Top 7 Ways to Fix Gmail Not Working on iPhone

Since there are so many factors involved in connecting your Gmail account to your iPhone, the troubleshooting methods vary from user to user. Therefore, to help you, we have prepared a list of solutions, from the simpler to the more advanced as we go along. So let’s check it out.

1. Restart your iPhone

First of all, you can start by restarting your iPhone first. If a minor glitch in the app or a background process is the reason Gmail isn’t working, restarting your iPhone should take care of it.

Suppose you have an iPhone X or later, press and hold the Sleep / Wake button and one of the volume buttons for the shutdown prompt to appear. On older iPhones, press and hold the Sleep / Wake button until you are prompted to swipe to turn off the device.

Wait for your device to turn off completely, then press and hold the Sleep / Wake button again to turn it on.

2. Visit the Gmail website for alerts

If you are having trouble signing in to your Gmail account on iPhone, you can try opening Gmail on any other device or on your computer. Look for an email from Google asking you to check your recent connection.

Once verified, you should be able to sign in to Gmail on your iPhone and it should work fine.

3. Check device activity

If you can’t find any connection alerts in your inbox, you can go to your Google account and manually check your Gmail connection on iPhone. Here’s how.

Step 1: Open a web browser on your phone or PC and sign in to your Google account.

Visit the google account

2nd step: Switch to the Security tab on your left and review the security activity. Click on your iPhone sign-in activity.

Step 3: In the next screen, click on “Yes, that was me”.

After that, try using Gmail on your iPhone to see if it works fine now.

4. Perform the CAPTCHA reset

When Google detects activity on your Gmail from a new device or an unknown location, it may prevent you from using your account until you unlock the CAPTCHA.

Step 1: Open a web browser, visit the Google Captcha reset page, and sign in with your Gmail account.

Resetting Google Captcha

2nd step: Then click on Continue.

You should see a message saying “Account Access Enabled”.

Go back to the Mail app and see if you can use Gmail.

5. Make sure IMAP is enabled

IMAP (or Internet Message Access Protocol) is an Internet protocol that Gmail uses to send all of your account information to and from your smartphone. Of course, if IMAP is disabled, Gmail will not work on iPhone.

Step 1: Open a web browser on your PC and sign in to your Gmail account.

2nd step: Click the gear icon in the upper right corner and select View all settings.

Step 3: Switch to the Forwarding and POP / IMAP tab and scroll to the IMAP Access section. Select Enable IMAP and click Save Changes at the bottom.

6. Delete and add a Gmail account

If Gmail is still not working on iPhone, you can try deleting your Gmail account and adding it again. This will help refresh your account’s connection to the server and may resolve the issue.

Step 1: Open the Settings app and go to Mail.

2nd step: Go to Accounts, then tap Gmail.

Step 3: Next, tap Remove Account. Choose Remove from my iPhone when prompted.

Add your Gmail account again to see if it is working fine now.

7. Update the messaging application

Finally, if nothing works, you can check if there are any pending updates for the Mail app and install them immediately. These updates usually bring bug fixes and improvements to an application, aside from new features. Therefore, you can try updating the Mail app to see if that fixes the problem.

While you’re at it, also consider updating your iPhone. It is often best to keep your devices up to date to avoid such bugs.

Gmail on iPhone

In most cases, such issues only arise when Google detects unusual activity with your account and locks it until it is verified. But if you continue to have trouble using Gmail on the Mail app on iPhone, consider switching to the standalone Gmail app.