Why Is Gmail Not Working How To Fix (6 Issues & Solutions)

Has Gmail been not working for you lately? Are you annoyed by seeing that loading icon but nothing loads? Nothing to worry about as there are several users just like you who are facing multiple issues with Gmail and have been looking for help. If you are one of them, this guide has covered all the major issues that can arise while working with Gmail.

List of Possible Issues with Gmail

If Gmail is not working for you, there can be several scenarios. Are you facing any of the issues listed here?

If yes, then keep on reading, and hopefully by the end of this guide, you will be able to resolve the issues with the Gmail feature that is not working.

Solutions to Try When Gmail is not Working

Go through the list of solutions given below and try the one you find related to the issue you are facing with Gmail:

1. Gmail Server Outage Issues

Let’s begin by doing the most basic thing i.e. to check the server status of Gmail and to see if it is showing an issue that is not in our control.

Gmail can go down at times and this could be the reason why Gmail is not working for you.

Go to Google Workspace Status Dashboard and see if you see everything green or something is orange as well (Orange means trouble). This website is a credible way to know if there is ever an outage, or any other issue with Google along with the date.

So, if Gmail is not working for you, this should be your first move.

2. Forgotten Gmail Password

One of the common reasons why Gmail is not working for you is you are not entering the correct password. Forgetting passwords is quite common and nothing to fret about as there are several recovery options provided by Gmail that you can use if you can’t access your account. It would be easier if you have added some recovery options to your Gmail account such as phone number or email address.

To recover your Gmail account, you can read our other troubleshooting guides:

3. Gmail Won’t Load

If the Gmail web page is not loading on a browser, you can try the following steps:

Make sure you are using a supported browser. Check out the browsers supported by Google here
If you have some extensions installed on your browser, they can interfere with Gmail’s smooth functioning. Go incognito and then see if Gmail works there. If yes, you can uninstall the extensions one by one to see which one is causing issues for you.
If disabling extensions didn’t work for you, clear the cache and cookies of your browser.
If Gmail is still not loading, the last option is to use the Gmail app and see if the issue arises there, if yes, then update the Gmail app.

4. Gmail App isn’t Working

Most of us manage our emails using the Gmail app but if the app itself is not working. Well, this can happen at times mainly when you are using an older version of the app; here is something you can try:

Get the latest version of the Gmail app from the play store of your Android or iPhone device.
Uninstall and then reinstall the Gmail app
If the Gmail app is not updating or taking too long to update, you can switch to a better network.
Clear the Gmail app’s cache and data from the Settings section of your device.

5. Gmail is Not Working on Android or iPhone

Using Gmail on Android or iPhone is quite convenient with the app version; however, you may also find Gmail not working on Android or iPhone for several reasons. Gmail won’t open on Android if there is poor internet connectivity; so better switch to a different network or wait till the network gets better. Also, if Gmail is not syncing on Android, make sure you are receiving adequate signal strength. Apart from that, you can try the following troubleshooting steps:

Restart your Android or iPhone device
Install the latest version of the Gmail app
Check your Gmail settings and ensure that the sync option is on.
Clear your Gmail app data; for this go to Settings>Apps>Gmail>Storage>Clear Data

6. Not Sending or Receiving New Emails

If your Gmail account is not showing new emails or your inbox is not updating the new emails, it means Gmail can’t connect to the server. So there can be two possibilities- either the internet is not working or Gmail server is down.

If Gmail is not showing or receiving new emails:

Check if your email account has sufficient storage space
If the email is not showing up in the Gmail inbox, you must check other folders as well.
If you are using the Gmail app, make sure the sync option is on if you find Gmail is not syncing on Android.

If Gmail is not sending new emails:

Ask the recipient to check if he might have blocked your email address.
Check if you are receiving the required signal strength
If you haven’t updated your Gmail app for some time, update it now.
Clear all the cache and cookies from your browser

7. Gmail Two-Step Verification Issues

Using two-step verification, you can easily secure your Gmail account. However, sometimes this feature can also create issues for you. Suppose you are logging into your Gmail account on a new device and are asked to enter the code sent to you, but you are not receiving any code. Then what?

Make sure you are receiving the proper signal on your mobile device as the codes are sent via SMS.
You can also download the Google Authenticator app; after downloading you will have to verify your account with a QR code. After that, open the two-step verification page and scroll down to the Authenticator app. Follow the steps to scan the QR code after which you will get a code that you have to enter in the ‘Verify’ box on your computer and that will link your phone to your account, from that time onwards, you can use the authenticator app to log in instead of SMS codes.
You can also receive the code via phone call but for that, you will still need a good signal on your phone.

Kanika Singh

Webmail and Internet Expert