In Gmail, there are 3 ways to check for new email:
- Wait
- Refresh page
- Click the refresh button
How often does Gmail check while you're waiting?
Gmail Auto-Check Frequency for New Emails
gmail
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Best Answer
For a POP account it depends on how often you get mail. If one check results in new mail being found it will shorten the time until the next check, until it reaches a minimum wait time of 5 minutes. If it checks and doesn't find new mail, it lengthens the wait time until it reaches the maximum, which I believe is an hour between checks.
For mail sent directly to Gmail it has new mail coming in all the time, though they don't update your screen instantaneously.
In either case there will be a delay while Google is virus checking them, depending on the size of the message and the size and type of attachments.