Use Gmail offline

You can read, respond to, and search your Gmail messages even when you aren't connected to the Internet by visiting mail.google.com. 

Tips:

  • To make it easier to use Gmail when you are offline, we recommend you bookmark mail.google.com in Chrome.
  • If you're using Gmail with your work or school account, you can ask your admin to help change your settings.

Turn on Gmail offline

On your computer, make sure you've downloaded Chrome. You can only use Gmail offline in a Chrome browser window, not using Incognito mode.

  1. Go to Gmail offline settings.
  2. Check "Enable offline mail."
  3. Choose your settings, such as how many days of messages you want to sync.
  4. Click Save changes.

Bookmark Gmail to use offline 

You can bookmark your inbox to make accessing your email offline easier. 

  1. In Chrome, open your Gmail inbox.
  2. To the right of the address bar, click Star Star. Learn more about how to create a bookmark in Chrome.

Use Gmail offline

To use Gmail when you’re not connected to the Internet, go to mail.google.com, or click the bookmark you created for Gmail offline in Chrome.

Note: When you send emails offline, your email goes into a new "Outbox" folder and gets sent as soon as you go back online.

Uninstall Gmail offline

Step 1: Remove your offline data

  1. On your computer, open Google Chrome.
  2. At the top right, click More More and then Settings.
  3. At the bottom, click Advanced.
  4. Under "Privacy and security," click Content settings and then Cookies.
  5. Click See all cookies and site data and then Remove all.

Step 2: Turn off Gmail offline

  1. Go to Gmail offline settings.
  2. Uncheck "Enable offline mail."

Troubleshoot problems

I have multiple Gmail accounts, but I only see one in Gmail Offline

Gmail Offline only syncs the messages for the account you were using when you set it up.

You'll need to sign into your other Gmail account and turn on Gmail offline.

My messages stopped syncing

You might've run out of space. To sync again, try the following steps:

  1. Go to Settings Settingsand thenSettings.
  2. Click the Offline tab.
  3. In the "Sync settings" section, choose fewer days to sync or uncheck the box next to "Download attachments."

Your messages will also stop syncing if you close Chrome. To start sync again, open Chrome.

I can't see email attachments

When you are offline, attachments cannot be previewed within Gmail. However, you can download them and open them within an application installed on your computer. 

Insufficient offline storage error

Insufficient storage can be caused by the following reasons:

  • Not enough hard drive space
  • Using a Chrome incognito tab
  • Using a Chrome Guest profile
  • Chrome settings are set to clear on exit in Chrome

Check settings for cookies in Chrome

  1. On your computer, open Chrome.
  2. Go to More Moreand then Settings.
  3. At the bottom, click Advanced. 
  4. In the 'Privacy and security' section, click Content settings and then Cookies. 
  5. Make sure “mail.google.com” or “*.google.com” is not listed under "Clear on exit."

Learn more about how to manage cookies in Chrome.

Note: Gmail offline only uses space available to your browser. Since this is usually only a fraction of the storage available on your computer, the available storage shown in Gmail offline settings will be smaller than the actual available storage on your computer.

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