click here to turn on desktop notifications for Gmail.
Select “Allow” in the “Show Notifications” box that appears below the address bar.
Then select “New Mail Notifications Enabled” or “Important Mail Notifications Enabled” and then select your preferred notification from the “Email Notification Sounds” drop-down menu.
8. Force Close and Reopen Gmail
1- Force quitting Gmail on mobile can resolve temporary system glitches that cause the app to freeze, crash, or become unresponsive.
Force quit Gmail on iPhone or iPad
The steps to force close the app vary depending on your iPhone or iPad model.
Open the iOS or iPadOS app switcher – swipe up from the bottom of the device screen to the middle.
If your iPhone or iPad has a Home button, double-tap it to open the app switcher.
Find Gmail and swipe up on the app preview. This will close Gmail on your iPhone or iPad.
Go to your device home screen or app library, open Gmail again and check if it works as expected. Force close Gmail on Android
Follow these steps to force close Gmail on your Android device.
Go to your device’s home screen or the app launcher, press and hold the Gmail app icon, and then select the information icon.
Or open the Settings app, go to Apps & notifications > See all apps (or App info) and select Gmail.
Click Force Stop, select OK at the confirmation prompt and click Open to restart Gmail.
If the issue persists, clear the application cache file and storage data and try again. Skip to the next section for detailed instructions.
9. Clear Gmail Cache & App Data
Accumulation of corrupted cache files and app data can cause the Gmail app to crash and other malfunctions.
Force quit Gmail and follow these steps to clear the app cache and storage data.
Go to Settings > Apps & Notifications > View All Apps (or App Info) > Gmail and select Storage & Cache.Tap Clear Cache.
Open Gmail and check if it works correctly now. Otherwise, delete your Gmail data from your device if clearing the cache didn’t solve the problem.
Click “Clear Storage” (or “Clear Data”) and select “OK” at the confirmation prompt.
Please note that after clearing the app data, you will need to reconfigure all Gmail settings (such as notification settings, theme, swipe actions, etc.).
10. Update Gmail
Software bugs or device incompatibilities are important causes of failures. You may encounter problems using Gmail if the version of the application installed on your device is outdated or incompatible with your device.
Go to your device’s app store (Google Play Store or Apple App Store) and update Gmail to the latest version. If the problem persists, uninstall and reinstall Gmail from your device. It can also help solve minor performance issues.
11. Restart Your Device
Do you have the latest version of Gmail installed on your device? Is Gmail still not working properly after the app update? Rebooting the device may solve the problem. Turn off your device, turn it back on, and try using Gmail again.
Contact Google Support
If none of these troubleshooters resolve your issue, visit the Gmail Help Center for possible solutions to problems with Gmail.
11 Ways to Troubleshoot If Gmail Is Not Working Properly
11 Ways to Troubleshoot If Gmail Is Not Working Properly
What to Do If Gmail Is Not Working? 11 Quick Fixes