What to Do If Gmail Is Not Working? 11 Quick Fixes

Gmail issues can take many forms. Sometimes the Gmail app will not deliver emails to your inbox. Sometimes, your Gmail account fails to load in your browser. Gmail can also experience email notification issues.

This article will cover troubleshooting solutions for various Gmail issues on mobile devices (Android, iOS), and desktop computers.

1. Is your internet connection working?

If your internet connection is down, you won’t lose access to Gmail or your inbox. Open other web tabs if you are accessing Gmail via a web browser. Make sure they load correctly.

You can do the same with your tablet or smartphone. Open other internet-dependent apps on the device to verify that they are working. Your internet connection is likely to be the cause of the persistent problem across all web pages or apps.

Mobile data or cellular data is something you should use, so make sure you have a valid data plan. Refreshing your internet connection could be as simple as switching your phone from airplane to airplane mode.

To troubleshoot Wi-Fi connections, move the device closer to the router and update the router’s firmware. If you can’t connect, reboot the router. Also, check the admin dashboard to confirm that your device has not been blacklisted.

For more help, refer to our tutorials on fixing slow mobile internet connections and getting high-speed internet over Wi-Fi.

2. Gmail Service Status Check

Gmail may not be experiencing an internet outage if your internet connection is working normally. Go to the Google Workspace Dashboard to confirm that Gmail works.

Gmail has a green checkmark that indicates that the email service is up and running smoothly. A yellow exclamation and red “X” icon indicate that Gmail has been down due to service disruptions or outages.

Website monitoring platforms such as DownDetector can help you check for service disruptions. Go to Gmail’s Status Page on DownDetector to see if there are any Gmail issues.

3. Use a supported browser

Gmail might not function correctly in web browsers that haven’t been optimized for the service. Google recommends that Gmail be accessed on the most recent versions of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Safari, and Microsoft Edge for the best user experience.

You must also have cookies enabled in your browser. Gmail might not load and you might be unable to use some Gmail features. Javascript and cookies are enabled by default in the recommended browsers. You don’t need to manually turn cookies or Javascript on unless you have previously disabled them.

Close your browser and reopen it again if Gmail isn’t working. Also, ensure that your browser is always up-to-date.

4. Try Gmail in Incognito Mode

Add-ons and browser extensions that are not compatible with Gmail can cause problems in some Gmail functions. This can prevent the service from functioning properly. You can access Gmail in private mode to determine if there are any malicious extensions or programs.

Incognito Mode, also known as Private Browsing, disables browser extensions. This prevents any unwanted extension from slowing down Gmail’s performance. To ensure that Gmail and other websites function correctly in incognito mode you need to disable each browser extension one at a while.

This guide Installing only safe browser extensions is highly recommended. It provides information about high-, medium-, and low-risk extensions.

5. Change the date and time settings

If your device’s date and time are incorrect, it might not be able to establish a connection with Gmail. Go to the settings menu on your device and make sure that the date and times are updated automatically.

Go to Settings > System > Date and Time in Android and toggle between Use network-provided times and Use network time zone.

Go to Settings > > Time. To update the date and time on your iPhone or iPad, toggle on Set Automatically.

6. Allow IMAP in Gmail

IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol), allows you to access your Gmail Inbox via other email clients/apps. You can check if IMAP is turned on in your Gmail account settings if you don’t get Gmail messages from Apple Mail, Yahoo Mail or Outlook.

In a web browser, open your Gmail inbox and click the gear symbol. Next, select View all settings.
Scroll to the IMAP Access section and click on the Forwarding & POP/IMAP
Scroll to the bottom of this page and click the Save

7. Get Gmail Notification Settings

If Gmail doesn’t send notifications about new emails, go to your account settings and choose the email type you wish to be notified. Also, ensure that Gmail notification is turned on at the system level.

Android Gmail Notification Settings Changed

Follow these steps to change or check your email notification settings.

Click the hamburger icon at the top-left corner to select Settings.
Choose the account whose notification settings are to be changed.
Select Notifications from the “Notifications” section, and tap All.
Go back to the “Notifications”, and tap Manage notifications. Toggle on Show notifications and choose the Alerting notification delivery.

Modify Gmail Notification Settings for iOS

You first need to make sure Gmail notification is enabled in your iPhone’s settings menu. Next, open Gmail and set your preferences for inbox notifications.

Select Settings. Next, choose Gmail. Then, select Notifications. Finally, toggle on Allow Notifications.

You should also toggle on Sounds, Badges, Lock Screen, Notification Center, Notification Center, Banners and Banners in “Alerts”.

2.Open Gmail. Tap the hamburger icon at the top-left corner. Select Settings.

Choose the email account whose notification settings are to be changed.
Scroll down to the “Notifications” section and choose the type of email you wish to be notified.

The All New Mail option will notify you about all new email in your inbox. “Primary only”, however, will not notify you about any new emails that are in the Primary section. If you only want to receive notifications about emails Gmail considers high priority

Modify Gmail Notification Settings for Web

Follow the steps below to open your Gmail account from a web browser.

Click the gear iconnear the search bar and choose View all settings.
Scroll down to the “Desktop notifications” section of the Generaltab and click to enable desktop notifications to Gmail.
Select Allowat the “Show Notifications” prompt below the address bar.
Next, select New email notifications onor Vital mail notifications on. Finally, choose a preferred notification in the Notification sounds dropdown menu.

8. Force Close Gmail and Reopen

Gmail can be forced to close on your mobile device in order to fix temporary system issues that cause the app’s crash, freeze, or unresponsive.

Force Close Gmail for iPhone or iPad

The model of your iPhone/iPad will determine the steps required to force close an application.

Open the iOS/iPadOS App Switcher–swipe from the bottom to middle of the screen.

Double-click the Home button on your iPhone or iPad to open the App Switcher.

Swipe up on the app preview to locate Gmail.This will force you to close Gmail on your iPhone/iPad.
Go to the Home Screen of your device or App Library and reopen Gmail to verify that it works as expected.

Force Close Gmail for Android

Follow these steps to force-close Gmail from an Android device.

Go to the Home Screen of your device or the app launcher. Hold the Gmail icon and then select the infoicon.

Alternatively, you can open the Settings app and go to App & Notifications > See All Apps (or Info) and choose Gmail.

Tap Force stop, choose OKat the confirmation prompt and tap to relaunch Gmail.

Clear the cache and data files of the app and retry the operation if the problem persists. For more information, please refer to the next section.

9. Clear Gmail Cache & App Data

The Gmail application could crash or display other malfunctioning symptoms if it accumulates corrupt cache files and data.

Forcibly close Gmail, and then follow these steps to delete the cache and data storage.

Go to Settings > Apps and notifications > See All Apps or App info > Gmail, then select Storage & cache.
Select the Clear Cache button.

Check if Gmail works properly by opening it. If clearing Gmail’s cache storage does not resolve the problem, you can delete Gmail’s data.

Tap Clear Storageor Clear Data and then select OK at the confirmation prompt.

You will need to redo any customizations to Gmail (e.g. notification settings, theme, and swipe actions). After clearing out the app’s data.

10. Gmail Update

Notable causes of failure include software bugs and device incompatibility. Gmail may not work if your device’s app version is out of date or not compatible with your device.

Go to the app store on your device ( Google Play Store, Apple App Store), and update Gmail to the latest version. Reinstall Gmail from the device if the problem persists. This could resolve any minor performance issues.

11. Restart your device

Are you running the most recent Gmail version? Is Gmail still not working correctly after you have updated the app? This problem can be fixed by rebooting your device. Turn off your device and then turn it on again.