Email not arriving? Checks for Gmail and Outlook

Someone says they sent you an email, but it isn't in your inbox. Or new email has stopped showing up altogether. Most of the time the message was delivered and is sitting somewhere else: spam, another tab, or a folder a filter moved it to. The other common causes are a full mailbox or a phone app that has stopped syncing. These checks are free and safe, and none of them delete anything.

First: check in a web browser

On a computer, sign in at mail.google.com (Gmail) or outlook.com (Outlook.com, Hotmail and Live). If the email is there, your mail is arriving fine and the problem is the app on your phone or computer. Skip to Phone or computer app not updating. If it's not there either, keep going.

Google and Microsoft say many of these settings can only be changed on a computer, not in the phone apps.

Gmail: step by step

1. Search everywhere, including Spam and Trash

   In Gmail on a computer, click Show search options at the right of the search bar. Next to Search, change All Mail to Mail & Spam & Trash, type the sender's address or a word from the email, and click Search.

   Also look in the Promotions and Updates tabs at the top of your inbox, if you have them. If you find the email in Spam, open it and select Report not spam so Gmail learns. Emails in Spam and Trash are deleted for good after 30 days.

2. Check filters and blocked addresses

   A filter can send mail straight past your inbox. Go to Settings (gear) → See all settings → Filters and Blocked Addresses. Look for filters that say Delete it or Skip Inbox and select edit or delete. Check the blocked list on the same page too, and unblock the sender if they're on it.

3. Check your storage

   Your Gmail space is shared with Google Drive and Google Photos. When it's full, you may not be able to send or receive email. Check your space at one.google.com/storage. To free some up, delete emails with large attachments you don't need, empty Trash and Spam, or clear out large files in Drive or Photos.

4. Check forwarding

   Go to Settings (gear) → See all settings → Forwarding and POP/IMAP. If Forward a copy of incoming mail is turned on, make sure it's set to keep Gmail's copy in the Inbox, then click Save Changes.

   Forwarding to an address you don't recognize? Choose Disable forwarding. Google warns this can mean someone else has access to your account. Change your password and run Google's Security Checkup.

Outlook.com (Hotmail, Live): step by step

1. Check Junk Email and the Other tab

   Open the Junk Email folder. If you find the message, select it, then select It's not junk to move it back to your inbox. Microsoft deletes Junk Email automatically after 10 to 30 days, and it can't be recovered, so check soon.

   If your inbox has Focused and Other tabs, check Other too.

2. Check rules, Sweep and blocked senders

   Rules and Sweep can move or delete email on their own. On a computer, go to Settings (gear) → Mail → Rules and turn off or delete any rule that moves the missing mail. Check Settings → Mail → Sweep as well. Then open Settings → Mail → Junk email, and if the sender is under Blocked senders, remove them and add them to Safe senders.

3. Check your storage

   When your Microsoft storage is full, you can't send or receive email, and Microsoft says messages sent to you during that time bounce back and can't be recovered. Check it at Settings (gear) → Account → Storage. That page shows what's using space and lets you clear out old items in each folder.

4. Check forwarding

   Microsoft suggests checking whether email forwarding is turned on (in Settings → Mail → Forwarding and IMAP). If mail is going to an address you don't recognize, turn it off and change your password.

Phone or computer app not updating

If the email shows up on the website but not in your app, the app isn't syncing.

• All apps: make sure the device is online and Airplane mode is off, update the app, and restart the device. In most phone apps, pull down on the inbox to refresh. Google says Gmail can take up to 15 minutes to sync.
• Gmail app on Android: tap Menu → Settings, tap your account, and make sure Sync Gmail is checked. Also check that your phone's own account sync is on (in the phone's Settings, under Accounts or Passwords & accounts; names vary). A phone that's almost out of space can also stop syncing.
• Classic Outlook on Windows: look at the bottom of the window. If it says Working Offline or Disconnected, select the Send / Receive tab and select Work Offline to go back online.
• New Outlook for Windows: select Sync on the View tab to check for new mail.
• Changed your password recently? Update it in the app too. If the app keeps asking for a password, remove the account from the app and add it again.

Still missing?

• Ask the sender to check the address they used and to look for a “delivery failed” or “undeliverable” reply in their inbox. The message in that reply explains what went wrong.
• Most of your email suddenly gone? That can be a sign someone else got into your account. Change your password from a device you trust and check your account's security settings.

Sources

• Google: Gmail messages are missing
• Google: Fix sync errors with the Gmail app (Android)
• Microsoft: Can't send or receive email in Outlook.com
• Microsoft: Email is missing from your Outlook.com inbox
• Microsoft: Mail goes to the Junk folder by mistake
• Microsoft: Block or unblock senders in Outlook
• Microsoft: Manage email messages by using rules in Outlook
• Microsoft: Storage limits in Outlook.com
• Microsoft: I can't send or receive messages in Outlook (Work Offline and Sync)