Mail not showing unread count for Gmail inbox

Question

Level 1

28 points

Mail not showing unread count for Gmail inbox

Since upgrading to Mavericks I've noticed that I don't get a red circled mail count in the Mail app icon on the dock, or a circled number to the right of the inbox under the left-hand Mailboxes column in Mail app, for my Gmail-linked inbox.

I still get the little number next to the name of the inbox for my other accounts, and all other folders (which some mail is filtered to by rules) show their counts. I've noticed that I get no red mail count in the dock icon for any of my inboxes, even though the option is set.

This is really annoying. I get a lot of mail and I don't like the notification centre sliding in an update every time. The way I check mail, I have filters for a lot which I check via my schedule, and then anything else I can see hasn't been filtered I can deal with. But this way, I have to click into the Gmail inbox just to see if anything new is there. I missed about half-a-day's worth of non-filtered email this morning because I didn't know Mail wasn't telling me about it.

Has anyone else seen this behaviour, and can anything be done about it?

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Oct 24, 2013 11:31 AM

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Answer 1

vol7ron

Level 1

11 points

Mar 2, 2014 5:55 AM in response to LondonBlue

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT6114?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

About the update

The OS X Mavericks v10.9.2 Update is recommended for all OS X Mavericks users. It improves the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac. This update:

Adds the ability to make and receive FaceTime audio calls
Adds call waiting support for FaceTime audio and video calls
Adds the ability to block incoming iMessages from individual senders
Includes general improvements to the stability and compatibility of Mail
Improves the accuracy of unread counts in Mail
Resolves an issue that prevented Mail from receiving new messages from certain providers
Improves AutoFill compatibility in Safari
Fixes an issue that may cause audio distortion on certain Macs
Improves reliability when connecting to a file server using SMB2
Fixes an issue that may cause VPN connections to disconnect
Improves VoiceOver navigation in Mail and Finder
Improves VoiceOver reliability when navigating websites
Improves compatibility with Gmail Archive mailboxes
Includes improvements to Gmail labels
Improves Safari browsing and Software Update installation when using an authenticated web proxy
Fixes an issue that could cause the Mac App Store to offer updates for apps that are already up to date
Improves the reliability of diskless NetBoot service in OS X Server
Fixes braille driver support for specific HandyTech displays
Resolves an issue when using Safe Boot with some systems
Improves ExpressCard compatibility for some MacBook Pro 2010 models
Resolves an issue which prevented printing to printers shared by Windows XP
Resolves an issue with Keychain that could cause repeated prompts to unlock the Local Items keychain
Fixes an issue that could prevent certain preference panes from opening in System Preferences
Fixes an issue that may prevent migration from completing while in Setup Assistant
Provides a fix for SSL connection verification

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Answer 2

Oct 24, 2013 12:42 PM in response to LondonBlue

I have this same question. I've been running OS X 10.9 for the past 24hrs or so and so far there does not seem to be any change for this unread message issue. Initially, the Mail app seemed to be indexing (presumably because of the now required use of the All Mail mailbox) and I thought that this "unread count" issue would be rectified. However, the indexing appears to be complete and there is still no count for unread messages on the Gmail inbox.

My issue seems to be the same as LondonBlue's where the unread counts are working fine for the All Mail mailbox and labels (if applicable), but not for the inbox. At the same time, I am still notified of new emails via the Notification Center.

Hopefully someone finds a fix for this. I will update this post if my Gmail inbox on the Mail app starts displaying the unread count.

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Answer 3

Oct 24, 2013 3:22 PM in response to LondonBlue

Interesting... I had tried a rebuild soon after my last post on here and nothing happened. However, I just did a rebuild again and it made the unread message count appear both on the mailbox/inbox level as well as on the dock icon.

I'm not entirely sure why your count appeared on one but not the other... I'm sorry that I can't be of any help with that.

I'll make sure to post on this thread again if the problem returns for me.

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Answer 4

LondonBlue Author

Level 1

28 points

Oct 24, 2013 3:29 PM in response to innovator248

I'm going to put a positive spin on it — I'm rather obsessive and NOT having the icon turn red when mail arrives in the inboxes may actually be a good thing for productivity!

Just to check, under Mail > Preferences, I have "Dock Unread Count" set to "Inbox Only". I don't get a count even if I change it to "All Mailboxes" though. I can't think what else I might need to change (I've quit and restarted Mail, a system reboot might work but seems unlikely.)

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Answer 5

LondonBlue Author

Level 1

28 points

Oct 24, 2013 5:13 PM in response to innovator248

Oh wow. I had always presumed the notification settings were just for the Notification Center (ie what scrolls in from the right of the desktop). I think I must've inadvertently unchecked the badge setting when I was switching off alerts.

Thank you!

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Answer 6

LondonBlue Author

Level 1

28 points

Oct 29, 2013 7:36 AM in response to LondonBlue

I thought I'd solved the problem, but sometime today the red notification mail count on the dock icon has disappeared for my Gmail account. I'm still getting counts displayed to the right of each mailbox, and I'm getting a dock count for my other mailboxes - just not Gmail.

Any ideas?

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Answer 7

LondonBlue Author

Level 1

28 points

Oct 30, 2013 6:33 AM in response to LondonBlue

Very odd. My Gmail mailbox seems to be out by 3 messages. This morning when I checked my mail I had 4 new messages but the unread count showed 1, in both the sidebar and the dock icon. When I read one of these messages, the count disappeared. Is this an IMAP issue?

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Answer 8

Mnobbs

Level 1

8 points

Dec 27, 2013 6:26 PM in response to LondonBlue

I have this exact problem. Apple experts on the Phone cannot solve it, and I certainly can't

I do not know what or where the "Badge all icon" is located in Preferences....cant see it!

Is this an Apple MAC Mavericks issue, or.... a GooleGmail issue???

I can get a count in the dock red button, if I check "All Mailboxes" in Preferences, but its a rediculous number like 548...I get 8 e's a Day!!! And I see no "un-openened" E's in any Foldder thats never been opened. And when I get one simple new real Email, the count does not go up!!!

Any help appreciated....I need baby steps. Thank you. Michael.

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Answer 9

HanneTy

Level 1

0 points

Mar 7, 2014 12:28 AM in response to vol7ron

The odd thing is, that my unread count in Mail worked perfectly before the v10.9.2 update, and is now not accurate anymore...

It calculates my unread mail perfectly for all my mailboxes, except for the gmail. I also do not get notifications anymore.

I tried all the tips that were listed here but no solution...

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Answer 10

svkrzn

Level 1

87 points

Apr 13, 2014 7:21 AM in response to LondonBlue

I have the same problem, seems that badges are not showing for me for my gmail account. They only show up if I select Mail-preferences- show unread count for all the mailboxes and not only the Inbox. Weird, isn't it?

I mean, I have an unread message now in the Inbox and no badge is shown even though 'show unread count in INBOX' is checked. It can only be shown if I select show for all mailboxes. Why is that?

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Answer 11

Oct 24, 2013 4:37 PM in response to LondonBlue

The only other thing I can think of for you is to go into System Preferences > Notifications > Mail, and then make sure that the "Badge app icon" box is checked.

Hopefully that works!

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Answer 12

webedc

Level 1

0 points

Apr 16, 2014 2:46 PM in response to Eric Root

I had the same issue. Reindex fixed my problem:

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11704?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

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Answer 13

May 23, 2014 12:21 PM in response to webedc

Yes... this solved the issue for me as well.

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11704?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

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Answer 14

LondonBlue Author

Level 1

28 points

Oct 24, 2013 3:08 PM in response to innovator248

I got the count in the mailboxes/inbox to appear by doing a rebuild (menu "Mailbox" > "Rebuild"). However the dock icon still doesn't display a count.

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Answer 15

Oct 26, 2013 7:24 AM in response to innovator248

It was already checked for me, so I unchecked it and then rechecked and now I get the red dots again....

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