5 Ways to Fix Delayed Gmail Notifications on Android

Quick Tips

• Ensure the Do Not Disturb mode is not configured to turn on automatically on your Android phone.
• Review notification settings for the Gmail app and ensure it is allowed to run in the background.
• If the issue persists, consider updating the Gmail app and clearing its cache data.

Try Basic Fixes

• Check Do Not Disturb schedules: On Android, you can schedule Do Not Disturb mode to turn on automatically and pause notifications for specific time periods. However, this can also delay Gmail notifications on Android. To avoid confusion, turn off Do Not Disturb schedules on your Android device.
• Update the app: If you aren’t using the most recent version of the Gmail app, you may encounter problems like the one described here. Open the Play Store to update the Gmail app and see if that helps.

Fix 1: Check In-App Notification Settings

Another thing you need to do is go through the in-app notification settings in Gmail and ensure you’ve configured them correctly. Here’s how you can check them.

Step 1: Open the Gmail app, tap the three horizontal lines in the top-left corner, and select Settings.

Step 2: Select your email account. Tap on Notifications and select All.

Step 4: Tap on Inbox notifications and tick the Notify for every message checkbox.

If you’ve multiple accounts, repeat the above steps for each one. After that, Gmail notifications should arrive on time.

Fix 2: Check Notification Categories for Gmail

Have you recently tweaked any notification categories for the Gmail app? That could cause certain app alerts to stop working unless you open the app. Here’s how to fix them.

Step 1: Long-press on the Gmail app icon and tap the info icon in the top-right corner of the menu that appears. Then, tap on Notifications.

Step 2: Select Notification categories. Go through all alert types and make sure they are enabled.

Fix 3: Lock Gmail in the Background

Removing Gmail from Android’s recent apps list can prevent the app from working in the background and sending timely notifications. You can also lock the Gmail app in the background so you or your phone don’t accidentally close it. To do so, open the recent apps menu on your phone. Tap the Gmail icon and select Keep open.

Fix 4: Allow Background Data and Battery Usage to Gmail

When you enable data restriction for Gmail, Android prevents the app from using data in the background. Similarly, imposing battery restrictions on Gmail could cause app notifications to arrive late on your Android.

Hence, it’s best to allow background data and battery usage to the Gmail app on Android.

Step 1: Long-press on the Gmail app icon > tap the info icon.

Step 2: Scroll down to tap on Mobile data and enable the toggles for Allow background data usage and Allow data usage while Data saver is on.

Step 2: Go to Battery > select Unrestricted from the following menu.

Fix 5: Clear App Cache

Old cache data can prevent apps like Gmail from functioning correctly. Thankfully, it’s quick and easy to clear redundant app cache on Android. To clear the Gmail app cache, follow these steps:

Step 1: Long-press on the Gmail app icon > tap the info icon.

Step 2: Go to Storage > tap the Clear cache option at the bottom.