Gmail notifications not showing on Android? Check these settings

When Gmail notifications are not showing on Android, the cause is almost always a setting rather than a fault. Gmail has notification switches in the app itself, in each account, and in Android’s own settings, and the phone’s battery and Do Not Disturb features can silence it too. Work through the checks below in order and send yourself a test email after each one.

This is an independent guide and freetechsupport.org is not affiliated with Google. Menu names can vary slightly between Android phone makers.

1. Turn on notifications inside the Gmail app

Google’s Gmail Help describes two levels:

1. In the Gmail app, tap Menu (the three lines), then Settings > General settings > Manage notifications, and make sure All Gmail notifications is on.
2. Go back to Settings, tap your account, and under Notifications tap Email notifications. Choose All to be notified about every new message.

If you have more than one Gmail account on the phone, repeat the second step for each one.

2. Check you are not on “High priority only”

If Email notifications is set to High priority only, Gmail only notifies you about messages it decides are important. That can look like notifications are broken for ordinary mail. Switch it to All if you want every message.

3. Make sure Sync Gmail is on

Under Settings > your account, scroll to Data usage and check that Sync Gmail is ticked. Google notes that if notifications still do not arrive after this, the next step is its troubleshooter for Gmail sync errors. Also check that the account itself syncs in Android: Settings > Passwords & accounts (or Accounts) > your Google account > Account sync, with Gmail turned on.

4. Turn on label notifications if you use filters

If you use filters that skip the inbox and send mail straight to a label, you will not be notified unless that label has notifications on. In Gmail, go to Settings > your account > Manage labels, tap the label, set Sync messages to Last 30 days or All, then turn on its notifications. Google explains that you cannot turn on label notifications without syncing the label.

5. Check Android’s notification settings for Gmail

Android can block an app’s notifications even when the app is set up correctly.

1. Open Settings > Apps > Gmail > Notifications.
2. Make sure notifications are allowed and the categories for each account are on.
3. Check that the notification style allows alerts or sound, not “silent”.

6. Stop battery saving from holding Gmail back

Battery optimisation can stop Gmail from checking for new mail in the background, so notifications arrive late or not at all.

• Open Settings > Apps > Gmail > Battery and choose Unrestricted or Not optimised (wording varies).
• Turn off Battery saver or Power saving mode to test.
• Under Settings > Apps > Gmail > Mobile data, allow background data, and check that Data saver is not restricting Gmail.

7. Check Do Not Disturb and Focus modes

Do Not Disturb, Bedtime mode or a Focus mode can hide notifications. Swipe down from the top of the screen to check, or open Settings > Notifications > Do Not Disturb and add Gmail as an exception if you want its alerts.

8. Update or reset the app

• Update Gmail and Android from the Play Store and Settings > System update.
• Clear the Gmail app’s cache: Settings > Apps > Gmail > Storage > Clear cache. This does not delete your email.
• As a last step, remove and re-add the Google account. Mail is stored in your Google account, so it downloads again.

On iPhone

Gmail Help’s iPhone version has two steps: turn on notifications for Gmail in the iPhone Settings app, then in Gmail tap Menu > Settings > Notifications > Email notifications and choose All or High priority only. Focus modes on iPhone can silence Gmail in the same way Do Not Disturb does on Android.

Related guides

Gmail not receiving new emails, Gmail storage full, stop website notifications and every guide in the email section.