How to Remove a Gmail Account From Your Android Device

When you remove a Gmail account from an Android device the right way, the account still exists, you can access it with a web browser, and you can even reconnect the account later if you change your mind.

How to Remove a Gmail Account From an Android Device

Here are the basic steps to remove a Gmail account from an Android device.

1. Open Settings > Accounts.

2. Select the Gmail account.

3. Tap Remove Account.

4. Confirm with a tap on Remove Account.

How to Keep Gmail But Stop Emails

If you use a different third-party email app, turn off syncing for Gmail or turn off Gmail notifications.

1. Open Settings and tap Accounts, or Users & Accounts on some phones.

2. Tap the Gmail account. You may need to tap Gmail first on some devices.

3. Tap Sync Account.

4. Scroll down to Gmail and tap the toggle next to it to disable Gmail from syncing to your phone. Some devices might call this setting Sync Gmail.

How to Turn Off Gmail Notifications

To keep the Google account on your phone and receive Gmail messages, but don't receive new mail alerts, follow these steps:

1. In the Gmail app, tap the three-horizontal lines in the upper-left corner.

2. Scroll down and tap Settings.

3. Tap the relevant account.

4. Select Notifications > None to turn off notifications.

Problems Removing a Google Account From an Android Phone

Although these instructions work for most Android phones, you might run into problems:

• When you get to step four, you might need to tap the Overflow Menu icon (the three vertically stacked dots) to access the option to remove your account.
• If you have trouble removing the primary Gmail account—the one you used when you first set up your phone—try adding a new Gmail account, setting it as the primary account, and deleting the unwanted one. If that doesn't work, perform a factory reset. This process will also remove all your data from the phone, so make sure to back up your phone first.

Losing Access to Data Tied to the Gmail Account

If you remove the Gmail account that's tied to the Google Play Store, you will lose access to apps and content that you purchased from the Google Play Store. You'll also lose access to emails, photos, calendars, and any other data tied to that Gmail account.