Gmail Not Syncing: How to Fix It
Your inbox looks frozen — new mail only shows up when you open the app (or not at all), messages get stuck in your outbox, or you see an "Account not synced" error.
Try these in order
- Pull down to refresh, then give it a few minutes. In the Gmail app, swipe down from the top of your inbox to sync manually. Google notes it can take up to 15 minutes for Gmail to sync messages — longer if you haven't used the device in a while (Google Help).
- Check that you're actually online. Try loading a website in your browser, and make sure Airplane Mode is off. On public Wi-Fi you may need to open a page and accept the terms before you're really connected (Google Help).
- Make sure "Sync Gmail" is ticked. Open the Gmail app, tap Menu > Settings, choose your account, and under Data usage confirm the box next to Sync Gmail is checked (Google Help).
- Check your device-level sync setting. On Android, open Settings > Accounts, tap More in the top right, and make sure Auto-sync data is on — even if it looks on, toggling it off and on a few times can shake it loose (Google Help).
- Turn off battery saver or low-power mode. On Android check Settings > Battery > Battery Saver; on iPhone check Settings > Battery for Low Power Mode. These modes reduce background activity and can stop Gmail syncing altogether (Android Authority).
- Check your Google storage. Storage is shared across Gmail, Drive and Photos, and once you hit the limit you can't send or receive at all — messages sent to you bounce back to the sender. Delete large attachments and empty Trash and Spam (Google Help).
- Update the app, restart the device, then clear Gmail's cache. Install the latest Gmail version, reboot your phone, and on Android go to Settings > Apps > Gmail > Storage and tap Clear cache if corrupted temp files are getting in the way (Android Authority).
Still stuck? If only your non-Gmail accounts (Outlook, Yahoo) aren't syncing, check that mail on a computer first — if it's missing there too, the problem is with that provider, not Gmail (Google Help). You can also check the Google Workspace Status Dashboard or Downdetector for a wider outage (Android Authority).
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