Troubleshoot issues with Gmail signatures

An email signature is text, like your contact information or a favorite quote, at the end of an email message. Signatures are automatically added to the end of Gmail messages, like a footer. You can optionally add an image to your Gmail signature. Learn more about Gmail signatures.

If you’re having problems with your Gmail signature, or with images in your signature, try the solutions in this article.

Common signature issues and solutions

Issues uploading signature image

If you're having problems uploading an image to your signature, try these solutions:

Signature image not formatted correctly

If you're having problems formatting your signature image, try these solutions:

Common Gmail signature issues

Try these steps for general issues displaying and formatting Gmail signatures.

Signature doesn’t display correctly

Sometimes Gmail doesn't correctly display formatted text in a signature. Try removing the formatting:

  1. Open Gmail.
  2. In the top right, click Settings and thenSee all settings.
  3. In the Signature section, select your signature.
  4. Click Remove formatting .

A signature image that's too large can also cause this issue. For a solution, go to Use a signature image in the recommended size.

Can't format text in my signature

If you can't format your signature text, and Plain Text appears above the signature box, turn off plain text mode before editing your signature:

  1. Open Gmail.
  2. Click Compose.
  3. In the bottom right, click More options .
  4. Uncheck Plain text mode.

Extra characters in my signature

Some versions of Gmail don't support formatting options, like bold or italics. Formatted text in these Gmail versions can result in extra characters in your signature. To remove the extra characters, remove the formatting from your signature:

  1. Open Gmail.
  2. In the top right, click Settings and then See all settings.
  3. In the Signature section, highlight your signature.
  4. Click Remove formatting .

Signature hidden by three dots in sent messages

If you can’t find your signature in a Gmail message, it might be below the body of the message. Signatures are separated from the message body by two dashes.

To show your signature, scroll to the bottom of a message, then click Show trimmed content .

Issues uploading signature image

If you have problems uploading images, try one or more of the solutions in this section. Image upload issues can include:

  • Image doesn't upload
  • Image doesn't show in the signature
  • Image added from Google Drive doesn't show in the signature
  • The only upload option is by URL

Note: The instructions in this section are for Chrome. If you use Safari, Firefox, or another browser, check the browser’s support site for instructions.

Clear your browser cache

When you use a browser, like Chrome, some information from visited websites is stored in the browser's memory cache. Clearing the cache might fix problems with uploading a signature image:

  1. On your computer, open Chrome.
  2. At the top right, click More and thenSettings.
  3. Click More toolsand thenClear browsing data.
  4. At the top, choose a time range. To delete everything, select All time.
  5. Check the Cached images and files box.
  6. Click Clear data.
For detailed information about clearing Chrome’s cache, go to Clear cache & cookies.
Clear cookies for mail.google.com

Cookies are files created by websites you visit. They make your online experience easier by saving information about your web browsing. Clearing cookies might fix problems with uploading signature images:

  1. On your computer, open Chrome.
  2. At the top right, click More and thenSettings.
  3. On the left, click Privacy and security.
  4. Click Cookies and other site data.
  5. Scroll down and click See all cookies and site data.
  6. At the top right, enter mail.google.com in the Search cookies field.
  7. Click the Remove all button.

For detailed information about clearing Chrome cookies, go to Clear, enable, and manage cookies in Chrome.

Allow all cookies for Gmail

You can block or allow all cookies for specific sites. Allowing all cookies for Gmail might fix problems with uploading signature images:

  1. On your computer, open Chrome.
  2. At the top right, click More and thenSettings.
  3. On the left, click Privacy and security.
  4. Scroll down to Customized behaviors.
  5. Next to Sites that can always use cookies, click Add.
  6. In the Add a site box, enter mail.google.com, then click Add.

For detailed information about allowing cookies for certain sites, go to Clear, enable, and manage cookies in Chrome.

Change Google Drive sharing permissions for the image

To use a Google Drive image in your signature, the image sharing settings must be set to public.

Note: If you use Gmail with your work or school account, ask your administrator to let you share images publicly.

  1. Select the image file you want to use in your signature.
  2. Click Share or Share and then Get link.
  3. Under Get Link, select Change to anyone with the link.
  4. To let anyone view your signature image, select Viewer.
  5. Click Done.

Tip: To add a Drive image to your signature, we recommend the "My Drive" option. Find the image in Drive. Then click Select.

For detailed information about Drive sharing, go to Share files from Google Drive.

Upload the image in a Chrome incognito window

Chrome incognito mode runs in a separate window from the standard Chrome windows. Incognito mode lets you browse the web privately. If you’re still having problems uploading a signature image, try uploading the image using an incognito window:

  1. In Chrome, open a new incognito window. Detailed instructions
  2. Log into your Google account.
  3. Go to your Gmail settings and upload a signature image as you normally would. Detailed instructions
  4. Close incognito mode. Detailed instructions
Upload the image with a different browser

If you can’t upload an image with the other solutions in this section, try uploading the image using a different browser.

Signature image formatting or display issues

Signature images can have formatting or display issues. Examples include when an image:

  • Appears as a question mark or a broken image icon
  • Is the wrong size
  • Can't be formatted

Try the solutions in this section to fix issues with signature image formatting.

Delete then re-upload the signature image

Delete your signature image, and upload it again. For detailed instructions, go to Create a Gmail signature.

Use a different upload method

There are 3 ways to add an image to your signature:

  • Web Address (URL)–Enter the URL of an image that is publicly available on the web
  • My Drive–Browse and select a public image from your Google Drive
  • Upload–Upload an image file from your device, such as a phone, tablet, or computer.

If you can’t add an image to your signature with one of the methods, try the other 2 methods.

Use a signature image in the recommended size

We recommend a signature image that’s 70–100 pixels high by 300–400 pixels wide. The maximum size for email signature images is 100 pixels high by 1000 pixels wide.

Try these options to resize the image:

  • Resize the image on a computer or mobile device before you upload it to your signature.
  • After you upload the image to your signature, select the image in the signature editor. Then, select a size option: Small, Medium, Large, or Original size.
  • Add the image to a Google Doc and resize the image in the Doc. Then, copy the image and paste it into your signature.

Need more help?

Try these next steps:

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