📄 Emails are missing or delayed
Sign in

Emails are missing or delayed

If emails do not appear immediately in MailDesk or seem to be missing, don’t worry — in most cases this is expected behavior.

MailDesk syncs emails in the background and is near real-time, not instant push.


How sync timing works (important)

MailDesk checks for new emails periodically.

This means:

  • New emails may appear a few minutes later

  • Short delays are normal

  • The interface updates automatically after sync

⏱ Typical delay: a few seconds to a few minutes
(This depends on provider and system load.)


New emails do not appear immediately

Most likely reasons

  • Sync has not run yet

  • Provider API or IMAP delay

  • Temporary rate limits

What to do

1️⃣ Wait a moment
2️⃣ Refresh the view
3️⃣ Verify the folder is selected for sync

In most cases, the email will appear shortly.


Older emails seem to be missing

Why this happens

During the initial sync, MailDesk:

  • Loads recent emails first

  • Fetches older emails gradually in the background

This avoids long blocking syncs.

What to do

  • Leave MailDesk open

  • Allow time for backfill to complete

  • Avoid reconnecting the account repeatedly


Folder shows “0 emails”

Checklist

  • Open mailbox account settings

  • Check Sync folders

  • Make sure the folder is selected

  • Verify in webmail that emails exist in that folder

If a folder is not selected, MailDesk will not sync it.


Gmail-specific behavior

If you use Gmail:

  • Emails use labels, not folders

  • One email can appear in multiple folders

  • This is normal and not duplication

Make sure you’re looking at the correct label.


Sent emails appear but incoming do not

Possible causes:

  • Incoming sync delay

  • Wrong Inbox folder selected

  • Provider-specific routing

What to do

  • Verify Inbox is selected for sync

  • Wait for the next sync cycle

  • Refresh the UI


When should I worry?

You should investigate further if:

  • No new emails appear for a long time

  • Connection tests fail

  • Error messages are shown

  • Sync has not progressed at all

In this case, check:

Quick checklist

Before contacting support, verify:

  • You waited a few minutes

  • Initial sync is complete

  • Correct folders are selected

  • Authorization is still valid


What’s next?

If emails are still missing:

→ Check OAuth problems (Gmail / Outlook)
→ Check Sent mail does not appear
→ Contact your administrator or support team


Tip:

In most cases, “missing emails” are simply still syncing.