Email has become an indispensable communication tool for most people. We rely on email for personal and professional communications. Being notified when important emails come in can help us respond in a timely manner. There are several methods to get notifications when emails arrive in your inbox.
Set up email notifications on your device
One of the easiest ways to get notified of new emails is to enable notifications on your device. Most smartphones, tablets and computers provide options to get notified when new emails come in.
Enable email notifications on your smartphone
On Android phones, open the Settings app and tap on Notifications. Locate the email app you use and toggle notifications on. You can customize notifications to include a sound, vibration, pop-up etc.
On iPhones, open Settings, tap on Notifications and select the email app. Turn on Allow Notifications and customize alert style.
This will send you a notification each time a new email arrives in your inbox. You can also set the email app as a priority to always show notifications.
Get notifications on your tablet
The process is similar for tablets. On an iPad, go to Settings > Notifications > Mail > Allow Notifications. Select the notification style.
On Android tablets, open Settings > Apps & Notifications > Mail app. Toggle Allow notifications on and customize.
This ensures you never miss an important email on your tablet.
Set up desktop notifications
For desktop email clients like Outlook and Apple Mail, go into the preferences or settings and enable notifications. You can allow banners, sounds or badge icons for new emails.
Browser-based email services like Gmail and Yahoo Mail also have notification settings. Look under Settings > Desktop Notifications and turn them on.
Desktop notifications are great when you have your laptop open, so you can view emails instantly.
Use a smartwatch
Smartwatches like Apple Watch and Wear OS watches provide notifications for emails received on your phone. When paired to your smartphone via Bluetooth, your watch will notify you of new emails with vibrations and screen alerts.
Most smartwatches allow you to customize notifications for different apps. You can set the email app to always notify you on your watch. This ensures you get alerted even if your phone is on silent.
Smartwatches make it easy to triage notifications and glance at incoming emails without having to pull out your phone. Useful when you are in a meeting or driving.
Install email apps on all devices
Having the email app installed across all your devices provides seamless notifications. For instance, install Gmail app on your mobile, tablet, computer and smartwatch. Link the same Gmail account to all apps.
Whenever you get a new Gmail message, you will be instantly notified on every configured device. This prevents emails from being buried or missed on devices you aren’t actively using.
Most email services like Outlook, Yahoo Mail and Apple Mail work the same way. Setup email on all devices for true multi-device notifications.
Use a mail client with push notifications
Mobile mail clients like Microsoft Outlook provide instant push notifications for emails via Exchange server integration.
Unlike standard email apps that fetch emails periodically, push email is sent to your device as soon as it arrives on the server. This eliminates delays and provides true real-time email notifications.
Other dedicated mail clients like Airmail and Edison Mail also support push notifications for major email providers like Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo etc.
While the native apps may only sync occasionally, these alternative mail clients maintain persistent connection with the mail server for instant push notifications.
Forward emails to your phone
If your work or personal computer doesn’t provide notifications, you can forward incoming emails to your phone. Most email services give you the option to automatically forward messages to another address.
Simply log into your email account online, go to Settings and enter your phone number or alternate email address. This will send all incoming emails to your specified destination.
You phone will then notify you of the forwarded emails so you never miss an important message. This also serves as a backup if your work computer is turned off.
Use IFTTT applets
IFTTT is a great tool to set up automated notifications and alerts from various apps and services. You can create applets to get notified for emails meeting specific criteria.
For instance, trigger a SMS text message for emails from your boss or containing important keywords. You can even create push notifications for emails to your Slack or Telegram account.
IFTTT works with both personal and work email services like Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo etc. The notifications are customizable based on your requirements.
Add email accounts to messaging apps
Popular messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger allow you to directly add email accounts. Once connected, you will get notified of new emails right within the messaging app.
The notification experience is similar to receiving a text message. Messaging apps provide a unified platform for emails, chats, social network notifications etc.
Use multiple email addresses
If you rely on different email addresses for work/personal communication, ensure each one is configured to notify you.
Set up the official work address on your work laptop and smartwatch. The personal address should be on your personal smart devices.
Some email services allow you to link inboxes, so emails from all accounts notify you on a single device. But it’s best to have each email address notified independently across devices you use.
Conclusion
Being notified of incoming emails in real-time is essential for prompt communication. Use the in-built notification settings on all your devices – mobile, tablet, computer and wearables. Install your preferred email apps ubiquitously and enable notifications.
Mail clients with push notifications deliver instant alerts as soon as emails arrive. Forwarding emails and IFTTT applets are other ways to get notified based on custom criteria.
Set up notifications from all your email addresses for comprehensive coverage. Follow these tips and you will never miss an important email again.
