How to Fix Gmail Not Sending Emails

Gmail sending failures can stem from connectivity issues, account problems, or message restrictions. These troubleshooting steps resolve the most common causes preventing your emails from reaching recipients.

1. Check your internet connection. Open a new browser tab and navigate to any website to verify connectivity. If pages won't load, restart your router and reconnect to your network. Gmail requires a stable internet connection to sync and send messages.
2. Verify the recipient email address. Double-check the recipient's email address for typos, missing characters, or incorrect domains. Look for common mistakes like .com instead of .org or missing letters in the username. Invalid addresses cause immediate send failures with bounce-back notifications.
3. Check attachment size and format. Gmail limits attachments to 25MB total per message. Remove or compress large files, or use Google Drive sharing for files exceeding this limit. Certain file types like .exe or .bat are automatically blocked for security reasons.
4. Clear browser cache and cookies. Press Ctrl+Shift+Delete (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+Delete (Mac) to open clearing options. Select 'Cookies and other site data' and 'Cached images and files,' then click Clear data. Restart your browser and sign back into Gmail.
5. Disable browser extensions. Open an incognito or private window and try sending the email. If it works, extensions are interfering with Gmail. Disable ad blockers, VPN extensions, and security add-ons one by one to identify the culprit.
6. Check Gmail sending limits. Gmail restricts accounts to 500 emails per day for regular accounts or 2000 for Google Workspace. If you've hit this limit, wait 24 hours before sending again. Check the Sent folder to count recent messages and monitor your usage.
7. Review account security status. Navigate to myaccount.google.com/security and check for security alerts or suspicious activity warnings. Resolve any flagged issues and verify your recovery information is current. Compromised accounts may have sending privileges temporarily suspended.