Gmail not receiving emails? 10 fixes to try in order

When an email you're expecting never shows up, it's usually sitting somewhere you didn't look, caught by a filter, or bounced because your storage is full. Work down this checklist. Most people find the problem in the first five steps.

By David Ray · Updated October 30, 2026 · 5 min read · How we research

1. Search everywhere, not just the inbox

Google's help starts here, and it solves most cases.

1. In Gmail on a computer, click the Show search options icon at the right of the search bar.
2. Next to Search, change All Mail to Mail & Spam & Trash.
3. Type the sender's address, name or a word from the subject, then click Search.

If it's in Spam, open it and click Not spam. Google says doing that helps stop future emails going there. See where the spam folder is in Gmail for phone steps. Google also notes that Spam and Trash are emptied after 30 days, so check promptly.

2. Check the Promotions, Social and Updates tabs

If your inbox has tabs, newsletters, receipts and sign-up emails often land in Promotions or Updates, not Primary. They're received, just sorted.

3. Look for filters that hide mail

1. Click Settings (the gear) › See all settings.
2. Open Filters and Blocked Addresses.
3. Look for filters that say Delete it or Skip the Inbox (Archive it). Click edit or delete.

An old filter you forgot about is a common cause. Our guide to Gmail labels and filters explains how they work.

4. Check your blocked senders

On the same Filters and Blocked Addresses tab, scroll to the list of blocked addresses. Google says that after you block a sender, all future emails from them go to Spam. To undo it, tick the address and click Unblock selected addresses.

5. Check forwarding and POP/IMAP

1. Go to Settings › See all settings › Forwarding and POP/IMAP.
2. If forwarding is on, make sure it says keep Gmail's copy in the Inbox (not delete or archive).
3. If mail is being forwarded to an address you don't recognize, choose Disable forwarding and change your password. Google warns this can mean someone else has access to your account.
4. If POP is on and set to delete or archive Gmail's copy, change it to keep Gmail's copy in the inbox.

Also check other email apps connected to your account (Outlook, Apple Mail, a phone app). Google notes there's only one copy of each email, so an app that deletes or archives it removes it everywhere.

6. Make sure your storage isn't full

Google gives each account up to 15 GB of free storage, shared across Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos. Google says that if you go over, your ability to send and receive email in Gmail can be affected, and that a recipient must clear space before they can receive new email.

• Check your usage at one.google.com/storage.
• Free up space by deleting large emails: search larger:10M in Gmail.
• Empty Trash and Spam after deleting, or the space isn't freed.

Our guide to deleting emails in bulk in Gmail walks through it.

7. Check for a Gmail outage

Rare, but it happens. Google posts service problems on the Google Workspace Status Dashboard, which lists Gmail. If there's an incident, wait; mail is usually delivered once it's fixed.

8. Rule out your app or device

Open mail.google.com in a web browser. If the email is there but not on your phone, the problem is the app: update it, check your connection, and make sure sync is on. If you can't sign in at all, see can't sign in to Gmail.

9. Ask the sender to check their end

If nothing on your side explains it, the email may never have left, or it bounced. Ask the sender:

• Did you get a bounce-back message? It will say why.
• Did you type my address correctly? Look for typos like gmial.com or a missing letter.
• Are you sending from a business domain? Google's help notes that mail which isn't authenticated may land in Spam.
• Is it a big attachment? Very large attachments may be rejected. See email attachment size limits.

10. Using Gmail for work or school?

If your address ends in your company's or school's domain, your administrator controls mail routing. Google's admin troubleshooting covers things you can't see yourself: MX records, suspended accounts, an expired domain, and message logs. Send your IT team the sender's address and the time the email was sent.

Questions people ask

Why is my Gmail not receiving emails?

Most often the email is in Spam or a tab, a filter is archiving or deleting it, the sender is blocked, forwarding is moving it, or your storage is full.

Why am I not receiving emails from one person in Gmail?

Check whether they're blocked or caught by a filter, and search Mail & Spam & Trash for their address. If it's not there, ask them for any bounce message.

Does Gmail stop receiving email when storage is full?

It can. Google says a full account can affect sending and receiving, and the recipient must clear space to receive new email.

How much free storage does Gmail have?

Each Google Account gets up to 15 GB of free storage, shared across Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos.

Where do blocked emails go in Gmail?

To Spam. Google says all future emails from a blocked sender go to the Spam folder.