How to Check if Gmail is Blocking Incoming Emails: Fixing Email Issues Quickly

Why is Gmail Blocking My Emails?

There is no immediate notification when Gmail filters your email. You may not notice until you see something disappear. "Why is Gmail blocking my email?" or "How do I know if my email was blocked by Gmail?" This is one of the questions you may have. This is a common question and the answer can vary depending on several variables that affect your mailbox.

Gmail may block your incoming emails for seven specific reasons:

Oversensitive Spam Filter

Although Gmail's spam filter is quite intelligent, it can occasionally be overly sensitive. Based on keywords, attachments, or the sender's reputation, Gmail may flag an email as spam and prevent it from reaching your inbox. This could be the cause of emails from a specific sender not showing up for you.

Emails Are Being Marked as Spam

Another reason is that Gmail may be preventing the same email from reaching your inbox. You may have accidentally marked an email as spam. Gmail tracks these exchanges and continues to delete messages similar to ones you have already reported.

Blocked Senders List

Another possibility is that the domain or email address you expect to receive email from has been added to Gmail’s blocked senders list. In this case, Gmail won’t send emails from that website or address to your inbox.

Email Quota or Storage Limit

Gmail can block new emails if your account is full or close to your storage limit. If your storage space reaches its limit, Gmail will stop sending emails until you clear space or upgrade your storage.

Bad Email Filters

Some Gmail users create custom filters to organize emails that arrive in specific folders or categories. However, if your filter settings are incorrect or too strict, Gmail can unintentionally block or redirect emails that aren’t in the designated folders.

Bad Sender Image

Gmail uses several signals to assess the trustworthiness of a sender. Gmail can prevent email messages from reaching your inbox if they come from an untrusted source, such as a sender with a reputation for spamming.

Untrusted Links or Attachments

Emails containing questionable links or specific attachments (such as executables or large files) may be automatically blocked by Gmail's security system. In addition to protecting your account by blocking malware and phishing attempts, this can also block emails that are valid.

How to Check If Gmail is Blocking Incoming Emails

Solution 1. Check Your Spam Folder

Checking your spam folder in Gmail is a simple process. First, important emails can be misclassified by Gmail’s spam filter and hidden there. Use this step to check if Gmail is filtering incoming emails like this:

1. Open your Gmail account.

2. Scroll down to the left in your inbox and click on "More" and then "Spam".

3. Check the messages in your spam folder.

4. Select the emails that should not be marked as spam, then click on the "Not spam" option at the top of the screen.

As a result, Gmail will recognize those emails as legitimate and will not block them in the future. If you find that your spam filter is blocking non-spam emails, you can change the filter settings to reduce them.

Solution 2. Check and Edit Blocked Senders List

Emails from senders that you accidentally added to your block list can sometimes be blocked by Gmail. If you think that’s the case, Here are some steps to check if an important sender is on your block list:

1. Open your Gmail account.

2. To view all your settings, click the gear icon in the top-right corner and select "See all settings".

3. Go to the tab called "Blocked Filters and Addresses".

4. Review the list of blocked addresses. Click "Unblock" next to the correct domain or email address that should not be blocked.

Gmail will unblock emails from these senders and forward them to you. This way, future emails from these addresses are less likely to be automatically blocked.

Solution 3. Free up Storage Space in Gmail

When Gmail hits its account storage limit, it might stop sending new emails. By clicking the storage bar in the lower-left corner of Gmail or by going to the Google Storage website, you can see how much storage you have. Here's how to make room:

1. Delete unnecessary emails or attachments. Do this manually or use Gmail’s search function by typing "has:attachment larger:10M" to find large files.

2. Organize your spam and trash folders.

3. If you need more storage space, consider upgrading to Google One.

Gmail will start sending incoming emails again when you have enough space. With these simple steps, you can prevent Gmail from filtering incoming messages due to storage issues.

Solution 4. Check Your Gmail Settings

Although filters might help you keep your inbox organized, they can also make Gmail reject emails if they are not configured properly. You might need to check your filters if Gmail is rejecting incoming emails or sending them to the incorrect folders:

1. Click on the gear button in Gmail and select "See all settings".

2. Select the tab called "Blocked filters and addresses".

3. Check if there are any filters that are automatically deleting emails or sending them to the wrong locations.

4. Remove or adjust any filters that may be causing the problem.

Here’s how to fix the problem that Gmail is blocking incoming emails due to incorrect filter settings.

Solution 5. Look for Suspicious Links or Attachments

Strong security procedures are in place at Gmail to guard against malicious emails. To safeguard your account, Gmail may reject emails that include dubious files or links. Take these actions to avoid this:

1. Request that the sender send the email in a different format if it includes a potentially dangerous link or attachment.

2. Add trusted senders to your contacts list to inform Gmail that their messages are secure.

If the sender is someone you don't know, emails with odd attachments or links should raise red flags. This will lessen the likelihood that Gmail may reject valid emails because of dubious content.

Solution 6. Use Gmail’s Search Tool

“How to check if Gmail is blocking incoming emails?” is still a question that many people have. Using Gmail’s powerful search function is one way to do it. Searching for keywords or the sender’s name can often help you find emails that Gmail may have blocked or filtered. Here’s how to find missing emails:

1. Open the search box in Gmail.

2. Enter the sender name or a keyword that can help you find the missing email.

3. Another way is to search for "is:unread" to see if there are any unread emails.

Mark the email as "not spam" or move it to a relevant folder, if you find an email that should be in your inbox.

7. Contact Gmail Support

If you have tried every solution and still can't figure out why Gmail is blocking your incoming emails, it's time to get help. The Gmail Support Center can help you fix a variety of issues relating to blocked emails. They can help you identify the problem's source and come up with a fix.

Bonus Tip: Automatically Save Gmail Emails to the Cloud as PDF Files

This article addresses the question "Where can I see contacts in Gmail?". If you’re considering saving Gmail emails to a cloud drive as PDFs, MultCloud can be extremely useful. Trusted by over 3 million users, MultCloud is a multi-cloud management tool that facilitates the transfer or synchronization of files between various cloud services.

For instance, it allows for seamless file transfers from cloud drives like Gmail to OneDrive without the need to download and then re-upload files. MultCloud also enables you to access and manage all your cloud accounts via a single application. Currently, it supports more than 30 different cloud services, including Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Box, Google Photos, iCloud Photos, FTP, WebDAV, and more.

Conclusion

In conclusion, understanding how to check if Gmail is blocking incoming emails is essential to making sure you don't miss any important conversations. These steps will help you identify the real issue and implement practical solutions. These solutions might assist you in getting your emails back into your inbox, whether you need to increase extra storage space, adjust your blocked senders list, or clear your spam filter.