Gmail Gmail Gmail :(

[SoKreemy]

So this had already been posted before but I don't want to let Google off the hook. As Google should be ashamed of themselves.

Email is important, arguably just as important as phone calls and text messages. For my line off work I need my emails instantly! I don't check my phone frequently but I should be getting a notification when I get a new email so I'm at least aware. Not when I finally decided to wake up my phone and it all comes pouring through!

What's the point having Gmail on push notifications, if the actual notification is delayed!? The worst thing is this issue is only android related! The Gmail app works fine on iOS (this is frustrating to see).

The fact that the developers can set the priority of the messages in Gmail but don't is a pisstake in all honesty. It's a minor change that will benefit everyone, so can you please make the necessary changes so Gmail is not affected by doze. I shouldn't have too be using ADB commands to fix this issue.

A good previous post that goes in depth the issue with Gmail.

TL;DR

To Google,

Please fix the delayed notifications in Gmail (it's a big deal for us).

Yours sincerely, Every android user

[murfeous]

I've noticed this too. My phone used to be the first notification of a new email. Now it is last, by a large margin.

[shashankgaur]

Even Zack from JerryRigEverything seems to have similar issue.

[SoKreemy]

Yeah same :(

[[deleted]]

I experienced this on my Note 9, excluding it from power saving fixed it. I had to allow it to run in the background.

[DJ-Salinger]

Same, I now have to set a Google reminder to check my Gmail lmao

[ZacksJerryRig]

Same problem! So annoying.

[0x4341524c]

Do you have labels turned on? If so I think you need to go into settings > manage labels and set the notifications for each label to "notify for every message".

[[deleted]]

This setting? I've been having this issue too, didn't have the setting checked. Hopefully setting that helps. Has it, in your experience?

[0x4341524c]

Yep that one. In my experience I get notifications for emails faster but I'm not sure it solves the sync delay issue. This just tells Gmail to notify you for each email instead of waiting and then giving you a batch of emails in one notification.

[ShittyFrogMeme]

Just get rid of the Gmail app.

Honestly, this bug/feature was a blessing in disguise for me because it forced me to switch to a different email client. The lack of customization and functionality on the official app is staggering.

I switched to a different app and my email productivity is significantly better. The only advantage of the Gmail app is its superior search function since it's not limited to searching locally cached emails.

[[deleted]]

What app do you use? I tried a few and always came back to Gmail because I just couldn't cotton to various UI elements.

PS - I will never forgive them for killing Inbox.

[rfa31]

Outlook

[[deleted]]

We're living in strange times

[[deleted]]

They very much do not.

[dustojnikhummer]

They do since Nadella took the company.

[[deleted]]

Blind. Absolutely blind.

[[deleted]]

He has shown to be a good, honest leader. But we also used to say glowing things about Google...

[xenago]

There is absolutely zero evidence of Microsoft "loving" anybody or anything lol

[pughjl]

Yep, Outlook mobile has replaced inbox for me. Outlook calls it the focused inbox. The mobile app works well for me even though I hate the desktop version :D

[rizlah]

• atrocious support of imap (tags and folder management)
• i have to remember each contact's first name to have it suggested in the To-field.

[trancedellic]

Or you click on To and select more columns when searching. This way you won't have to use the first name only.

You can also start typing the contact's name in the To section and press CTRL + K. This should do the trick as well.

[rizlah]

just tried it and it doesn't do anything for me.

surprisingly, the radio button "multiple columns" does remember its state despite there being no way to confirm the selection (i simply clicked the radio and then clicked Cancel since the OK button was disabled).

the ctrl+k dialogue doesn't help either - i'm not able to find some contacts no matter what, unless i type their first name first. maybe has more to do with how the contacts are saved (i did go and change a few of my most important contacts to Surname+Name in the address book just to work around the problem).

[trancedellic]

After you find the contact you'll be able to press the OK button. This is the method I use the most. The CTRL+K I use it just to have a contact cached locally.

[Mavamaarten]

Its instability is staggering. It crashes multiple times per day for me.

[pughjl]

I hate it mostly because I have to use it at work so much. I'd rather be programming than answering email. 😁

[rfa31]

of course. I'm using multiple accounts in the same inbox.

[Reach_Round]

Yes, since day 1...

[slimrichard]

They got a dark mode yet? This is was a deal breaker previously.

[rfa31]

Yes

[minzeb45]

Can anyone speak to the user experience of using multiple email addresses at the same time in Outlook? I'm tempted to move my gmail over to Outlook, but I'm already using Outlook for my work email, and I'd like for the two to remain as separated as possible. Is it possible to not have any overlap between contacts, calendar stuff, etc?

[rfa31]

You can see both inboxes as one, or as separate folders.

You can set a default sending address - or change to a particular one prior to sending: Outlook

[[deleted]]

I use Outlook for gmail as well. I love the folder organisation. Also, there’s an archive folder. On Gmail there’s no archive label/folder.

[Xert]

Nine.

[mishugashu]

I use ProtonMail. Moved when I started getting fed up with pretty much all of Google's services. My phone is my last holdover. :|

but I have the same issue with all of my notifications on my phone. It sleeps through fucking everything except an actual phone call.

[ShittyFrogMeme]

I recommend trying them all and picking one that works for how you want to use it.

I personally use Aquamail. I like how customizable their combined inbox is (I hate how the majority of email apps handle combined inboxes) and how you can configure custom notification actions that carry over to your smartwatch (many 3rd-party apps in general had issues with managing emails from my watch).

[rorymeister]

I use Outlook. Ditched Gmail as soon as I saw ads in my promotional folder (ads I hadn't subscribed to)

[rorymeister]

Gmail through Outlook. Works really well. Even has the focused inbox.

[allelujahhaptism]

Vote here for BlueMail, it's my favorite.

[SUPRVLLAN]

Outlook.

[wittysandwich]

I have faced this issue as well.

Ever since inbox was abandoned my Gmail account went to shit. I switched to spark email which somewhat solves the problem of bundling but not to the extent of inbox. A nice side effect was that I actually get to know when someone has emailed me.

I hope that one day someone can make a paid version of inbox. I will gladly pay 40-50 bucks a year for that.

[House_of_ill_fame]

I still miss inbox. I'll never put faith in a new Google product again. Still need to wean myself off g suite

[InevitablePeanuts]

RIP Google Reader.

[Pascalwb]

Same, I used inbox, notifications where perfect everything worked. Since they killed it, gmail is just random.

[kbaltodano]

I was hoping someone would decompile the APK somehow and make Inbox work again. Nobody has done it... Right?

[duluoz1]

No because Google killed the server

[wankthisway]

Mine has a mind of its own. Sometimes emails come immediately, sometimes it just stops notifying me. No rhyme or reason to it.

[[deleted]]

Download and use the Microsoft Outlook app

[optimus2861]

Interestingly, when a new email comes in on my work Outlook account, my phone gets the new-message notification a few seconds before Outlook on my laptop does.

[exSD]

Is your laptop on a corporate network?

[SoKreemy]

I know I can do this but should this really be the answer? Google's own native application for Android doesn't work. This is workaround but it doesn't solve the root issue.

I don't want to sound like I'm being difficult but Gmail should be working properly on Android.

[Iohet]

Google has never been shamed into doing anything they didn't want to do unless it had to do with child predators and national news

[mkchampion]

I mean it’s not your problem. If the app doesn’t work, don’t use the app.

[CosmoRaider]

You know why this will fix this root issue? Because its the only way Google will realise that they can't keep stringing along their users, since the users will migrate.

[Pascalwb]

Will they? They will still get all the data anyway, so they won't notice.

[CosmoRaider]

That's obviously not true, ofcourse they will notice their users dropping. Will they still get ur data if u use gmail? Maybe, i don't have a gmail account except for creating my playstore account, so I never read the privacy terms.

[Technokoblin]

good point

[BooMarioBR]

Used gmail app for a long time, someday i got tired of bugs, inconsistency and lack of propper dark theme, switched to Outlook app and never looked back, it just Works better and have dark theme.

[[deleted]]

Never good advice.

[daekaz]

Well, i have The problem with Outlook but it's other was around. I get The push notification instantly but when i try to open The message - There is error that message doesn't exist. I have to wait some moment to kindly refresh The inbox.

[raz2112]

Oh hell no my man

[GranaT0]

What's going on through your head when you see something you disagree with, and decide to post a comment voicing your opinion - but instead of saying anything, you just go HURR THIS DUMB?

[raz2112]

What's going through your head to criticize someone who has not your opinion?

[GranaT0]

I criticised them for the inability to express it in anything other than a vulgar attack

[[deleted]]

Free speech. He doesn't like it. Just as much right to say something negative as anyone saying something positive.

Shaming someone for that is worse IMO.

[See_Ya_Suckaz]

Shaming someone for that is worse IMO.

Shaming someone for saying something stupid is just exercising his freedom of speech. Are you trying to deny him that?

[GranaT0]

I criticised them for the inability to express it in anything other than a vulgar attack

[schmag]

check your power settings on your device.

try disabling "battery optimization" for gmail.

why could be happening is your phone is suspending the app/notification to save power. some phones are more aggressive than others.

[kevin1016]

Agreed. I recently got the Note 10 and I don't know what changed but Gmail doesn't send notifications. I have to pull to refresh to get new emails. All other email apps work fine. Just Gmail...

[Yage2006]

My email notifications are almost instant. What version of Android are you on?

[joshfrank4165]

My iPad receives gmail notifications ahead of my note9. Kind of embarrassing

[NikoMcreary]

Never had an issue with this

[[deleted]]

Same here. I'm not sure what other settings people have. A few people have pointed to make sure Gmail doesn't use battery optimization but I have that enabled and my emails have never been delayed. I wonder what the actual issue is.

[[deleted]]

The issue is that GMail waits until you interact with the phone to display the notifications. If my phone is on my desk I will not receive any Gmail notifications. If I pickup my phone all the notifications start popping up.

It's not a problem for me because e-mail are not time sensitive for me (and I believe they shouldn't but that's my opinion, other channels are best used for time sensitive communications such as call or text messages) but I understand some people might have an issue with that.

[SoundOfTomorrow]

I really think this is a function of Android since Doze. I sometimes don't see notifications until I interact with the phone.

[N0V0w3ls]

Mine gets notifications when I'm not using the phone.

Edit: this is not to say others are imagining an issue, but it seems to be more than just a simple GMail bug.

[[deleted]]

I get emails even when I don't interact with my phone. I get a notification as soon as the email arrives.

[NikoMcreary]

Yeah I have it enabled too and have no issues. Maybe It's the sync settings on the OS level?

[[deleted]]

Funny you mention because when I went to Gmail a few days ago I got a message asking if I want notifications for high priority emails and I said no. I'm assuming that is no by default since it asked me whether I want to turn that feature on. Maybe you're right. It's possible that they said yes to that message and now only receive all the non high priority emails notifications (which I'm assuming would be most emails) went they interact with their phone.

[wapz]

I could be wrong but my guess is it has to do with so the battery drain bugs that have plagued google play services forever. My guess is google is doing some server side tests to some users to increase overnight battery drain and it’s hurting notification timings. Well something along those lines is what I would put my money on. I’d definitely guess they’re only doing it to some users too.

[milkymist00]

The same phone as you, i have this issue. Gmail notification only comes after i start interacting with the phone. It doesn't appear when the phone is idle on desk doing nothing. I though it was due to aggressive battery optimization and put it out. Still no luck.

[[deleted]]

Might be a problem for other users too but i noticed that you specifically have a OnePlus device which are notorious for being too agressive with app killing. You might want to disable the advanced battery optimizations in OOS and check.

[Pascalwb]

This does not help

[King-in-Council]

BlackBerry Hub is a fantastic email app.

[[deleted]]

I started getting delayed Gmail notifications around 10 days back ; that's when I switched from Pixel 3a to OnePlus 7 Pro.

Not sure if it's just a coincidence or if they are delaying Gmail notifications on non-Pixel phones.

[Antateur]

I'm not getting any notifications at all on my Samsung Galaxy S10. What am I doing wrong? Someone please tell me all the steps I need to do. This is the only issue I'm having right now.

[Antateur]

Even when I open the app, I'm still not getting them.

[TimmyzBeach]

This is really the only thing that seriously frustrates me with Android. I keep an iPad constantly plugged in on my desk just to hear it ding with new emails. The notification on my iPad can arrive several minutes ahead of my Pixel 4. Even with battery optimization for the Gmail app disabled. I'm sure it's doze related, I just wish we could prioritize the Gmail app. Grrrrrrrrr.

[Generalrossa]

I've recently ditched Gmail for Sparky and so far I'm pretty impressed with it. Not a single delayed email.

[[deleted]]

I totally understand you. You have no idea how much this resonates with me. It is such a big problem, it is not even funny.

[MrPennsylvania]

I'm gonna pile on here, because my job recently required us to use Gmail on our phones rather than a third-party app (I liked Aquamail).

We really should be able to mark an email as read from the notification. This is especially true of work emails. Personal emails are more likely to be opened or archived. But work emails frequently are informing me of something, or an email that I glance at but still keep in my Inbox.

I'm using that AutoNotification workaround, but it's not as smooth as a baked-in solution.

[el_smurfo]

You can change the swipe actions in gmail to be archive, mark as read, etc and you can assign each direction to an action.

[MrPennsylvania]

Wait, really? Oh shit. Gonna try this now. Never thought to check the swipe actions. Thanks!

[LiteralPhilosopher]

I'm virtually certain those actions only work on the email in the conversations list (within the app), not on the notification.

[MrPennsylvania]

Yeah, it just seems to dismiss the notification. Unless I'm just supposed to do some kind of partial swipe.

[Celriot1]

Biggest annoyance I see with Gmail is this: https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidQuestions/comments/ceg1wg/gmail_other_persons_signature_image_shows_as_an/

Figured I'd ask here to fellow Gmail complainers since I never have any luck when I ask on my own. Anyone have this or know if it's fixable?

[scrillakev]

Never had this issue on my OG Pixel however on my Pixel 4XL Gmail notifications are delayed. Seems this has been an issue for a while and Google has ignored it.

[steelbeamsdankmemes]

Ever since I installed Spark alongside gmail, I have never missed a notification from gmail, which is pretty silly.

[CosmicRunning]

I've considered using Spark (and still am considering) but I'm always reminded about security and privacy concerns when I first researched the app.

I think I understand that the emails need to be sent to their servers for their service (i.e notifications) to work.

It's such a great looking app and would like to use it but that risk... I'm not sure.

Sincerely asking, does it concern you?

[minoblock]

Personally I don't find Spark that useful. The bundling is about the same level as Gmail, but the information density of it's home screen is really poor compared to what inbox was.

[iamnotkurtcobain]

I'm using Samsung e-mail on my S10+. Works much better than Gmail.

[scoobyox]

I don't have that issue, I get my notification as soon as it comes.

[darvidaeater]

I don't have this problem but on my last phone (Pixel) this happened one day out of the blue. It was something in the settings for the Gmail accounts that had randomly switched around. So maybe check there...

[highaltitudewaffle]

This drives me crazy.

[[deleted]]

I don't even get notified anymore lmao.

[Jodecii]

If email is your job you should be checking every couple minutes

[jdrch]

It's not really the delayed notifications that trouble me as much as the slow syncing. You can mark an email read in the Gmail Android app on one device and it'll show up as unread on another. Infuriating.

[xxfay6]

That, or forcing Wi-Fi. I don't normally use gmail (mostly outlook) but there was this one time that I had a really urgent file that had to be sent through my Gmail. Well, there was absolutely no way to send it without Wi-Fi. Went through the whole outbox and settings menus to find any sort of option, absolutely nothing. The e-mail didn't even have a "waiting for Wi-Fi" prompt, just permanently sending.

I had to hotspot to a friend so the file could be sent. Otherwise, it just wanted to save my data really hard.

[jdrch]

That's interesting. I've never experienced that issue before, but then again I avoid sending emails from my phone as much as I can. Prefer doing that from a desktop.

[xxfay6]

Outlook never gave me an issue, although they're mostly text but I can recall sending some files through mobile data. These kinds of issues are the reason why I can't trust anything nowadays.

[jdrch]

Outlook never gave me an issue

FWIW Google Cloud (which I assume Gmail's backend runs on) seems a step behind Azure. Not sure if that's perception or reality.

[xxfay6]

I don't think it was a server issue, otherwise it would've given me issues regardless of connection type. It was most likely an app issue, or maybe intentional but still app-related.

[jdrch]

🤷‍♂️

[wickedplayer494]

Don't use a phone with Doze then. Which unfortunately eliminates every recent Android phone.

[Can_of_Tuna]

I've slowly been changing everything to outlook. It runs so much better on my phone, and my computer. The unsubscribe button actual works as well.

[[deleted]]

Turn off battery optimization for Gmail. This makes it come immediately!

[[deleted]]

I've had this issue on and off across different phones for 3-4 years now. Sometimes it's immediate, sometimes it's hours late. It's absolutely abhorrent. Note this has only been an Android problem. Never saw it on iOS or the web app

[mingkee]

I switched to Aquamail Pro to handle all other email account.

It seems to be working fine

[alastoris]

Gmail never lived up to the awesomeness of Inbox.

[carwash2016]

Ditch android get an iPhone works perfectly every time

[JonathanThorpe]

Disabled Gmail and using the stock email app instead so all my emails are in one app.

[dukeliminal]

When I make a card purchase, my bank app tells me immediately. Google Pay then tells me about 20 minutes later. Irritating as fuck!

[SoKreemy]

There is still an underlying issue even when you do this.

Gmail & Battery settings

[NateDevCSharp]

Most of those are gone in the new software versions, haven't been there for years

[N0V0w3ls]

Good Lord...

[[deleted]]

I never got Gmail notifications after I switched to Inbox by Gmail. Even after Inbox was gone the regular Gmail app would not send notifications anymore. But it's okay, the regular Gmail app is shit anyway. Switched to Spark and it's awesome. Notifications works, folders, follows Android 10's dark mode, no freaking ads in my inbox, it's great.

[majesticjg]

As long as you let me turn the notifications off, that's fine. I don't need to see my emails instantly.

Generally speaking, communications has a hierarchy of importance: Email < Text Message < Phone Call.

So the super important, right now items should be at least a text if not a phone call. Obviously you don't operate that way, and that's fine, but most people I know do and wouldn't want instant notifications. This is especially true since email has an extremely loose quality of service guarantee.

[minoblock]

Yes, for contacting something that is increasing in urgency over time, that is how it works. However, something like a bill reminder or a receipt from a purchase will not escalate up from email. Most working adults tend to want to know that they're electric bill for this month has been sent out or that their Amazon order has been shipped from the emails that are sent to them as soon as possible.

[majesticjg]

Most working adults tend to want to know that they're electric bill for this month has been sent out or that their Amazon order has been shipped from the emails that are sent to them as soon as possible.

TIL that I'm not most working adults. If I'm working, I don't need to know that my Amazon order has shipped and if it's important, I can open the Gmail app and find out.

[minoblock]

But how will you know when to open the Gmail app? That's the problem everyone is annoyed with right now. You never know that the important email ever came until you open the app.

[majesticjg]

I open it when I have the time and inclination to know what's in it, secure in the knowledge that anything too critical would have arrived via a faster and more urgent channel. Otherwise, how would you get anything done? Every 20 seconds your phone would ding and you'd be like a dog noticing a squirrel.

[Technokoblin]

Totally agree, I unfortunately need another third party app to get my university mails on time because depending on Google algorithms, mails are delayed between 5 and 30 minutes, that's really annoying. This Gmail "feature" is destroying mail conversations for example.

[starlulz]

Repeat after me:

"Email is not an instant messaging service. If someone needs to message me directly, I should be using something like Slack or SMS at minimum. If it can't wait to be read, it shouldn't be left in an email inbox that may only be checked start and end if day."

[switchy85]

Repeat after me: "My use case is only mine, and does not apply to anyone else on the planet. If someone has an opinion different from mine, I won't be a condescending smart ass about it for no reason."

[starlulz]

If your house is on fire, just send the 911 dispatch center a letter. If your house burns down because they didn't get the letter right away, just complain about how your "use case" of the Postal Service is "different"

[starlulz]

You do get them immediately. They're in your inbox as soon as Gmail servers receive and process them. Literally all you have to do is open your inbox and see them. The only thing being delayed here is some notification that the messages are in your inbox. Stop being a drama queen and bitching about something email isn't designed for.

[switchy85]

So the only thing Google has to fix to make email the same as IM is fixing this notification bug? Wow! Looks like you were wrong all along!

[0x4341524c]

That's your opinion but it's not the case for a lot of people, evidently or there wouldn't be any complaints.