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28 Feb 2011
Google has confirmed that a problem with its Gmail service has wiped out tens of thousands of user emails.
The company, which offers free and enterprise versions of Gmail, has not released many details about the incident, but said that engineers are trying to fix the problem.
"Google Mail has already been restored for some users, and we expect a resolution for all users in the near future. Please note this time frame is an estimate and may change," said a post on the Google Mail Apps Status dashboard at 3.40am on 28 February.
Google claimed that the problem, which first came to light in its support forums, affects less than 0.08 per cent of the Gmail user base, who will be temporarily unable to sign in while the accounts are repaired.
The status post has since been updated with the following message: "Our team is continuing to investigate this issue. We will provide an update by February 28 2011 1:00:00 PM UTC with more information about this problem. Thank you for your patience."
Google is estimated to have around 200 million Gmail users, so the 0.08 per cent represents a significant number of people.
V3.co.uk asked Google for more information and was told that the situation has been fixed for many users.
"Today a very small number of users are having difficulty accessing their Gmail accounts, and in some cases once they're in, trouble viewing emails," the company said in a statement.
The Gmail problems echo a similar outage on Hotmail in January when 18,000 users lost their emails, and highlights the potential risks involved with outsourcing email provision to the cloud.
If you are one of the affected users please let V3.co.uk know in the comments section below.
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Vanishing Email Folders
I have an IMAP webmail account with mail.google.com/a/castawayflyfishing.net but - since 25th March - ALL email folders have disappeared from both Outlook AND the webmail address. I understand that this has happened to others recently, but Google had assured that the problem was resolved!! I urgently need to retrieve these folders from the google server - but how???
Posted by: Alexander Kennedy 29 Mar 2011
TANSTAAFL.
Perhaps if you were paying for it, you would have a right to complain.
Posted by: bunny 08 Mar 2011
puff in a cloud of smoke
So, lesson one: the cloud is not reliable enough yet, I for one am not moving to cloud systems yet, too many of these horror stories popping up. Then there is the question of reliability and speed on ADSL connections... do not get me started!!! :-)
Posted by: Trev 07 Mar 2011
gMA[i]L
I have been affected/infected by this issue, and I thought it was something I caused.
Posted by: ken r. koense 28 Feb 2011
I am one of the thousands!
I am one of the thousands of people who have no access to my Gmail account. I attempted to download my emails from my Ipod last night and it told me my username or password were not correct... When I attempted to logon through a desktop computer this morning it said that my Gmail account had been disabled. The two big questions I have are: How long is it going to take before I can use my Gmail account again. Will I have access to the emails that were in my Inbox.... I have some extremely important emails containing legal docs that need signing as well as vouchers for concerts and restaurants that I have purchased but not yet printed. What happens if they cannot restore all of my emails??? The other issue that I am coming across is that other websites are attempting to send me emails to my Gmail account..... the emails are bouncing back to them which is making them suspicious... I have already had a request from twitter to update my email address. Worrying times!
Posted by: Andy 28 Feb 2011
gmail trouble
I have not been able to open my gmail account today. Hope the issue is resolved soon. Continued updates on google news ould be great.
Posted by: james 28 Feb 2011
Lost data
I have lost all my contacts from my newly set up accounts
Posted by: Beverley 28 Feb 2011