There are many reasons as to why Gmail app won’t load or keeps crashing on your iPhone XR. Emerging among the common triggers are network connection errors, server downtimes, account security issues, incorrect settings, bad updates, software glitches and random bugs. Other iPhone owners who have had trouble using Gmail app on their respective devices later found out that the problem was attributed to security matters.
This is usually what happens if you travelled to other places and then you attempted to access your email on your iPhone through Gmail app. Google thought that other people were trying to access your account from a new location and therefore perceived it as possible threat to your email account’s security. As security measure, Google blocked the sign-in attempt even if it’s really you who are trying to access the account.
In that case, try logging into your email account through gmail.com with the same email address and password set up for your iPhone email. You can use Safari or any other browser app to navigate to Google’s Gmail site and then sign into your Gmail account. After successfully logging into your email account, find the alert box or email in your inbox that says something like “some has your password” or “we blocked a sign-in attempt.” If you see such email from Google team, click on the provided link inside the Review Your Devices Now section, That Was Me, or any other relevant clause. Alternatively, you can view your recent devices on Google’s website and then head over to the Device activity & notifications section under My Account. From there you should see a list of all recent devices that have attempted sign into your email account. Then unblock the ones that were you, to tell and confirm to Google that it was really you who attempted to sign into your email account. And after you do that, your email should start loading on your iPhone XR.
If that did not fix the problem and your iPhone XR Gmail app is still acting up, then try any of the following procedures to rule out software-related errors from the underlying causes.
First solution: Force close Gmail app then restart/soft reset your iPhone XR.
If you were able to use Gmail app on your iPhone XR and then it suddenly misbehaves, then that’s likely just a random glitch transpiring on the application. To clear this out, force close Gmail app on your iPhone XR with these steps:
- From the Home screen, swipe your finger up and then pause.
- Swipe right or left to navigate through apps preview.
- Then swipe up on the Gmail app preview to end it. Do the same to the rest of the app previews you see on the screen.
Clearing all background apps can help prevent any other suspended applications from interfering with your iPhone functions and applications, particularly Gmail app. After clearing all background apps and Gmail, reboot/soft reset your iPhone XR with these steps:
- Press and hold the Side/Power button and either Volume buttons simultaneously for a few seconds.
- Release the buttons when the Slide to Power Off command appears and then drag the power off slider to the right.
- After 30 seconds, press and hold the Power/Side button again until the phone reboots.
Performing a soft reset or reboot on the iPhone can help clear out any corrupted files and temporary data that are stored as cache on the phone memory. It also refreshes the phone’s operating system and applications for smoother and better performance. This doesn’t affect any saved information on the phone and therefore won’t cause permanent data loss.
Second solution: Check and enable IMAP for Gmail.
Gmail’s standard technology called IMAP or Internet Message Access Protocol must be activated to deliver emails to your iOS device. This feature can be accessed and managed through Gmail (webmail) website. So here’s what you can try doing next:
- Log into your email account through Gmail website on a computer. Be sure to enter the same email address and password as the one you set up on your iPhone XR.
- Once you’re logged in, scroll down to the bottom of the Gmail page and find the link next to “View Gmail in:” and then select Desktop.
- Click Settings.
- Then tap the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.
- Scroll down to the IMAP Access section and make sure that the IMAP status is enabled.
After enabling IMAP, restart your iPhone XR and then launch Gmail app again to see if the problem is fixed. If it’s still not working as intended, continue to the next applicable solution.
Third solution: Update Gmail app on your iPhone XR.
Installing the latest update for Gmail app may also fix the problem if random bugs are to blame. Aside from bringing in new features, app updates also embed some program patches to fix bug-inflicted errors and troubles on the application. If your Internet connection is working just fine, then you can head over to the App Store and check for any new pending Gmail app update to download and install. Here’s how:
- Tap App Store from the Home screen.
- Scroll down to and then tap the Updates tab to show the list of apps with pending updates.
- Scroll through the list of apps and then find Gmail.
- Tap the Update button next to Gmail app to to install pending app update.
- If you see multiple app updates, tap the Update All button on the upper-right to update all apps simultaneously.
After installing new app updates, particularly Gmail updates, reboot your iPhone to appy the recent app changes and to refresh the operating system.
Fourth solution: Delete Gmail app from your iPhone XR and then reinstall it.
It’s possible that the app has been totally corrupted and so it’s no longer working unless reinstalled. That being said, you may consider deleting or uninstalling the problematic Gmail app from your iPhone XR and then download and install the latest version of the application. Here’s what you should try doing then:
- From the Home screen, tap and hold on an app icon until the icons start jiggling.
- Tap the X on the Gmail app icon.
- Read the warning prompt, and then select Delete to confirm deletion of the app.
- Reboot your iPhone XR (soft reset) after deleting Gmail app.
- Then open the App Store.
- Search for and select Gmail app from the App Store search results.
- Tap the Cloud icon or Get button to download and reinstall the app on your iPhone XR.
Wait until Gmail app is completely installed on the phone and then retry loading the application to see if it’s working properly again.
Fifth solution: Remove your Gmail account from your iPhone XR.
Should the problem be attributed to invalid account setup, then deleting and re-adding your Gmail account will likely fix the problem. This doesn’t erase any emails from your inbox unless you delete them from the server/webmail. Here’s how to remove and re-add Gmail account on your iPhone XR:
- Tap Settings from the Home screen.
- Scroll down and then tap Accounts & Passwords.
- Navigate to the Accounts section then tap to select your email account (Gmail account).
- Tap the option to Delete Account.
- Then select the option to Delete from My iPhone.
Reboot your iPhone after deleting your email account and then continue with these steps to set up your email account on the phone.
- Tap Settings from your Home screen.
- Select Accounts & Passwords.
- Tap the option to Add Account.
- Select Google from the given email providers.
- Enter your Gmail/Google account credentials.
- If you’d prefer, tap to enable the switches for mail, contacts, and calendars.
- Tap Save when you’re done.
Your device will then start to set up your email account. If the setup process is successful, you should see your Inbox populated with the same emails you get through webmail (gmail.com).
Other options
- Reset network settings on your iPhone XR. This can help fix the problem if it’s attributed to invalid network configurations and server errors on the phone. All the networks you’ve set up on the phone will be deleted in the process, thus you need to set them up again afterwards. To get this done, simply head over to Settings-> General-> Reset-> then select the option to Reset All Settings. This reset won’t affect your saved data on the phone so you don’t have to create backups first-hand.
- Reset and restore factory default settings on your iPhone XR. This reset is usually needed when dealing with complex system errors that caused recurring symptoms. Your Gmail app may not be working due to some fatal system errors that need tough solutions. If you wish to give this reset a shot, then back up all your critical files and then head over to your iPhone Settings-> General-> Reset menu, then select the option to Erase all content and settings. You’ll be prompted to enter the device passcode, so just key in the correct digits to confirm and proceed.
- Contact Google-Gmail Support. Check and make sure that the Gmail server is not experiencing some random errors or downtimes. Else, you’ve got no other choice but to wait until the server is back up and running properly again. To verify this information, you may contact Google’s Gmail support team for further assistance.
I hope that we’ve been able to help you fix the problem with your device. We would appreciate it if you helped us spread the word so please share this post if you found it helpful. Thank you so much for reading!