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Tech Fix

Fix: Gmail not receiving or sending email

Gmail

Emails aren't arriving, outgoing messages stay in the outbox, or the Gmail app shows sync errors.

Updated regularly Fix: Gmail not receiving or sending email
Quick answer

Quick fix: Check status.gmail.google.com — outages are common enough to rule out first. If clear: in the Gmail app, pull-to-refresh; on web, hard-reload.

Why this happens

Most 'Gmail is broken' reports are: a temporary Google outage, a full mailbox, a recent password / 2FA change that invalidated saved app passwords, or a network/firewall blocking IMAP/SMTP.

Step-by-step solutions

  1. Check Google's status dashboard for ongoing incidents.
  2. On the Gmail app: Settings → your account → check 'Sync Gmail' is on.
  3. Verify available storage at one.google.com/storage. A full Google account stops mail delivery.
  4. If you use Gmail in a third-party client (Outlook, Apple Mail), recreate the account using OAuth — Google has phased out app passwords for many flows.
  5. Check spam and All Mail labels — filters or rules may be moving mail.
  6. On a corporate network, ask IT whether IMAP / SMTP / OAuth endpoints are reachable.

Advanced diagnostic steps

  • Use Gmail's 'Show original' on a missing-but-expected message in another account to read SPF/DKIM/DMARC results.
  • Enable Google's 'Less Common Settings' diagnostics in the Gmail app on Android.
  • If you forward Gmail to another address, check that the forwarding rule isn't bouncing.

Common mistakes

  • Re-using IMAP passwords from old documentation — Google has changed authentication multiple times.
  • Marking missing newsletters as spam, then forgetting they're now filtered.

When to contact support

Free Gmail accounts have community support; Workspace accounts have dedicated support reachable from admin.google.com. For an account believed to be hacked, use Google's account-recovery flow rather than support.

Frequently asked questions

Why is mail going to spam?

Either the sender's domain has weak email authentication, the content matches a spam pattern, or you previously moved similar mail to spam.

Can I recover a deleted email?

Trash is recoverable for 30 days. After that, free Gmail typically can't recover it; Workspace admins have a 25-day window.