Not receiving emails at all at gmail

Here’s a Gmail-only, step-by-step, very detailed solution for not receiving emails at all.

1) Check Spam first (most common cause)

  1. Open Gmail.
  2. Left sidebar → click Spam.
  3. Look for the missing email.
  4. If you find it:
    • Open the email.
    • Click Not spam (top).

Important:

  • This retrains Gmail.
  • Future emails from that sender are more likely to reach Inbox.

Do this even if it happens once.

2) Check All Mail (emails may be skipping Inbox)

Sometimes emails arrive but don’t show in Inbox.

  1. Gmail → left sidebar.
  2. Click All Mail.
  3. Use search:
    • from:example@email.com
    • or keywords from subject

If you find the email here:

  • It means a filter or rule is removing it from Inbox.

3) Inspect Filters (critical step)

Filters can silently delete, archive, or skip Inbox.

  1. Gmail → top right gear icon
  2. Click See all settings
  3. Open Filters and Blocked Addresses

Check each filter carefully:

  • Look for filters that:
    • Skip Inbox
    • Delete it
    • Apply label + Archive
    • Forward it

Fix:

  • Edit the filter OR
  • Delete it if you don’t recognize it

If unsure:

  • Remove “Skip Inbox”
  • Remove “Delete it”

4) Make sure nothing is being auto-forwarded

Emails may be going to another address.

  1. Settings → Forwarding and POP/IMAP
  2. Under Forwarding:
    • Make sure it says Forwarding disabled
    • Or “Keep Gmail’s copy in the Inbox”

If forwarding is enabled and you didn’t set it:

  • Disable immediately
  • Change your password (see step 10)

5) Check Blocked Addresses

  1. Settings → Filters and Blocked Addresses
  2. Scroll to Blocked addresses
  3. Look for the sender’s email or domain.
  4. If blocked:
    • Click Unblock

Blocked senders never reach Inbox or Spam.

6) Check Gmail storage (emails stop if storage is full)

If Google storage is full, Gmail may stop receiving emails.

  1. Go to Google One storage page
  2. Check total storage used (Gmail + Drive + Photos)

If full:

  • Delete large emails (search: has:attachment larger:10M)
  • Empty Trash
  • Empty Spam
  • Or upgrade storage

After freeing space, emails usually resume.

7) Confirm the sender is using the correct email

This sounds basic, but happens often.

Ask the sender:

  • To double-check spelling
  • No extra dots, dashes, or typos
  • Correct domain (@gmail.com vs @googlemail.com)

Gmail ignores dots, but senders still mistype addresses.

8) Ask sender to check their side (important)

If emails never arrive at all:

Ask the sender:

  • Did they get a bounce-back message?
  • Any error like:
    • “Address not found”
    • “Mailbox unavailable”
    • “Blocked by recipient server”

If yes:

  • It’s a sender-side issue or reputation problem.

9) Check if emails are landing in another tab

  1. Check:
    • Promotions
    • Social
    • Updates
    • Forums

If found:

  • Move email to Primary
  • Click Yes when Gmail asks to do this for future messages

10) Check account security (hijacked accounts do weird things)

If emails suddenly stopped completely:

  1. Google Account → Security
  2. Review:
    • Recent activity
    • Devices
    • Third-party access

If you see anything suspicious:

  • Change password immediately
  • Remove unknown apps
  • Turn on 2-step verification

11) POP / IMAP issues (advanced but real)

If you use Outlook, Apple Mail, or another app:

  1. Settings → Forwarding and POP/IMAP
  2. Make sure:
    • IMAP is enabled
  3. If POP is enabled:
    • Set to Keep Gmail’s copy in the Inbox

Bad POP settings can remove emails before you see them.

12) Test your Gmail inbox

Do this simple test:

  1. Send an email to yourself from:
    • Another Gmail
    • A non-Gmail address (Yahoo, Outlook)
  2. Check:
    • Inbox
    • Spam
    • All Mail

Results:

  • If Gmail → Gmail works but external doesn’t → sender reputation issue
  • If nothing works → account or filter issue

13) Last resort: Gmail recovery signals

If none of the above works:

  • Emails from everyone are missing
  • No spam, no All Mail, no bouncebacks

Do this:

  • Sign out
  • Clear browser cache
  • Log in again
  • Test from another device or browser

If problem persists:

  • Account-level issue (rare, but possible)

Quick diagnosis summary

  • Emails in Spam → training issue
  • Emails in All Mail → filter problem
  • No emails at all → storage, forwarding, or security
  • Some senders only → sender reputation or blocking

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