Gmail signature not showing? Eight causes and the fix for each

If your Gmail signature is not showing, the cause is almost always one of eight things, and you can find it in about five minutes by working down a list. Start with the cheapest checks: was the change saved, and do the signature defaults point at the signature you think they do? The settings and fixes here come from Google’s Gmail signature page and its signature troubleshooting page, both read in October 2026.

Gmail signature not showing: the eight causes at a glance

Find the symptom closest to yours, then jump to the matching section.

#	Symptom	Likely cause	Where to look
1	Nothing at all, on any message	The signature was never saved	Settings, See all settings, bottom of the page
2	Missing on new emails, or on replies	A default is set to no signature	Signature defaults, in the same section
3	Present from one address, absent from another	Each “Send mail as” address has its own	The drop-down above the signature box
4	Present when composing, hard to find afterwards	It is trimmed in the sent message	Show trimmed content
5	Fine on the computer, wrong on the phone	The app has a separate mobile signature	Gmail app Settings
6	Strange characters, or the layout is a mess	Formatting or an oversized image	Remove formatting
7	A question mark or broken icon	The image is not public, or was deleted	Drive sharing, or re-upload
8	Extra text you did not write, or no text from Outlook	A Workspace footer, or a different mail app	Admin console, or that app’s settings

1. The change was never saved (Gmail signature not showing)

Google’s steps end with the same line each time: at the bottom of the page, click Save Changes. The signature box sits in the middle of a long settings page, so it is easy to type, close the tab and assume it worked. Go back to Settings, See all settings, General, scroll to Signature and look at the box. If it is empty or shows the old text, redo the edit and save.

2. Defaults skip new emails or replies (Gmail signature not showing)

Google says you can set a signature default for new emails you compose and for emails you reply to. These are two separate choices. A signature can exist in the list and still not be applied, because both defaults are set to “No signature” or point to a different signature.

Fix it by opening the same Signature section and choosing your signature for each default. If it appears on new messages but not on replies, the second default is the one to change. The sibling guide on signatures on replies goes further, and so does where the signature sits above or below quoted text.

For a one-off, there is a quick workaround. While you write, click Insert signature at the bottom of the compose window and pick one.

3. Gmail signature not showing from one address only

With the “Send mail as” feature, Google says you can add a different signature for each address. Pick the address from the drop-down above the signature box. If you do not see the drop-down, open the Accounts and Import settings page and check that your addresses are listed under “Send mail as”.

The practical check: look at the From line of the message that came out wrong. Then edit the signature for that address, not for the main one.

4. The signature is hidden at the bottom of the message

Sometimes the signature is there and you cannot see it. Google’s troubleshooting page says that if you cannot find your signature in a Gmail message, it might be below the body, and that signatures are separated from the body by two dashes. Scroll to the bottom of the message and click Show trimmed content. This one is easy to mistake for a real failure, particularly when you check your Sent folder.

5. The phone has its own (Gmail signature not showing on mobile)

The Gmail app has its own. On Android it is Mobile signature under the account’s settings. On iPhone and iPad it is Mobile Signature, switched on under Signature settings. Google’s tip applies to both: if no signature is created in the app, new messages use the one from your computer.

So a Gmail signature not showing on the phone usually means one of three things. The account is wrong, the mobile setting holds different text, or the mobile signature is switched off. The step-by-step guides are Gmail signature on iPhone and Gmail signature on Android.

6. Formatting or a large image is breaking it

Google says Gmail sometimes does not display formatted text correctly and that a very large image can cause the same problem. In See all settings, select your signature and click Remove formatting. The same fix helps with stray characters, which Google says can appear in versions of Gmail that do not support things like bold or italics.

When nothing will format, look for the words Plain Text above the box. Click Compose, open More options at the bottom right and uncheck Plain text mode.

The size to aim for, from Google, is a signature image of 70 to 100 pixels high by 300 to 400 pixels wide, with a maximum of 100 by 1000. A signature can hold up to 10,000 characters and the image counts toward that.

A signature with one small logo and a few short lines is the kind that survives Gmail’s formatting limits best. Here is an example drawn by emailfooter to compare your own against:

Classic layout with one small logo. The company and person are made up.

7. The picture is the problem (Gmail signature not showing the image)

A question mark or broken-image icon points to the image source. Google says that for a Drive image, sharing must be set to anyone with the link as a Viewer, and that if the Drive file is deleted the image stops showing. Delete the image from the signature and add it again, or try one of the other two sources (web address or upload). The full routine is in how to add an image to your Gmail signature.

8. Another app or an admin footer is involved

Two cases sit outside Gmail’s own signature setting.

• A different mail app. If you send through Outlook or Apple Mail with your Gmail account added, that app uses its own signature. Change it there.
• A Workspace footer. A Google Workspace admin can append a footer to outgoing mail from the Admin console. Google’s Workspace help says users do not see it while writing and cannot change or remove it. A missing signature is a different problem, but it is worth knowing about when you see unexpected text at the end of a sent message.

If you still see no signature

Is your Gmail signature not showing after all of that? Change one thing at a time and test with an email to yourself after each, so you know which fix worked.

When a signature is missing for a whole team at once, the cause is rarely a bug. It is usually that everyone built their own copy and one of the settings above differs between them. emailfooter, our free WordPress plugin, gives every employee the same design and numbered steps for Gmail. It does not write into their mailboxes, so each person still pastes it in and checks their defaults. For other mail apps, the general guide to an email signature not showing applies.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my Gmail signature not showing on new emails?

The default for new emails is probably set to no signature, or it was never saved. Check the Signature defaults and click Save Changes.

Why is my Gmail signature not showing on replies?

The reply default is a separate setting. Set it to your signature under Signature defaults.

Why is my Gmail signature missing on my phone?

The Gmail app has its own mobile signature. If you set none, Google says new messages use your computer signature.

Why is my Gmail signature image showing as a question mark?

The image is probably not public, or the file was deleted. Check the Drive sharing setting, or upload it again.