Is Gmail Slowing Your Browser Down? Here's How To Access Gmail Basic HTML View.

Is Gmail Slowing Your Browser Down? Here’s How To Access Gmail Basic HTML View.

If you have an older computer or slow internet, using Gmail can be challenging. Here’s how to access a special low bandwidth version of Gmail called the “Gmail Basic HTML View”.

Teddy Hunt on Sep 12, 2023

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Google offers a Gmail basic HTML version for users with unsupported web browsers or older computers. But it’s also great for people with slower internet connections. The basic HTML version of Gmail is similar in appearance to the original version of Gmail. It also loads and runs much faster than the standard version. Keep reading to learn how to access the special Gmail HTML version URL.

Table of Contents[Hide][Show]

The Gmail HTML Version URL
The Limitations Of Gmail Basic HTML View
How To Exit Gmail HTML View
How To Use Gmail In Basic HTML Mode

The Gmail HTML Version URL

Dialog Screen Showing The Verification For Gmail Basic Html Version — Dialog screen showing the verification for Gmail Basic HTML Version

If you access Gmail using an unsupported web browser, Google will automatically redirect you to the basic HTML version of Google Gmail. But you can override this check and manually access Gmail in HTML mode:

Go to the URL https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/h/.
Log in to your Gmail account if you are not already.
Click “I’d like to use HTML Gmail” if prompted.
Start browsing Gmail.
Don’t forget to bookmark the Gmail HTML link for future use!

The Limitations Of Gmail Basic HTML View

The biggest advantage to using Gmail in HTML mode is speed. Both the interface graphics and JavaScript code have been eliminated from this version. Basic features, like setting up an out-of-office message, still work. But unfortunately, when you’re in Gmail Basic HTML view, you won’t be able to use some advanced Gmail features, including:

Adding or importing contacts
Chat
Spell checker
Rich formatting
Keyboard shortcuts
Custom “from” addresses

But if you just need to check your emails, and you have a slow computer or Internet connection, then the basic HTML version of Gmail should be just what you need.

How To Exit Gmail HTML View

How To Exit Gmail Basic Html View — How To Exit Gmail Basic HTML View

If you want to go back to Gmail Standard view, you have a couple options.

Scroll down to the footer and click on the Gmail View: Standard link.
Close the browser and start again.
Click on this URL to bypass Google’s browser check: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?nocheckbrowser

How To Use Gmail In Basic HTML Mode

Deleting Spam Emails While In Gmail Basic Html Version — Sorting and deleting spam emails while in Gmail Basic HTML version

Gmail is great, but sometimes it can be a resource hog on my older computer. I frequently need to quit applications or close browser tabs. So I will frequently use the basic HTML version in Gmail to help CPU resources. Or sometimes, it’s just fun to relive the early days of Gmail and see what the interfaces used to look like.

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