Is Gmail down?

Understanding Gmail availability

Gmail is Google’s email service, usually accessed through mail.google.com. An availability problem may affect the Gmail website, Google account sign-in, message sending, message delivery, inbox refresh, or only one browser, device, account, or network.

For reported incidents affecting Google services, check the Google Workspace Status Dashboard. A matching incident is useful evidence of a broader service problem, but a clear dashboard does not rule out an account-specific, regional, short-lived, or access-path issue.

Identify the exact failure before troubleshooting:

• Gmail does not open: investigate the browser, connection, DNS, filtering, and possible service incident.
• Sign-in fails: distinguish incorrect credentials or verification requirements from a wider access problem.
• The inbox opens but does not refresh: compare another device or network and check whether sending is also affected.
• Messages remain in the outbox: check the connection, message state, and exact error.
• Incoming mail is delayed or missing: determine whether the issue affects all senders or only one message, sender, or account view.

Troubleshooting Gmail problems by symptom

Check for a broader Gmail or Google incident

1. Review the Google Workspace Status Dashboard for a Gmail or related Google service incident.
2. Test Gmail from another device and, if possible, an independent network.
3. If the same symptom follows you across both environments, a broader Google-side issue becomes more plausible. If only one access path fails, investigate that path first.
4. If no incident is listed but multiple independent tests fail, allow for a short-lived, regional, or account-specific problem rather than assuming Gmail is fully unavailable.

Gmail will not load

• Check whether other websites open normally. If they also fail, troubleshoot the local connection before treating Gmail as the cause.
• Open Gmail in a private browsing window or another browser. If it works there, an extension, stored session, or browser site data is more likely than a Gmail-wide outage.
• Clear Gmail site data only after testing another browser or device. This may sign you out and remove locally stored session information.
• A timeout, refused connection, DNS error, or SSL error describes a failure somewhere between the device and Gmail; it does not by itself prove that Gmail is down.

Sign-in or account-specific problems

• Confirm the account identifier and password, then follow any Google verification or recovery prompt shown on screen.
• If another account works in the same browser, the affected account, session, or security check is more likely to be involved.
• Avoid repeatedly submitting credentials when Google requests additional verification. Use the displayed verification or recovery process instead.
• If sign-in fails only for one account while other accounts work, do not infer a Gmail-wide outage from that result.

Gmail opens, but sending fails

• Check whether the message is stuck in the outbox, rejected immediately, or marked as sent but not visible to the recipient.
• Confirm that the connection remains active and retry once after the compose view has finished loading.
• Note the exact error and test sending from another device or network.
• If only one recipient or message is affected, investigate that message or recipient instead of treating the symptom as a Gmail-wide outage.

Gmail is not receiving new messages

• Determine whether all incoming mail is delayed or only messages from one sender are missing.
• Compare the inbox with another access method and check whether sending is also affected.
• A delivery problem limited to one sender, message, or account view points to a different investigation than a broad failure across devices and networks.
• Check the status dashboard before changing local browser or account settings when sending and receiving both fail.

Network and DNS causes

• Test another connection, such as mobile data instead of the current Wi-Fi network, if available.
• If Gmail works on the alternate network, investigate DNS resolution, filtering, firewall rules, or network policy on the original connection.
• Restarting a local connection can be reasonable after confirming that the issue is isolated to that network, but a restart does not establish that Gmail is down.

Third-party mail applications and integrations

• This page focuses on Gmail web access and service availability, not the behavior of a particular mail client or integration.
• If web Gmail works but an application does not, check that application’s account connection, authentication, synchronization settings, and network access separately.
• A failure in one application is not sufficient evidence that Gmail itself is unavailable.