As great and convenient as Gmail is, from time to time users can encounter issues with the service. The following will discuss the top reasons why a user would be unable to open Gmail and the remedies for the issues.
Trouble Downloading Mail
There are a handful of reasons as to why you would be unable to download mail with the IMAP feature for Gmail. Should you find yourself unable to download mail, the following checklist needs to be followed:
· Are you able to log into the Gmail web interface? – Once you visit http://mail.google.com and you are able to see a CAPTCHA, you will have to log in before you will be able to enable IMAP access. Should you find yourself locked out, wait approximately an hour before attempting to log in again.
· Has IMAP been enabled in Gmail? – From the settings page, open the “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” tab. From there you will be able to configure IMAP.
· Has SSL been enabled for the IMAP server?
· Was the correct log in information entered?
Some File Types are blocked
As a measure of security to prevent potential viruses from infiltrating your system, Gmail will not allow for the sending or receiving of executable files. These are files that end with “.exe” and can contain harmful code that may lead to malicious software. Additionally, Gmail will not permit for the sending or receiving of corrupted files or those that do not work properly.
The following file types will not be permitted to be sent or received:
.wsh, .wsf, .wsc, .vxd, .vbs, .vbe, .vb, .sys, .shb, .sct, .scr, .pif, .mst, .msp, .msc, .mde, .lnk, .lib, .jse, .jsp, .ins, .hta, .exe, .cpl, .com, .cmd, .chm, .bat, .adp, .ade
All messages that contain the endings that have been listed will be bounced back and returned automatically to the sender. Gmail will in no manner accept the file types, even if they have been sent within a zipped format.
Not connecting to the SMTP server
In order to properly diagnose the issue, you will need to run a telnet test. This test will check whether the computer is able to contact the Gmail SMTP servers.
For users that are running Windows Vista, the Telnet feature will need to be enabled first.
1. Click the Start button, then click “Control Panel” and then finally “Programs”
2. Click onto the option marked “Turn Windows Features On or Off”
3. If prompted to enter an administrator confirmation or password, input the requested information
4. In the box marked “Windows Features”, check the box that is labeled “Telnet Client” and then “OK”. It will take a few moments for the installation to complete itself.
In Conclusion
Should you be presented with the issue of not being able to open Gmail, know that it is able to be remedied fairly quickly and easily. The troubleshooting being the issues that arise can become very tedious, but rest assured that they do not occur often. Google does an impeccable job of updating its services regularly as a measure to avoid problems such as these.
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