Fix problems importing mail

If you’re having problems downloading email from your old account into Gmail or if emails are missing or deleted after your import, follow the tips below.

If you only want new mail, set up automatic forwarding instead.

Quick fixes to try first

If you’re having problems importing your mail, try each of the steps below. After you try each one, check to see if the problem is fixed.

• Check that you entered the right password.
• Make sure the account you’re trying to import from still works.
• Delete and then add back the email address you're importing from. Here’s how:

1. On your computer, open Gmail.
2. In the top right, click Settings   See all settings.
3. Click the Accounts and Import or Accounts tab.
4. In the "Check mail from other accounts" section, delete the email address you’re importing from, then add it back.

If the above steps didn’t work, check for problems with the program Gmail uses to get mail from other accounts.

Fix problems connecting to another account

Choose the type of account you’re having problems importing from:

A different email provider

If you’re having problems importing email from another email account, like Outlook or Yahoo, check your other email account’s settings. Make sure:

• The name of the other email's POP server is the same as the one you entered in Gmail
• The other email program allows leaving messages on the server
• The port is either 110 or 995

If filling in the right info doesn’t work or if your other provider doesn’t provide POP access, contact the provider.

A different Gmail address

If you’re having problems importing your mail from another Gmail address, including one you got through work, school, or another organization, try these steps.

Change your access settings

If you stop Gmail from blocking certain apps and accounts, your import might start working. In the account you're importing from, try allowing access to your account.

Check your POP settings

Step 1: In the account you want to import from, check that you’ve set up POP.

1. On your computer, open your email account.
2. In the top right, click Settings  See all settings.
3. Open the "Forwarding and POP/IMAP" tab.
4. In the "POP Download" section, check that it says "POP is enabled."

Step 2: In the account you want to import to, check your import settings.

1. On your computer, open Gmail.
2. In the top right, click Settings  See all settings.
3. Open the "Accounts and Import" tab.
4. In the "Check mail from other accounts" section, select the account you’re trying to import from.
5. Make sure you’re using the following settings:
   • Username: Your full email address (for example, [e-mail])
   • Password: Your Gmail password
   • POP Server: pop.gmail.com
   • Port: 995
   • Leave a copy of retrieved message on the server: Unchecked
   • Always use a secure connection (SSL) when retrieving mail: Checked
6. If you aren’t getting emails after 2 hours, check for other problems.

Other problems getting email

If you have one of the following problems, try again later or get in touch with your other email provider:

• Connection timed out
• Connection reset
• Emails arrive more than once
• Emails arrive in the wrong order
• Still getting new emails after you stopped an import

For the problems below, follow the steps. If the steps don't work, try again later or contact your other email provider.

Read error

Delete or move the oldest email that wasn’t imported.

Empty line

Look for an email that has a single period on a line by itself. Delete this email.

Too many messages on the other server

Your other account has more emails than Gmail is able to import. You can:

• Delete emails from your other inbox
• Move some emails from your inbox into folders

Some emails don’t arrive

Try searching for your mail:

1. On your computer, open Gmail.
2. In the search bar at the top, enter "in:anywhere" and then your search terms.
3. Press Return or Enter.

You can also check folders in your other email account for mail that didn’t import.

Wrong email labels

• Turn off automatic forwarding from your other email account.
• In the "Filters" section of your Gmail settings, add a label. Learn how to create a filter to organize your emails.

Server denied access

• Check that you entered the right username and password for your other account.
• If you are importing mail from another Gmail address, make sure POP is turned on.
• Try changing your access settings in the account you're importing emails from. You might also need to stop using an extra security step in that account.

Can’t find emails after import

If some of your emails are missing after you imported them, follow the steps below. After you try each step, check to see if the problem is fixed.

Step 1: Check for messages in a conversation thread

Gmail puts all replies to an email in one conversation thread. To view all emails in a thread:

1. Open Gmail.
2. Open an email.
3. At the top right, click Expand all . The full emails appear.

Step 2: Check the size of your email

Gmail can't import emails that are 150 MB or bigger, including any attachments.

Here’s how to search Gmail for emails by size:

1. Open Gmail.
2. In the search box:
   • To search for emails by size, enter size: followed by the size in bytes. For example: size:1000000
   • To search for emails bigger than a certain size, enter larger: followed by the size in bytes. For example: larger:10M
   • To search for emails smaller than a certain size, enter smaller: followed by the size in bytes. For example: smaller:10M

To check the size of an email from a different provider, like Outlook or Yahoo, refer to the other provider’s customer support.

Step 3: Check your account settings

1. On your computer, open Gmail.
2. In the top right, click Settings  See all settings.
3. Open the "Accounts and Import" tab.
4. In the "Import mail and contacts" section, check whether your import appears.
   • If your import appears in the "Import mail and contacts" section but you can’t find messages, check your old account to see whether it uses POP. If so, it could mean that your old email client deleted messages before they were moved to Gmail.
   • If your import doesn’t appear in "Import mail and contacts," go to the next section.

Step 4: Check for problems with the import

1. On your computer, open Gmail.
2. In the top right, click Settings  See all settings Accounts and Import.
3. Find the "Check mail from other accounts" section. If your import appears there, click Edit info.
4. Check whether you checked the "Leave a copy of retrieved messages on the server" box.
   • If the box is checked, the emails might have been deleted from the old account before the import started.
   • If the box isn’t checked, the emails aren't in your old account. Emails might have been deleted from your old account before the import started.

Still having problems

If you still have problems, check your account settings, contact your third-party email provider, or post a question in the Gmail Help Forum.