Skip to main content

Accessing Gmail Standard View from your mobile phone

At times, for various reasons, we need to access the Gmail standard view and all we have with us is our mobile phone. The standard view is only accessible via supported desktop browsers and I have seen many users in the Gmail Help Community inconvenienced while having to access the Gmail standard view from their mobile devices. Hence, this blog.

For the sake of convenience, I have decided to list the steps separately for Android phone and iPhone. Click on the links below to directly go to the section that describes the steps for your device.
For testing purposes, I have chosen to use Chrome on my Android phone and Safari on my iPhone as they are the commonly used browsers in those devices respectively, and are likely to benefit the maximum number of users. I have also ensured that the browsers are running their latest versions.

 Additionally, I have included the screenshot of how to request Desktop Site in Chrome browser for iOS.

 In theory, the steps are as described below:
  • Sign in to Gmail on a mobile browser.
  • Request Desktop Site.
  • Switch over to the Gmail mobile desktop view.
  • Switch over to the Gmail standard view.
The following two sections describe the above steps in greater detail and also includes screenshots for easy and better understanding.

 1. Steps for Android
The first step once you sign in to your Gmail account from the mobile browser is to tap on the Chrome 3-dot (overflow) icon at the top-right of the screen (the first image below) and from the options, check the box that's to the right of the Desktop site, as is shown in the second image.



Once the box for the Desktop site is checked, you should be automatically returned to the Menu view of your Gmail account. If for some reason you are not, tap on the Gmail 3-bar (Hamburger) menu option at the top-left to see the Menu view that displays all the inbox categories/sections and Labels in your Gmail account.


In the Gmail Menu view page, scroll down to the bottom of the page to locate "View Gmail in: Mobile | Older version | Desktop", with Mobile selected. There, tap on "Desktop".


With that, the view changes. It is now the Desktop view for mobile or the Gmail Basic HTML view in desktop browsers. Once again, look at the bottom of the page to find "Gmail view: standard | Basic HTML | Learn more", with Basic HTML selected. There, tap on "standard".


And that's it! You now have access to the Gmail standard web view on Chrome, from your Android phone. It can be particularly useful in cases you want to check on or alter anything under your Gmail Settings or perform actions such as creating a new label that you can't from your Gmail app.


2. Steps for iPhone

 From a Gmail account you are signed in, tap on the highlighted icon at the bottom of the screen on Safari. It will bring up three horizontally stacked panels to Airdrop, Share, and perform other actions. Scroll right in the bottom panel to locate and tap on the icon that reads "Request Desktop Site"


If you happen to use the Chrome browser on your iPhone, here is how to request the Desktop site:

That option selected, tap on the Gmail 3-bar (Hamburger) menu option at the top-left as shown in the first image below to go to the Menu view for your Gmail account. This is a view of the various Gmail inbox categories/sections and Labels and is equivalent to what you would see in the left panel in your Gmail standard view on a desktop browser. In there, scroll down to find the "View Gmail in: Mobile | Older version | Desktop", with Mobile selected and tap on "Desktop" as indicated in the second image below.


With that, the view is switched over to the Desktop view for mobile or the Basic HTML view in desktop browsers. There, at the bottom of the page, find "Gmail view: standard | Basic HTML | Learn more", with Basic HTML selected and tap on "standard".

You should now have access to the Gmail standard web view, from your iPhone using Safari or Chrome.

Comments

  1. Iddins Design31 August 2020 at 13:23

    Thanks so much! It works with the Cheetah Mobile browser too. And they said it couldn't be done... You are now bookmarked! Thanks again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Somnath31 August 2020 at 20:29

      You are most welcome. I'm glad you found this article helpful.

      Delete
  2. KJC31 December 2020 at 07:42

    Thank you! Instructions were super helpful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Somnath31 December 2020 at 08:06

      My pleasure. I'm happy the blog helped resolve your issue.

      Delete
    2. Unknown17 August 2021 at 00:29

      I have an android, and for some reason the instructions did not work for me. I am always brought back to this very old version of Gmail that is very basic and looks nothing like what the Gmail of 2021 looks like. I wish I could attach a screenshot to show what I am referring to.

      Delete
    3. Somnath23 August 2021 at 21:43

      If the URL for the Gmail version looks like https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/x/..... please edit it to https://mail.google.com/mail/mu/mp/... and then follow the steps.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Please do not post spam or promote your own site(s). All comments are moderated and such comments will not be published.

Also, please keep your comment relevant to the topic of the article.

Finally, please do not post any of your personally identifiable information such as phone number, email address or other important details as this is an open platform.

Popular posts

Gmail 101

Wendy Durham (CWD in her A Gmail Miscellany blog and wdurham in the Gmail Help Forum ) was a Product Expert and a prolific contributor when it came to explaining the intricacies of Gmail and Google accounts. Due to changes to Gmail and Google Accounts over the recent years, some of her well-known blog articles are no longer applicable. The three most used articles have been updated here to be consistent with the current version of Gmail and in some cases, Google Account. This will keep them useful going forward as a tribute to her dedication to user education. The current version of the article is updated based on the changes introduced in the Gmail UI as of January 2022, following the announcement here .  All your Gmail basics in one place! A primer for new users of Gmail, which explains how to find your way around Google's innovative email service and to perform the basic email tasks of reading messages, sending messages and organizing your mail using Gmail's web interface
5 comments
Read more

Revisiting Canned Responses (Templates) in Gmail

I wrote my first blog on Canned Responses here - Exploring the Advanced Tab in Gmail Settings: About Canned Responses , noting "Believe it or not, there is no article on Canned Responses in the Gmail Help Centre. Probably because it has always been a lab feature in the past and now included under the Advanced tab under Gmail settings in new Gmail. So, today we take a look at this very popular feature in Gmail and the different ways we can use it.". That has remained the case, so with a change of UI, there is a need to rewrite the tutorial on how we can perform the following functions for a Canned Response or as they are now known, Templates . Create a Template Insert a Template Edit or Overwrite a Template Delete a Template Thankfully, the pre-requisites haven't changed. To start using Templates in Gmail, it needs to be enabled from the Advanced tab under Gmail settings. As always, be sure to click on the Save Changes button on the bottom of the page.
45 comments
Read more