Gmail Not Sending or Receiving Emails

Applies to: Gmail on the web, Gmail desktop app, Gmail in third-party clients

Purely a mobile app sync issue? See our Gmail not syncing on Android/iPhone guide instead. This one's about Gmail on the web and desktop, and mail that isn't going out or coming in at all.

1. Emails stuck in the Outbox or won't send

1. Check for an oversized attachment first — Gmail's limit is 25MB, and while it usually routes larger files through Drive automatically, a slow or interrupted upload can leave a message stuck mid-way.
2. Try sending the same message from a different browser or incognito window. A misbehaving extension causes this more often than you'd expect.
3. Third-party app? Confirm the outgoing settings: smtp.gmail.com, port 465 or 587, authentication required, and an app password if 2-Step Verification is on.

2. Send yourself a test email to isolate the problem

Before digging into settings, send yourself two test messages — one from a different Gmail account if you have one, and one from a different provider entirely (Yahoo, Outlook, whatever else you've got). If both arrive fine, the problem is very likely specific to the one sender you were originally missing mail from, not your account broadly. If neither arrives, that points more toward something account-wide, which makes the rest of this guide worth working through in order.

3. Emails not arriving

1. Check Spam and the Promotions/Social tabs — mail that "isn't arriving" is very often just sitting somewhere you're not looking.
2. Settings → Filters and Blocked Addresses — check for an old rule silently archiving, deleting, or forwarding mail.
3. Settings → Forwarding and POP/IMAP — check whether forwarding is enabled to an address you no longer check.

On a Google Workspace/business account (an address that isn't @gmail.com)? Ask your admin to check the Google Admin Console — it can trace whether a specific message actually reached Google's servers at all, which tells you definitively whether the problem is on the sending end or somewhere in your own mailbox.

4. "Storage full" or account quota warnings

Gmail storage is shared across Gmail, Drive, and Photos on a personal account — it's rarely just email filling it up.

1. Search has:attachment larger:10M in Gmail's search bar to find your biggest attachments.
2. Check Drive and Photos too — either can be the real source of a full quota even when Gmail itself looks light.
3. Empty Trash and Spam — deleted mail still counts until those get emptied.

5. Third-party app or IMAP client not connecting

1. Settings → See all settings → Forwarding and POP/IMAP → confirm IMAP is enabled — usually on by default, but worth checking if an app can't see the account at all.
2. Generate an app password under your Google Account's Security settings if 2-Step Verification is on. Your normal password simply won't work there otherwise.

6. Works on the website but not in one specific app

Check gmail.com directly first. Mail's there but missing from one app? The problem is local to that app's settings — check its saved server settings and app password, or remove and re-add the account.