Is Gmail not working? Try these fixes!

Gmail is one of those services you don’t really need to worry about until it’s gone. Is Gmail not working for you today? We’re here to help, as we break down the most common Gmail issues and how to fix them.

Editor’s note: Some of the instructions in this article were generated using a Google Pixel 7 running Android 14, an Apple iPhone 12 Mini running iOS 17.3, and a custom PC running Windows 11. Remember that steps can be slightly different depending on your device and software.

Is Gmail down?

Is Gmail not working for you? There’s a chance it’s not working for anybody! This is not common, but Google’s services go down occasionally like any other online service. Thankfully, there are a couple of ways to check if this is the case.

You can head over to the Google Workspace Status Dashboard. This page will tell you whether any Google Workspace service is down. Of course, Gmail is one of the listed apps. Alternatively, you can try a website like DownDetector. The site collects user reports to identify service outages. There’s even a map to see if the issue is local.

Close and reopen Gmail

This is a simple, yet very functional troubleshooting tip that works most of the time. Often, simply closing and reopening Gmail might fix any local issues. If you’re using a browser, try restarting the whole browser instead of merely closing the tab.

How to close an Android app:

1. Launch the Settings app.
2. Go into Apps.
3. Tap on See all apps.
4. Look for Gmail and select it.
5. Hit the Force stop button.
6. Confirm by selecting OK.

How to close an iPhone app:

1. Swipe your finger up from the bottom of the screen and hold.
2. The app switcher will appear. Find Gmail by swiping left and right.
3. When you find Gmail, swipe the preview all the way up.

Make sure Sync Gmail is on

Sometimes, we mess up settings by accident. One that will ensure you can’t use Gmail properly is the Sync Gmail option. Go ahead and check the settings.

How to turn on Sync Gmail on Android:

1. Open the Gmail app.
2. Tap on the three-line menu button in the top-left corner.
3. Go into Settings.
4. Tap on your account.
5. Scroll down and find the Data usage section.
6. Make sure the checkmark next to Sync Gmail is toggled on.

You can’t really turn off syncing on the iOS Gmail app. However, you can change how many days your Gmail emails stay synced. Extending this sync period will make it easier to access emails for longer periods of time.

How to change the days of mail to sync on Gmail for iPhone:

1. Launch the Gmail app.
2. Tap on the three-line menu button.
3. Go into Settings.
4. Select Data usage.
5. Hit Sync settings.
6. Change the days you want to sync, and hit Done.

Check for updates

Having an older version of an app isn’t usually a problem, but it can sometimes create some conflicts. This is especially the case when newer updates are more extensive, or when they include server-side changes. It won’t hurt to check the Google Play Store and see if there are any updates available for Gmail.

How to check for Android app updates:

1. Launch the Google Play Store.
2. Tap on your profile icon.
3. Select Manage apps & device.
4. Tap on Updates available.
5. You can either hit the Update button next to the apps with available updates, or take care of them all at once by selecting the Update all button.

How to check for iPhone app updates:

1. Launch the Apple App Store.
2. Tap on your profile icon, in the top-right corner.
3. Scroll down a bit, and you will see your available updates. You can either hit the Update button next to Gmail, or tap on Update All to take care of all app updates.

You may also want to make sure everything else is updated. See if there are any upgrades available for the browser, for example.

While you’re at it, you might want to check if there’s an update available for your phone.

How to check for Android system updates:

1. Go into the Settings app.
2. Select System.
3. Hit System update.
4. Tap on Check for update.
5. Follow the instructions and let the update run.
6. Once your phone boots up, try using Gmail again.

How to check for iOS system updates:

1. Launch the Settings app.
2. Go into General.
3. Hit Software Update.
4. The system will automatically search for updates. Hit Download and Install if available.

Restart the device

It may sound silly, but this is seriously the most common troubleshooting tip, and it seems to work most times. Seriously, whenever you’re having problems with your tech, just restart it. It just may fix it. To do this, press the Power and Volume Up buttons simultaneously, hit Restart, and let the phone do its thing. When it reboots, try using Gmail again.

How to restart an Android phone:

1. Press the side and volume up buttons simultaneously.
2. Hit Restart.

How to restart an iPhone:

1. Press and hold the power and volume up or volume down buttons simultaneously.
2. The power options screen will show up.
3. Use the slide to power off slider to turn off the device.

Note: iOS doesn’t allow taking screenshots of the power menu, so we can’t visually show you the steps.

Remove your Google account

If Gmail isn’t working, you can also give it a complete account restart. The simplest way to do this is to remove your Google account and re-add it afterward. This might create some inconveniences, as your Google account might be running multiple services on your phone, but it’s worth a try if none of the other methods are working.

How to remove a Google account on Android:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Select Passwords & accounts.
3. Find the Google account you want to remove. Tap on it.
4. Hit Remove account and follow the instructions.
5. Confirm by selecting Remove account.

How to remove a Gmail account on iPhone:

1. Launch the Gmail app.
2. Tap on your profile icon, in the top-right corner.
3. Select Manage accounts on this device.
4. Find the account you want to remove and select Remove from this device, right under it.
5. Confirm by tapping on Remove.

Adding a Google account on Android:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Select Passwords & accounts.
3. Tap on Add account.
4. Pick Google.
5. Enter your credentials and follow the instructions.

How to add a Gmail account on iPhone:

1. Launch the Gmail app.
2. Tap on your profile icon.
3. Select Add another account.
4. Pick Google.
5. Enter your credentials and follow the instructions.

Check your internet connection

Is Gmail even the problem? It just might be your internet that’s letting you down. Try testing other apps or websites to see if they work. You can do something as simple as launching Google and searching for anything. If this works, it means your internet is OK. Are other devices working? Check, if you have any spare ones. If nothing else works, you might be off the grid.

Start by checking if Airplane Mode is on. Those using Wi-Fi or LAN should look at the router and see if it’s connected. Try restarting it. There’s usually a dedicated button, but you can also unplug the router, wait for about a minute, and plug it back in.

If you’re using cellular data, you might want to see if your data connection is on.

How to turn on mobile data on Android:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go into Network & internet.
3. Tap on SIMs, then select your primary SIM.
4. Toggle Mobile data on, if it isn’t.
5. If you’re outside your country or network coverage, also toggle Roaming on (this may incur extra charges).

How to turn on mobile data on iPhone:

1. Launch the Settings app.
2. Go into Cellular.
3. Make sure Cellular Data is toggled on.
4. If you want to enable roaming, go into your primary SIM under the SIMs section. Then toggle on Data Roaming.

Clear the cache and data

Cache and data help keep things running, but they can get corrupted. This is why it’s often a good idea to clear everything up and start new. Remember that clearing data eliminates all information, such as your account and settings. You’ll have to log back in and set everything up again. This might fix anything that’s keeping Gmail not working, though.

Clear cache on Android:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go into Apps.
3. Find the Gmail app under See all apps.
4. Tap on Storage & cache.
5. Hit Clear Cache.
6. Select Clear storage for a clean start.

Sadly, you can’t really clear the cache on iOS apps. The only effective way to accomplish this would be to uninstall and reinstall the Gmail app.

How to uninstall an iOS app:

1. Find the Gmail app. Tap and hold for a few seconds.
2. Select Remove App.
3. Confirm by tapping on Delete App.
4. Go to the Apple App Store and reinstall Gmail.

Clear the cache on Chrome for Windows:

1. On your Windows computer, open Chrome.
2. Click on the three-dot menu button in the top-right corner.
3. Go into Settings.
4. Select Security and Privacy in the left-side column.
5. Pick Clear browsing data.
6. Check the boxes to select what you want to delete. I like clearing everything if there are serious issues.
7. Select All time in the Time range.
8. Hit Clear data.

Your browser might not be supported

If you’re using a browser instead of an app, there is a chance Gmail doesn’t support your browser. While Gmail supports all the most popular browsers, you might be using one that isn’t part of the list. Here are Gmail’s supported browsers.

Browsers that support Gmail:

• Google Chrome
• Firefox
• Safari
• Microsoft Edge

Other browsers might work with Gmail, but Google doesn’t list official support for any other than these.

It could be the Chrome extensions

Often, browser extensions or applications can interfere with Gmail as well. A quick way to check on this is by trying out Gmail in the web browser’s private or incognito mode. If Gmail works there, try disabling browser extensions one by one until you find the culprit.

How to disable a Chrome extension on Windows:

1. On your Windows computer, open Chrome.
2. Click on the three-dot menu button in the top-right corner.
3. Highlight Extensions.
4. Click on Manage Extensions.
5. Find the extension you want to disable and turn off the toggle in its top-right corner.
6. Additionally, you can delete the extension by hitting Remove. Confirm the action by selecting Remove again.

Is your Google One storage full?

How is your Google One cloud storage doing? Not sure if you know, but your Gmail content counts against your Google account’s storage space. So does Google Drive and Google Photos. This means that, if you’re using too much of any of these services, you can reach your cloud storage space limit, and Gmail will stop working.

All Google accounts get 15GB of cloud storage for free. If you’ve reached it, you can either delete some of your content, or pay to upgrade to a higher cloud storage limit. The cheapest plan offers 100GB for $1.99 a month.

How to check your Google One storage on Android:

1. Download and install the Google One app from the Google Play Store.
2. Launch the Google One app.
3. You will see a Storage section, telling you how much of your cloud storage space you’ve used, and how much you have available.
4. You can tap on Storage to see a more detailed view of how you’re using your Google One storage.

How to check your Google One storage on iPhone:

1. Download and install the Google One app from the Apple App Store.
2. Launch the Google One app.
3. You will see a Storage section, telling you how much of your cloud storage space you’ve used, and how much you have available.
4. You can tap on Storage to see a more detailed view of how you’re using your Google One storage.

Check your Google One storage on a browser:

1. Launch your browser of choice and go to one.google.com.
2. Sign in if needed.
3. You will see a Storage section, telling you how much of your cloud storage space you’ve used, and how much you have available.
4. You can click on Storage to see a more detailed view of how you’re using your Google One storage.

FAQs

If all else fails and you’re still having problems with Gmail not working, you might want to hit up Google’s Help Center. Need more help with your Google problem? Connect one-on-one with a Google expert through JustAnswer, an Android Authority partner.