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Gmail Not Receiving Emails? How to Fix It

Short answer: If new messages are not showing up in Gmail, the cause is usually a filter, a full storage quota, a forwarding rule, or a temporary Google outage.

TL;DR: quick fix
  1. Check if Gmail is down for everyone.
  2. Check the Spam, Trash, and "All Mail" folders; mail may be arriving but skipping the inbox.
  3. Open Settings > See all settings > Filters and Blocked Addresses and delete or edit any filter that archives or deletes the missing mail.

Is Gmail down?

Before you change settings, check Google Workspace Status Dashboard. If there's an outage, wait it out.

How to fix it: step by step

  1. Check whether Gmail is down for everyone: look at the Google Workspace Status Dashboard (google.com/appsstatus) and recent posts from the service's official status account before changing anything on your device.
  2. Check the Spam, Trash, and "All Mail" folders; mail may be arriving but skipping the inbox.
  3. Open Settings > See all settings > Filters and Blocked Addresses and delete or edit any filter that archives or deletes the missing mail.
  4. Open Settings > Forwarding and POP/IMAP and make sure forwarding is not set to send mail elsewhere and delete Gmail's copy.
  5. Check your storage at one.google.com/storage (Google: Gmail, Drive and Photos share one quota). When your Google storage is full you can't send or receive new Gmail messages until you free space or upgrade.
  6. On mobile, pull down to refresh, confirm sync is on (Android: Settings > your account > Sync Gmail), and update the Gmail app.

FAQ

Why do some emails go to spam?

Gmail's filters flag messages from unknown senders or with suspicious content. Mark the message "Not spam" and add the sender to your contacts to help future delivery.

Does a full Google storage stop email?

Yes. Gmail, Drive, and Google Photos share one storage quota, and if it is full new email can't be received.

More Gmail fixes

Last checked Oct 2026 against the official help page: Gmail Help. Menus can differ by app version; follow the official page if a step doesn't match.

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