gmail has been an online staple for a few decades. You are probably reading this because you are one of the billions of people who use their service. Unfortunately, you’re probably here too because your gmail isn’t working.
when thinking about gmail, a quote from technologist wes trochil resonates:
“Just because it’s free doesn’t mean it’s free.”
The email giant may be free for a basic plan, but it comes with glitches that often require troubleshooting.
If you find that gmail won’t load, you’re having trouble connecting on your phone, and notifications aren’t showing up, chances are you’re also wasting hours trying to get everything to work.
As email professionals, we have a few tips to help you get your gmail up and running. we’ll also show you how mailbird can incorporate all the best parts of email (without all the hiccups!).
To get started, take a look at our table of contents and select the gmail issue you’re experiencing.
why is gmail not working today?
If your Gmail isn’t sending or receiving emails, you can check whether the source of the problem is on Google’s side. Go to the Google Status Dashboard to see if there is a Gmail outage, suspected outage, or a credible report of a problem with the service.
how to check google status dashboard
- When you’re in the dashboard, you’ll see a page that lists all the google workspace apps.
- On the right, there’s a list of dates prior to the current date.
- A red or orange circle next to gmail would mean a service outage or outage, while green means no service issues.
In the case of an outage or disruption, you can refresh the dashboard page from time to time to see if the proper functioning of the email provider has been restored.
Another way to check if gmail is down is to check a site like downdetector.com or isitdownrightnow.com for updates. you can also find out if outlook or other relevant services are down.
other reasons why gmail is not working
maybe your problem with gmail is not universal and it’s time to start solving it. try to identify the problem from our options described below to fix it. If you have any other email queries, please let us know. we’ll be happy to help!
email account access problems
Maybe you’ve switched from an iPhone to Android, and you need a little help configuring your apps. Or perhaps you’re adding Gmail to an email client and you need a little clarification to proceed.
here are some tips for gaining access to your email account.
why won’t gmail load? (browser only)
If a browser doesn’t want to load your Gmail account page, there are a few steps you can take to solve this problem.
update your browser
verify that you are using a supported browser. it can be chrome, firefox, safari, opera or microsoft edge. go to settings and see if you have an update waiting for you to install it. this could be what is preventing gmail from working properly.
localization error extensions
try to open gmail in private or incognito mode. Some extensions and apps can cause Gmail to not work properly. if the problem disappears in incognito mode, this may be the problem.
To identify which plugin may be interfering with the service, try turning them off one by one and see what happens.
clear cookies
clear cache and cookies. if disabling extensions didn’t help gmail load maybe clearing cookies and cache will.
account deletion issues
The bouncer at a club is guaranteed to remove someone for getting too rowdy. If they’re a regular customer, they might say something like: “Hey, sort yourself out and you can come back tomorrow.”
The same approach can be used to fix a gmail app that isn’t working properly on your phone or tablet. completely uninstalling the app and bringing it back with a clean slate makes it more likely to behave.
To remove your gmail account from your device, here’s what you need to do:
deleting your gmail account forever
perhaps a temporary removal is not in the cards. If you’re fed up and want to permanently delete your gmail account, that’s also an option.
First, save important data to a folder or cloud service of your choice. then you will need to have a second email address set up where you can verify the removal process. here is the summary:
password problems
Losing access to your Gmail account due to a forgotten password is common. Fortunately, it’s also one of the easiest problems to fix. If you can’t sign into your Google account, there are several options you can pursue.
how to reset your password without a recovery email
google has a recovery process for people who don’t have access to their verification emails or phone numbers.
- enter your email in the account recovery login.
- google will ask you questions to verify that the account belongs to you. the questions will be about old passwords you can remember, your best guess about your old security questions, etc. answer as many questions as possible.
For security reasons, there are no special tricks to recover your password. Someone from the Google team will need to discern, based on the information you’ve provided, whether the account is eligible for recovery. if you don’t successfully answer the questions, they encourage you to try again.
To avoid future complications, set up your recovery account in advance:
- log in to gmail and click on your profile picture in the upper right corner.
- go to “manage your google account”.
- go to the security tab and look for the option that says “ways we can verify it’s you”.
- fill in the recovery email and phone fields. if you forget your password now, you can use these recovery methods to get back to gmail.
Note: It’s also a great idea to take down a couple notes whenever you create a new account. If you ever need to recover it, you’ll have a record of the date you created it and which device was used.
two-step verification issues
If you need to secure your account, two-step verification is the way to go. But things don’t always work as expected. Here are a few ways you can ensure you always have the authentication codes when you need them.
generate backup codes in advance
having additional backup codes is useful if none of the subsequent methods work. For example, if you lose your phone or have a bad signal and can’t get them any other way, you may have them on paper, in an online notebook, or in a file on your computer.
note: these codes come in sets of ten and are single use, meaning used codes cannot be used again. also, when you go to generate a new set of ten, the unused ones from the previous batch will no longer be valid.
check cell signal in your area
A good wi-fi connection won’t help much if you receive two-step verification codes via SMS. if you are in a place where the signal is not great, you may want to consider other methods.
use google authenticator app
You can download it from the app store and install it on your phone. then the app will ask how you want to verify the account.
once this setup is complete, you can use authenticator app instead of sms codes to login to gmail.
what if your authenticator app stops working? one option is to resort to those backup codes that we mentioned earlier. but first, this is how you can fix your google authenticator app.
receive phone calls for authentication
If the option in the app doesn’t work for you either, you can choose to receive a call on your alternate phone. again, if the signal in your area is unreliable, you can set up a landline phone as a backup phone. the downside of this is that you have to be where the landline is at the time.
hacked accounts
There is a chance your Gmail problem is a result of an intruder. In 2021, one of the biggest concerns of everyday technology is security. People using Gmail should know that breaches are possible and take precautions to prevent them.
In this section, we’ll cover what to do if your account has been compromised. we’ll also give you some tips to prevent hackers from attacking again.
7 signs your gmail might have been hacked
- You can’t sign in to your account with your current password.
- Google sends you an alert that a new (unknown) device has signed in to your account.
- a different ip address appears in your login audit log.
- your username has changed.
- you no longer receive new messages.
- the contacts you know say that I have received spam or suspicious mail from you.
- In your sent folder there are emails from you that you didn’t write.
note: these are just some common clues that something is wrong. The methods cyber attackers use to gain access to your information are constantly changing. If you notice something wrong but can’t find information about it online, please contact gmail support.
If you notice unknown activity or any of the signs described above, you’ll need to secure your account as soon as possible. this is what you can do:
protect yourself from future attacks
The best advice we can give is to be proactive rather than reactive. This means maintaining great password hygiene, keeping antivirus software and apps up to date, knowing the risks of using the internet in public spaces, and responding to alerts and notifications surrounding your accounts.
Sync Issues
Here’s a familiar sentence that comes with a little bit of panic: “Wait, why is my Gmail not updating?”
gmail can fail to sync for many different reasons, and a sync failure can manifest itself in a variety of ways. here are some examples:
- gmail on your phone or email app is not sending or receiving new emails.
- applications connected to gmail are very slow or not cooperative at all.
- the sync process is stuck on a perpetual update.
In any of these cases, you can try several steps to get everything working again. Here are six ways to fix sync issues:
- Update the gmail app: Sometimes an old and outdated version of the app can have problems receiving mail from google. making sure you have the latest and greatest version of the gmail app will solve a lot of sync issues.
- restart your device: have you tried turning it off and on again? yes, it’s a cliché, but it works a surprising number of times.
- check your connectivity: You can avoid a lot of unnecessary hassle by making sure you have a strong signal, aren’t on airplane mode, etc.
- check gmail settings – should I make sure sync is turned on? No. but it does. accidental touches happen, and if gmail sync goes off, that’s where the problem lies.
- Open the gmail app.
- Tap the menu button in the top left corner and select settings.
- click on your account and make sure you have checked “sync gmail”.
- Clear your gmail app data: Sometimes your apps crash because of storage overload.
- open your device’s settings app and go to apps & notifications.
- select application information.
- scroll to gmail and select storage.
- click clear data and click ok.
- reboot your device.
- check imap settings: If you are trying to sync with your phone or tablet, this is an important protocol that, if not configured correctly, will affect whether or not your gmail is able to sync . while reviewing the configuration, verify that the following information is correct:
- imap port: 993
- imap security: ssl
- smtp port: 587
- smtp security: tsl
- filters and blocked addresses: There are a number of rules that you can assign to a sender. double check that you haven’t accidentally blocked a contact or set a rule so that emails containing specific words are automatically archived.
- Spam Folder: Ensure that you mark Report Not Spam to make sure this doesn’t happen to that sender again.
- Trash Folder and Archive: There’s always a chance you accidentally trashed them.
- If you don’t see the Trash folder, click on More on the left-hand navigation bar.
- To look for archived emails, you can click on All Mail, and it will show you everything in your mailbox, regardless of the folder or label.
Turn Off Email Forwarding
If you have configured email forwarding in the past or one of the specific email forwarding filters, you may need to disable it.
- go to settings and select forwarding and pop/imap.
- check turn off forwarding.
- select save changes.
Keep Your Email Address and Try Mailbird
Perhaps you’re thinking about doing away with Gmail entirely. But is that really the best option?
If you’re not already using an email program with extra tools and features, then you don’t know how much better email can be.
With a simple interface to manage your inbox, mailbird is affordable, cleanly designed, and doesn’t slow down your computer.
what is mailbird?
mailbird is an award-winning gmail desktop application designed to conveniently manage multiple email accounts in sync, even if they are from different providers, and eliminate all those annoying problems you may face in gmail.
It works with Windows 7, 8, 10, and 11. It’s an excellent choice for Google Workspace and even Outlook users. Mac users will be able to enjoy the benefits of Mailbird soon, as the Mac version is already in the works.What’s in it for you? Let’s start with an improved user experience, integration with social media apps, and productivity and collaboration apps for business users and teams. There’s more.
some amazing mailbird features
mailbird offers a number of basic and advanced features that create a seamless user experience. These are just a few of our favorite features:
- multi-account functionality. You can merge multiple email accounts using Mailbird’s Unified Inbox. that way you can manage all your emails and contacts from one app.
- email management productivity. take your productivity to the next level by postponing, archiving and speeding up the reading of your messages. speed reader will allow you to navigate through your emails and identify what requires immediate attention. you can also put off less urgent matters and come back to them at a better time. archiving allows you to remove resolved items from the main view so there are no distractions.
- email tracker. email tracker lets you know who has opened your messages and when. that way you can verify that the email was successfully delivered to the recipient.
- Sidebar Integrations. mailbird is compatible with a number of productivity and social networking applications. this means you can have facebook, twitter, whatsapp, dropbox, calendar, asana, todoist and many other applications at your fingertips.
- customization. you can customize the mailbox layout and theme colors and switch to the dark theme if you prefer. gmail notification sounds can also be customized by choosing a sound suggestion or uploading your own.
- additional features. Most of the features were created with one goal in mind: to make your life easier. therefore, you can connect with contacts on linkedin right from your inbox. you can also search for attachments, use intuitive shortcuts, and get 24/7 support from the mailbird team.
mailbird has all the features you need to create a personal email management experience and get through your day more productively. see how it works: download mailbird free trial.
summarizing
gmail is a true powerhouse when it comes to email management and is trusted by 1.5 billion people worldwide. but it’s also far from perfect.
Users often experience problems with gmail not loading, syncing or logging in. If you encounter gmail errors or other issues, try logging back into your gmail account, check your wi-fi connection, or other troubleshooting ideas to give your email provider a kickstart.
If you want to enhance your gmail experience and manage email accounts from other providers at the same time, consider trying mailbird for email management.
You can also check the smtp protocol settings:
why is my gmail not receiving emails?
Sending and receiving emails are the primary functions you should expect to get out of an email provider. If you are missing emails, it might be the result of a setting or a sync issue.
If your internet connection is stable and gmail is not receiving emails, here are some methods you can apply to solve the problem:
clear some space
a standard gmail account gives you 15gb of storage which is shared between your google drive, google photos and inbox. If you’ve been loading your drive with large files, this could be why your inbox isn’t receiving emails.
check folders and filters
there is a possibility that you are receiving emails, but they are not where you want them to be. you should review the following components of your gmail account:
