How to Fix Gmail not loading?
Gmail is a free email service provided by Google. It was first launched in 2004 in beta mode which was later ended in 2009. Initailly, it provided 1GB of storage space per user which was much greater than the competition of that time. Recently, this limit was increased to 15GB to meet modern standards. Gmail has a user base of more than a billion people.
Quite recently, there have been many reports from users who are unable to load the web version of Gmail. In this article, we will discuss some of the reasons due to which this issue is triggered and also discuss some solutions that you can use to counter this issue. Make sure to follow the steps carefully and accurately to avoid conflict.
What Prevents Gmail from Loading?
After receiving numerous reports from multiple users, we decided to investigate the issue and devised a set of solutions to fix it completely. Also, we looked into the reasons due to which the issue is triggered and listed them as follows.
- Corrupt Cookies/Cache: Cache is stored by applications to decrease loading times and to provide a better experience. Cookies are stored by Sites for the same reasons. However, over time, this data can be corrupted which can prevent certain sites from loading properly.
- Extensions: There are a lot of extensions/add-ons available for almost all browsers. These extensions provide additional functions to the user but they can end up blocking certain sites. Therefore, it is possible that an extension/add-on might be blocking Gmail from loading properly.
- Maintenence Break: In some cases, Gmail might be temporarily down due to a service outage. Therefore, it is important to check if the servers are working properly. You can visit this site to check if Gmail is working.
Now that you have a basic understanding of the nature of the problem, we will move on towards the solutions. Make sure to implement these in the specific order in which they are provided.
Solution 1: Clearing Cache/Cookies
Sometimes the cached data and cookies by sites and the browser can end up preventing a site from loading properly. Therefore, in this step, we will be clearing the cache/cookies for the browser. This method differs for all browsers therefore, we have listed the steps for some of the most popular ones, if your browser isn’t in this list check the method on the browser’s support page.
For Chrome
- Launch the browser and open a new tab.
- Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select “Settings“.
Clicking on “Settings” from the drop-down. - Scroll down and click on “Advanced“.
Clicking on “Advanced Settings” after scrolling to the bottom of the page - Click on the “Clear Browsing Data” option under the “Privacy & Security” heading.
Clicking on the Clear Browsing Data option - Click on the “Advanced” Tab and click on the “Time Range” dropdown.
- Select “All Time” from the list and check the first four options.
Clicking on Advanced, selecting “All time” as range and checking the first four options - Click on the “Clear Data” option to delete the cache and cookies.
- Check to see if the issue persists.
For Microsoft Edge:
- Launch the browser and open a new tab.
- Click on the “Three Dots” in the top right corner.
- Select the “History” option from the list and click on the “Clear History” link.
Clicking on history - Check the first four options and click on “Clear”.
- Check to see if the issue persists.
For Firefox:
- Open the browser and launch a new tab.
- Click on the “Three Vertical Lines” in the top right corner and select the “Options” option from the list.
Clicking on the menu button and selecting “Options” from the list - Select “Privacy & Security” from the left pane.
- Click on the “Clear Data” option under the “Cookies and Site Data” heading.
Clicking on “Clear Data” option - Check to see if the issue persists.
Solution 2: Disabling Extensions
In some cases, certain extensions can prevent the site from loading properly. Therefore, in this step, we will be disabling all the extensions and checking to see if the site loads. For that:
- Click on the “Three Dots” in the top right corner and click on the “More Tools” option.
- Select the “Extensions” option.
Clicking on the More tools option and selecting “Extensions” - Click on the toggle to turn off the extension.
- Check to see if the issue persists.
Solution 3: Checking Browser Compatibility
Gmail isn’t compatible with some browsers. Therefore, you should make sure that you are using a browser that supports the site. Below are listed the browsers that are compatible with the site. Make sure that you are using one of the following browsers.
- Google Chrome
- Safari
- Internet Explorer
- Microsoft Edge
- Firefox