Gmail is by far one of the most used email platforms of today’s time, with over 1.8 billion users across the globe, which means one of every five people out there uses this free email service for their personal and professional activities. Plus, most social media applications ask for a Gmail id to signup, making it the gateway to the social media world.
Your frustration is justified when you realize your Gmail account isn’t receiving new emails. Wouldn’t that be odd, especially with the number of applications and websites you’ve signed up using the id?
Of course, it is!
However, did you know there can be multiple reasons for not receiving emails on Gmail? The good news is that most of the issues can be fixed! In the following paragraphs, I will explain some helpful fixers in case your Gmail stops receiving emails.
Let’s get started then!
What to Do When Your Gmail Isn’t Receiving Emails?
- Send a Test Email
Let us start with a simple tactic: sending a test mail. Take a minute and send yourself two emails. You can send one from your Gmail id and another from any other email id, like Yahoo or Rediff. If you receive the test emails, then the emails you are not receiving may be an isolated case.
- Free Up Storage Space
You are not the only one guilty of hoarding messages and other media files. Plenty of us does that. However, if you can scan your inbox correctly, you will find that 65% of the emails are no longer needed.
Hoarding your inbox with large files will consume your storage space and leave no room for new emails. Hence, go through all the emails and delete the unnecessary emails and large files from your inbox and Google Drive to increase storage. If not, you can always upgrade your storage plan for more storage, which will cost you.
- Check Your Folders
Gmail automatically filters emails into different folders without notifying the users. This means it can send an email from a new sender to the spam folder without you knowing.
For instance, let’s say you are awaiting a response from the tutor offering computer science assignments help, but there are no updates from his/her end. It’s highly likely that Gmail marked it spam.
To sort the issue, go to ‘Spam’ in the left sidebar and check the email list to find the one you are looking for, in this case, from your tutor. Once you do, open the email and select ‘Move to inbox’ or ‘Report not spam.’
Alternatively, check your ‘All Mail’ folder. The ‘All Mail’ folder contains all the emails you receive, regardless of the folder where it’s stored. Also, don’t forget to check the ‘Trash’ folder. Sometimes you tend to delete emails accidentally.
- Delete Filters
Still no luck in finding your missing emails? It’s time to check if a filter is blocking your important emails. Sometimes, users unknowingly set up a ‘filter automatically’ label on emails from a specific user, blocking emails from reaching the inbox. To remove such blockage:
- Tap on the ‘Gear Icon’ in the top-right corner of Gmail’s desktop website and hit the ‘See all settings’ option.
- Click on the ‘Filters and Blocked Addresses’ tab to check your Gmail filters.
- Review the filters and delete filters if you have accidentally set them up.
- Review the Forwarding and POP/IMAP Settings
It’s a good idea to check the ‘Forwarding and POP/IMAP’ settings when you are not receiving emails on your Gmail. Make sure the POP/IMAP options are enabled to ensure smooth email functioning. If POP/IMAP is disabled, select ‘Enable IMAP’ and click on ‘Save Changes to update the status.
Next, check if you have enabled the option to forward some or all emails to some other email ids. For example, we often forget about forwarding emails from a particular person to another email address. In that case, head to the ‘Forwarding and POP/IMAP’ tab and check if the forwarding option is turned on to forward a particular sender’s emails elsewhere.
- Check Your Internet Connection
A stable internet connection is mandatory to send and receive emails. Yes, the tip might sound silly, but sometimes we forget to do the obvious. If you are not getting any email on your Gmail, one of the chances is a poor internet connection. It could be because of bad weather or a technical glitch – whatever the reason, try to reconnect by turning off your connection and then switching it on. If the problem persists, restart your system and reset the router.
- Disable Firewalls
Fireballs block emails. Even downloading antivirus software on your system can stop your emails from making it to the inbox. Hence, remove the antivirus utilities from your system startup to normalize the process. To turn off your antivirus utilities:
- Right-click the taskbar and hit on the ‘Task Manager.’
- Hover over to the ‘Startup tab’ and right-click your antivirus on the list
- Tap on ‘Disable.’
If you see you are getting your emails after restarting the system, the software obstructed the process while running in the background. In order to solve this issue, you can either configure the antivirus utilities’ settings or use compatible antivirus software.
- Update the App
Technology is fast evolving. All popular apps are regularly upgraded with the latest updates and algorithms to improve the application’s functions. Therefore, you should always update your Gmail app from time to time to avoid unintended glitches. For example, what if you need homework help urgently from your tutor? S/he won’t be able to email you the necessary study resources if your Gmail isn’t working, right?
That’s why whenever you get a notification for updating your Gmail app, do it! An outdated app will increase syncing errors, and you will lose important emails. Head to Google’s Play Store or the App Store to download the upgraded version or update the existing app.
- Switch to a Different Browser
If you are still not getting your emails, try a different browser. Besides Google Chrome, Gmail officially supports three other browsers: Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge. Make sure you use the upgraded versions of these browsers to use Gmail seamlessly and receive your emails in the right place.
Wrapping Up
There is a good chance that you are a Gmail user, and there have been times when you missed out on your urgent emails due to a rooky setting error. Nonetheless, you can use the hacks mentioned in the list to fix your “not receiving my emails on Gmail’ issue. Cheers!
Author Bio
Andrew Robertson is a tech geek and digital marketer based in the US. He is also available at Allessaywriter.com as a subject matter expert. Apart from academic queries, students can reach out to him for all kinds of queries related to technology and digital marketing. Even if the query is about a Gmail account that isn’t receiving emails, Andrew makes sure he offers the simplest solution to the problem for everyone’s easy understanding.
