Step-by-Step Guide to Refreshing Your External Email in Gmail

You can manually refresh an external email linked to Gmail by accessing your Gmail settings and using the “Check mail now” option in the “Accounts and Import” section.

This forces Gmail to immediately retrieve new emails from your linked domain account.

Follow these steps to force Gmail to check for new emails from your linked domain account:

Step 1: Access Gmail Settings

First, you’ll need to get to your Gmail settings. This process can only be done from a web browser, not the Gmail mobile app.

Open your Gmail account in your preferred web browser (e.g., Chrome, Firefox, or Safari).

In the top right corner of your Gmail screen, locate and click on the Settings gear icon

A dropdown menu will appear. From this menu, select “See all settings.”

Step 2: Navigate to “Accounts and Import.”

Now that you’re in the full settings menu, you need to find the section for managing linked accounts.

On the “Settings” page, you’ll see a row of tabs across the top.

Click on the “Accounts and Import” tab. This section is where you manage settings related to sending mail as other addresses and, crucially, checking mail from other accounts (which is what we want to do).

Step 3: Force a Mail Fetch

This is the final step where you’ll tell Gmail to check for new emails.

Under the “Accounts and Import” tab, scroll down until you find the section titled “Check mail from other accounts.”

You’ll see a list of the external email accounts you’ve linked to your Gmail. Next to each account, there will be an option.

Locate the external email address you want to refresh and click on the “Check mail now” link next to it.

Once you click “Check mail now,” Gmail will immediately connect to your external email server and download any new messages that have arrived since its last automatic check. You should see new emails appear in your Gmail inbox shortly after.