10 Best Ways to Fix Gmail Receiving Late Emails on Phone

Many tools and services claim to replace email, the good, old email still is important in our lives. Gmail is a popular email provider with native apps on mobile and tablets. However, many face problems like Gmail not sending emails, not downloading attachments, and receiving late emails. The latter can be quite irritating and embarrassing at times.

Gmail receiving emails late can break your communication. You may miss important updates from colleagues, employees, banks, etc. First, ensure you haven’t enabled DND (Do Not Disturb) on your phone and give relevant permission to send real-time notifications. Now, let’s troubleshoot the problem once and for all.

1. Check Network Connection

You need to first check the network connection on your phone. If your phone has network glitches, you may notice delays in receiving emails from Gmail.

You need to enable the Airplane mode and disable it after some time to reset the network connection. iOS users can access the option from the Control Center, while Android users need to pull down the Notification Center.

You can also reset your phone’s network settings. Check our dedicated guide on resetting network settings.

2. Check Space on Phone

If your phone has low storage, it may not receive emails on time. Here’s how you can check storage space on your phone.

Step 1: Open the Settings app and scroll to storage. Check the detailed storage breakdown on your phone.

Step 2: You can open the Files app and delete large files and apps from your phone.

If you have an iPhone, use the steps below.

Step 1: Open the Settings app and scroll to General.

Step 2: Select Storage and check the detailed space breakdown.

If you are running low on storage, check our dedicated guide to free up space on iPhone.

3. Check Space in Gmail Inbox

Google Drive comes with 15GB of free space to begin with. The default storage is shared among Google Photos, Gmail, and productivity apps. If your Drive space runs low, Gmail may become slow to receive emails. Here’s how to check that in the Gmail app on your Android and iPhone.

Step 1: Launch Gmail app and tap on your profile picture at the top-right corner. Check the Drive space for your account.

Step 2: Tap on it to check the storage breakdown. You can hit Clean up space to check the suggestions to free up Drive storage.

4. Check Gmail Servers

If Gmail servers are down, you may face issues with receiving instant emails. You can head to Downdetector and search for Gmail to confirm the problem. You will receive emails only when Google fixes server-side issues.

5. Disable and Enable Sync for Gmail (Android)

You can disable Gmail sync for your Google account and enable it again to fix such glitches. Here’s what you need to do.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your Android and scroll to Passwords and accounts.

Step 2: Select your Google account and tap Sync account.

Step 3: Disable sync for Gmail and enable it after some time.

After that, you will receive emails in Gmail.

6. Delay With Connected Email Accounts

If you have connected your Outlook, Yahoo, or AOL account to Gmail, you face delays with receiving emails from another email provider.

7. Give Unrestricted Data Usage to Gmail (Android)

Did you enable data saver mode on your Android phone? You may notice some delays in receiving emails in Gmail. You can disable the data saver mode or give unrestricted data usage permission to Gmail.

Step 1: Long-press on Gmail app icon and open the app info menu on Android.

Step 2: Select Mobile data and Wi-Fi.

Step 3: Enable the ‘Allow data usage while Data saver is on’ toggle.

The iPhone users can open the Settings app, head to the Gmail option and check that the toggle for ‘Background App Refresh’ is enabled.

8. Enable Unrestricted Battery Usage to Gmail (Android)

Gmail may act upon an active power saver mode. The system suspends background processes when the battery-saver mode is on. You should give unrestricted battery usage to Gmail so that it behaves normally even when the battery saver mode is on.

Step 1: Go to the Gmail app info menu (check the steps above) on Android.

Step 2: Scroll to App battery usage.

Step 3: Tap the radio button beside Unrestricted.

9. Clear Gmail Cache

A corrupt Gmail cache can often delay incoming emails on your phone. You need to clear the Gmail cache on your Android and try again.

Step 1: Go to the Gmail app info menu (check the steps above).

Step 2: Open Storage and cache. Tap Clear cache from the following menu.

Since iPhone doesn’t offer way to delete cache from the Gmail app, you will need to delete the app entirely, restart your iPhone and install the Gmail app again.

10. Update Gmail App

An outdated Gmail app can often cause such issues. So, it’s a good idea to update Gmail from the Google Play Store and the App Store. You can sync your email messages in real-time.

Update Gmail for Android

Update Gmail for iPhone

Receive Your Gmail Messages in Real Time

If the issue persists, ditch Gmail in favor of Outlook. It’s one of the best Gmail alternatives for consumers and businesses.

Did you manage to fix the problem? Which trick worked for you? Share your findings in the comments below.