Gmail not receiving emails: how to fix it

Someone says they sent you an email and it’s not in your Gmail? Most of the time the message arrived but ended up somewhere else — or your account has no space to receive it. Check in the order below, preferably in Gmail on the web at mail.google.com.

In this article

1. Step 1: look for the message everywhere
2. Step 2: check your storage
3. Step 3: filters, blocks and forwarding
4. Step 4: a problem on your phone or in Outlook?
5. Step 5: the problem may be on the other side
6. FAQ

Step 1: look for the message everywhere

1. Check the Spam and Trash folders.
2. Open All Mail (in the side menu, under More): archived messages show up there.
3. Look at the Promotions, Social and Updates tabs, if they’re on.
4. Search for the sender’s address in the search bar with from:name@example.com.

Step 2: check your storage

The free 15 GB is shared between Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos. When it’s full, Gmail stops receiving and senders get a mailbox-full bounce.

Check usage at one.google.com/storage and free up space by deleting emails with large attachments (search has:attachment larger:10M), Drive files or photos.

Step 3: filters, blocks and forwarding

In Settings (gear) › See all settings:

1. Filters and Blocked Addresses: delete filters that archive, delete or mark as read messages you wanted, and unblock senders blocked by mistake.
2. Forwarding and POP/IMAP: make sure there’s no active forwarding to another address set to delete Gmail’s copy.

Step 4: a problem on your phone or in Outlook?

If emails show up in the browser but not on your phone or in another program:

• Gmail app: under Settings › your account, make sure Sync Gmail is on and the app is up to date.
• Outlook or another program: remove the account and add it again, signing in through Google’s sign-in screen.

Step 5: the problem may be on the other side

• Check the Google services status at google.com/appsstatus for outages.
• If only emails from one domain don’t arrive, ask the sender whether their message bounced. Domains without authentication are often rejected or sent to spam — the fix is for the sender to set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC.

FAQ

Gmail sends but doesn’t receive.

It’s almost always full storage (step 2) or a filter/forwarding rule (step 3).

I don’t get confirmation emails from websites.

Check Spam and Promotions and ask for a new one. Some sites block repeated resends: wait a few minutes.

I use a work Gmail (Google Workspace).

These steps still apply, but your company admin may have their own filtering rules. Contact IT if nothing works.