Most of you may rely on gmail to communicate with your organization, school, or services, and it’s one of those google services that you generally don’t care about until it goes down. Being one of its core services, Gmail has evolved over the years and has introduced features like offline mode, scheduled messages, and confidential mode, and even integrated some of Google’s other services, like Google Chat. and meet.
While these features have proven useful, they could make your gmail experience a bit slow and there may be times when you have trouble loading your inbox. If you are having problems loading gmail or if gmail takes too long to load, the following post will help you fix it so you don’t waste more time than you already have.
related: how to hide recipients in gmail
why is gmail so slow?
If gmail is not loading your inbox or other folders properly or is slow while doing so or not loading at all, there could be many contributing factors.
There is a possibility that your device is connected to a poor internet connection, the browser you are using is not supported or out of date, or there are cookies or cache that are causing problems with gmail or a related google service. . gmail could also take too long to load if you are using a handful of browser extensions and one or more of these extensions are not supported by gmail.
In other cases, the reason could be your gmail account settings. In some accounts, Gmail may have trouble loading messages because there are too many to download at once, there are multiple tabs, labels, and email filters being used in your inbox, or a custom theme is taking up all available resources.
Although extremely rare, it is also possible that gmail is down for some users or in a particular region. In such situations, you can’t do anything but wait for google to figure it out for you.
Related: 6 ways to recover your gmail account
how to fix when gmail is slow
If you experience a slow connection when using gmail on your computer, you can try to resolve this issue by following the instructions mentioned in the fixes we provide below.
fix #1: check your internet connection
![18 Ways to Fix Slow Gmail [AIO] – Tips tricks to speed up Gmail](https://cdn.nerdschalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/check-your-internet.png "18 Ways to Fix Slow Gmail [AIO] – Tips tricks to speed up Gmail")
perhaps this could be the most definitive reason for a slow gmail experience because the quality of your internet connection is what decides how fast or slow gmail loads in most scenarios. If you have recently experienced a drop in the speed or latency of your internet connection, it is likely that gmail is loading slowly or not at all.
You can do a simple google search for “internet speed” or visit sites like ismyinternetworking.com, speedtest.net or speedof.me to check the speed and quality of your internet connection. If you think your internet connection speed is slower than promised, you can contact your service provider for a solution. A quick fix for this problem is to connect your computer to your mobile hotspot on Android or iOS and see if that gives you any improvements over your current network.
fix #2: check current gmail status
If it’s not your internet, then the only thing you need to check before trying to fix the problem yourself is whether gmail is down or not. Google offers many services and Gmail is just one of them. Although the company is known to keep its services running smoothly on a consistent basis, there is still a chance that Gmail or a related Google service is down or undergoing maintenance.
To check if that’s the case, you can take a look at the google workspace status dashboard and see if gmail is working properly. You can also take a look at websites like down detector or down for everyone or just for me for more details on any problems other users are facing with gmail.
fix #3: quit and open gmail again
Sometimes the easiest solution to any problem is to restart the application or service that is causing the problem. If gmail is too slow to open or doesn’t load at all, you can close the gmail tab or browser window completely and then open it again. Closing a browser tab or window removes the temporary gmail cache that was previously loaded, and reopening it will load a fresh copy of the site on your computer.
If gmail loads without issue after reopening it, it may not have fully loaded in your browser previously, which could have slowed it down in the process. If updating gmail solves your problem, there is no need to search for other solutions.
fix #4: use a compatible browser and update it
Although websites should load in any web browser, Google recommends that you use any of the supported browsers when using Gmail on a computer. gmail is currently fully supported when used in:
- google chrome
- mozilla firefox
- safari
- microsoft edge
If you are using a web browser other than these and cannot load gmail quickly, you should switch to any of the browsers mentioned above. If you are already using one of the supported browsers, you can try updating them to their latest app versions, and if that doesn’t work, you can use any other supported browser from the list above.
fix #5: Clear cookies and cache in your web browser
all web browsers store website data in the form of cookies and cache so that some elements of a particular website, such as images and site settings, are preloaded, which makes the website load faster . However, over time, these cookies and cache data can affect your experience with Gmail, slowing down the time it takes to load your inbox and other aspects of the email service.
To fix the gmail slowdown problem, you can delete your browser’s cookies and cache data by accessing your browser’s settings page, going to the security and privacy section (it works in both chrome and firefox). ), and delete your browsing data or cookies.
fix #6: check if gmail works in a private window
When you use incognito mode or private windows when browsing the web, your web browser does not save any website data or cookies. If your web browser is unable to load Gmail due to cookie issues, you can log in to Gmail through a private window or tab and check if it loads faster. The downside of this is that you will have to log in to your gmail account over and over again every time you open gmail in incognito mode.
fix #7: disable browser extensions
Browser extensions are a great way to enhance your browsing experience by adding small features to the websites and services you access through your web browser. however, some extensions may be incompatible with gmail. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a gmail related extension that can cause gmail to slow down. In such situations, you may want to disable the browser extension that you suspect is making gmail take too long to load.
To disable extensions, open your web browser’s settings page and access your extensions. When you find the extension that is causing the problem, disable or remove it from your browser so it no longer affects your Gmail experience.
fix #8: use the basic html version of gmail
for users with a slow internet connection, google offers a basic html version of gmail which will load a version of gmail that will look almost identical to gmail in its early days. this version of gmail uses fewer resources and will load faster since it doesn’t include features like spell check, tasks, calendars, rich formatting, or even keyboard shortcuts.
To use the basic html version of gmail, open a web browser and enter https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=html into the address bar.
On the page that follows, click I’d like to use html gmail.
You will now be able to use the basic html version of gmail in your web browser.
fix #9: disable advanced settings for gmail
If gmail isn’t loading completely, you may want to remove some items so your web browser has less to load than before. The first thing you can remove from your gmail screen is the advanced settings section.
You can check if gmail is loading faster than before by temporarily disabling advanced settings within gmail. For that, open your web browser and go to https://mail.google.com/mail/?labs=0 to load your gmail inbox without advanced settings.
fix #10: check your browser privacy settings
Modern web browsers are set up to protect your privacy and security, and by doing so, they can also hamper your experience with some websites. While these browsers aren’t likely to block things in Gmail, if you think Gmail is slow to load, it’s likely that you’ve modified your browser settings to prevent some aspects of websites, including Gmail.
To resolve this, go to your browser settings page and then go to privacy and security > site settings. here, locate gmail or its mail.google.com web address and give it the necessary permissions to open it without problems. You need to make sure you have enabled autoplay, javascript, images, popups and redirects, and cookies.
fix #11: try another web browser
If you have been trying the above fixes in a browser and gmail continues to load slowly, then the problem may be with this particular web browser. In that case, you can try using any of the other web browsers officially supported by gmail. These include Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge.
fix #12: minimize the number of emails per page
The time it takes to open gmail has a lot to do with the number of emails that need to be loaded on a single inbox page. By default, Gmail shows you up to 50 emails on a page, but users can choose to view up to 100 messages at a time. Although that would be a convenient feature, if you already have problems with slow Gmail, loading 100 messages in one go could hamper your productivity as Gmail will take longer than usual to open your inbox.
To prevent gmail from slowing down, you can try reducing the number of emails visible on a page to less than the default value. Fortunately, Gmail allows you to set the page count to display 5, 10, 15, 20, or 25 messages. even if you choose the highest value here (25), gmail should load your messages twice as fast.
if you’re willing to minimize the number of emails per page, open gmail in a web browser, click the gear icon in the top right corner, and select see all settings from the menu below.
When the gmail settings page loads, look for the “maximum page size” section within the general tab.
now, select any value below 50 from the dropdown menu that appears inside show <number> conversations per page.
once you’ve selected your preferred page size, scroll down and click save changes.
now open your gmail inbox and see if it loaded faster.
fix #13: Reduce the number of email categories to view
Another way to load gmail faster is to limit the number of email categories in view. Most users have these tabs: main, social, promotions and updates open at all times in their gmail inbox, which is not necessary in most cases. If you can reduce the number of categories/tabs that load when gmail opens, it will significantly decrease the time it takes to load your inbox.
The easiest way to reduce the number of gmail tabs is to change the inbox type to priority inbox instead of default. Priority Inbox allows Gmail to sort and prioritize your email on its own so you only see the most important emails at the top of your inbox. this eliminates the need for gmail tabs as only important messages will be loaded on your screen. To change your inbox to priority inbox, access the gmail settings page by going to the gear icon > view all settings.
on the next page, click the inbox tab at the top and select priority inbox from the dropdown menu next to “type of inbox”. inbox”.
If you don’t want to change your inbox type completely, you can still fix the slow gmail issue by reducing the number of tabs. under the inbox tab in gmail settings and under “categories”, uncheck the boxes adjacent to promotions, social, updates, or forums according to your preferences.
If you are not accessing emails viewing any of these categories, you can uncheck their boxes. this should make gmail open more quickly as there will be fewer emails to load at once.
fix #14: disable google chat
gmail’s newest user interface combines most of its collaboration services under one roof, allowing people to access chats, spaces, and meet with everyone within the same gmail screen. With additional elements like chats, gmail requires more resources that need to be opened when you launch it in your web browser. If you are someone who doesn’t use google chat much or prefer to use it in a separate browser tab, then you can disable google chat or gmail hangouts to allow it to load faster on your computer.
To disable google chat in gmail, access the gmail settings page by going to the gear icon > view all settings.
On the next page, click the chat and meet tab at the top. within chat and meet, select off within “chat” if any other is selected. after this, click save changes at the bottom.
google chat will not appear within gmail from now on and your inbox should load faster than before.
fix #15: check your tags and filters
Your experience with gmail also depends on the number of labels and filters you use in your account. Labels are created for the sole purpose of classifying emails into different folders, while filters are used to search for emails more specifically. While it doesn’t hurt to keep a handful of labels and filters within Gmail, Gmail can have a hard time retrieving emails to your inbox if you use a lot of them.
Google currently recommends keeping less than 500 tags (including sub-tags) and 500 filters to avoid slow opening of the gmail inbox. you can remove existing labels and filters from gmail settings by going to the gear icon > view all settings.
Here, select the label tab or the filters and blocked addresses tab to select and remove any labels or filters that you no longer want to keep within gmail.
fix #16: use default gmail theme
Another reason your gmail might be slow would be because you applied a theme that gmail has trouble loading in your web browser. applying custom themes requires more resources than when gmail loads in its default colors. To reset the gmail theme to default colors, open gmail and click the gear icon in the top right corner.
When the gmail quick settings panel appears, scroll down and locate the theme section. Here, if you have applied a custom theme for your gmail account, select the first option that is available to you.
this will apply the default theme to your gmail inbox and should load relatively faster than before.
fix #17: restart your computer
If none of the fixes worked, the problem with gmail could be related to your current windows or mac session. There is a possibility that your computer has not started properly or some other system problem is causing gmail to slow down. To make sure there is no problem with your computer, you can restart your computer and reopen your web browser and load gmail to see if things have been resolved.
to reboot your computer:
on windows: go to the start menu > power button and then click restart.
on mac: Click the apple icon () and select restart.
fix #18: use an offline version of gmail
If you can’t use gmail when you’re online, you can try its offline version which will allow you to view messages, prepare replies, and even delete emails from your inbox without being connected to the internet.
You can use offline mode to also search for the emails you want to search for and tag the ones you want to highlight. The offline mode feature requires you to use Google Chrome and will not be accessible if you use Gmail or Firefox, Safari or Edge.
Before you can start using the offline version of gmail, you need to enable it within the gmail settings. to do so, open gmail and go to the gear icon > view all settings.
Inside the gmail settings, click the offline tab at the top, then check the enable offline mail box.
after enabling the option, choose your preferred options under settings and sync settings, and then click save changes to enable offline mode.
once offline mode is enabled, you can bookmark your gmail inbox so you can access it later even if you are not connected to the internet. gmail will load as it was opened the last time you loaded it.
You can view, reply, delete and label your emails and all the changes you make to them will be saved in chrome and will be executed when you are connected to the internet. you can send emails or reply to them when you are offline and your message will be saved in an outbox folder from where it will be sent the next time you are online.
Related: how to fix common gmail offline issues
can’t load gmail. what do i do?
If you went to this section with no solution, it is possible that the problem with gmail is simply associated with your google account. In such a scenario, your best approach is to contact the Google support team through Google One. In case you didn’t know, Google One is a subscription service that gives you additional storage data as well as a direct route to the experts on Google’s support team.
If you have a Google One subscription, you can use the Google One app or its web client to get help regarding your Gmail issue. With Google One, you can have a conversation with support staff via call or chat/email them about your issue, however you see fit.
when you sign in to google one, click the support tab in the left sidebar and select phone, chat or email to explain the issue you’re facing within gmail and get personal support via audio call or text message.
that’s all you need to know about how to fix gmail not loading or too slow.
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