Google Drive lets you collaborate with other users in a seamless way. It’s also integrated with a variety of other services, so the files are accessible at all times. The best part is that you can get a lot of storage at no cost.
Despite the greatness of Google Drive however, there are some issues with accessing the service. It is possible that you are unable to empty your storage space, or share files, or be unable accessing a document. Fortunately, many Google Drive issues are easy to resolve.
We’ll offer usual Google Drive troubleshooting tips, and then we’ll help solve particular Google Drive problems.
The General Google Drive Troubleshooting Steps
These are the steps you should take first. They will help you identify and resolve a range of issues that arise using Google Drive.
1. Verify Google Drive’s Online Status
Visit Google’s app status dashboard. It lists all Google’s services and informs you if there’s a issue in them. If you notice an “service interruption” (amber) or “service outage” (red) indicator on the app you’d like to use, select the colored dot to find out more information about how long it will take for the service to come back operational.
If the issue is with Google Drive is at Google’s end, the best option is to be patient and wait for the issue to be resolved.
2. Turn off Your Antivirus and Firewall
Firewalls and antiviruses can cause issues when syncing data, or giving a “You are offline, a function may not be working” error. In this case, try disabling your firewall and antivirus. Remember to switch them back on in the future (there are a lot of reasons to utilize firewalls.)
For Windows 10 and Windows 11 Disable Windows Defender with these steps:
- Press the Windows button+ I to open Settings.
- Visit Update and Security (Windows 10) or Privacy & Security (Windows 11) > Windows Security > Open Windows Security.
- When you are here Click the Firewall and Network Protection.
- Choose the network you are currently connected to and switch Microsoft Defender Firewall to off.
3. Restart Google Drive
When you’re accessing Google Drive via a web browser, sign out then close your web browser, make sure you have an internet connection that is stable and then login.
You can also close Google Drive from your computer. For this, follow these steps:
- Click on the Google Drive icon in your taskbar.
- Click the settings button located in the upper-right.
- Choose an exit.
- Reopen the application.
4. How to recover the old Version of an Google Drive File
Google Drive keeps a detailed edit history of any changes made to your document by anyone with editing rights.
The history of the changes that were made to your file be visible on the right-hand part of the document and you will be able to browse through all the changes made.
If you have uploaded non-Google files, click Manage versions. upload, right-click the file, and then click to manage the version You can then browse and download any prior version of your file (up of 30 to 100 days, or up).
5. How to recover the Google Drive File That Has disappeared
In the event that you’re only person with permission to access the files:
Examine the Google Drive trash folder It’s accessible through the trash icon from the menu on the left. If you find the file you’re looking to find, right-click it and choose to restore it. The file will be accessible in the original place.
If the missing file isn’t in your trash bin, the name might have changed or was accidentally moved to a different file. Fortunately, Google Drive has advanced search capabilities. Try searching for your files by using keywords or dates and check if it’s an alternative location to the one you thought it would be.
If there are multiple people at work on the document:
A common issue frequent errors that can occur with Google Drive is that it deletes the file for all users when one person deletes a shared folder. There are many aspects to be considered when making use of Google Drive to collaborate and share files, but this is just among the most crucial. Like any other storage device for files it is essential to make backups of your files in a secure and separate place.
The person who owns the shared file might be able retrieve it from deleted files. If you also have an account on Google Drive, or a Google Drive account through a workplace or school There could be an administrator that can view the deleted files for 30 days following the time they’ve been removed, and could be able to assist you in your situation.
6. Google Drive Has Run Out of Storage Space
Google Drive’s capacity for storage is shared among Google services such as Google Docs, Google Sheets and Gmail and Google Photos. To find out the amount of storage space is being used by the Google services, check out Google One’s Google One storage page. If you’re running out space, there are several alternatives.
Deleting all data from Google Drive
The first step is to clean out any files you don’t require. In Google Drive, click Storage in the left-hand menu. This will display the entire contents of your account, and you can sort them by the storage you use.
To erase something, click it right-click and choose to remove it. Be sure to take it out of the garbage.
For each app, select Options to open the Options menu, and then you can make use of to delete the app’s hidden data when necessary. Additionally, select disconnect to Drive to stop the app’s integration completely.
Upgrading Your Google One storage
Google Drive is equipped with 15 GB of storage that you could quickly run out of in the event of not being careful. If you’re not able to locate something to delete, think about upgrading your storage capacity.
Visit out the Google One storage page to find pricing. you can choose to pay a reasonable monthly or yearly fee of 100GB or 200GB as well as 2TB.
7. Not able to print from Google Drive
Printing devices and Google Drive sometimes don’t play well However, you do have a few options to figure out the root cause of your problem:
- Check that your printer software is current. Since Google Drive updates constantly, it is able to quickly outpace the software you use to print. This can result in communication issues between the two services which can lead to printing errors.
- Also, ensure that the web browser you’re using is current also.
- Remove any browser extensions that could interfere with printing.
- If you’re unable to print directly using Google Drive, it might be worth the effort to download your file in PDF, and then print it using your PDF application instead of your browser.
8. It isn’t possible to view or edit an shared Google Drive File
This problem is often brought due to the variety of options available to users for exchanging Google Drive files with others. The person who sends you the link to the file might have skipped a step during the process or picked the wrong choice. So, you might not be able to access the file or even be able to view the file, but without the capability to alter it in any way.
If you aren’t able to access an individual data file Google Drive will provide users with the option to request access from the owner of the file and ask them to modify the sharing settings for the file.
If you’re the creator of an image and users are experiencing difficulties accessing it, make sure you’ve set your sharing parameters properly using the above video.
9. How to Utilize Google Drive Offline
In order to access Google Drive offline, you must use using the Google Chrome browser or install the Google Drive app on your PC or Mac.
In Chrome:
Go to Google Drive settings Check the Google Drive settings, then click on Open, create and edit your latest Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides documents on the device even when offline. It is necessary to install to install the Google Doc Offline plugin and will prompt you to download.
This can only be done only with one account per computer Therefore, it is only possible to enable it for the account you are using the most frequently. To make offline sync possible, it is necessary to require an internet connection and it requires some preparation for the first time.
On your PC:
Install Google Drive and follow the instructions to establish your account. It is essential to connect to the internet at first so that your files are synchronized onto your PC.
10. It’s impossible to upload or sync files.
One of the biggest benefits that comes with the use of Google Drive is that it allows you to sync your files across all of your devices. If it fails there’s a major issue.
We’ve created a separate tutorial to fix upload issues within Google Drive, so take a look.
Do More with Google Drive
If this advice isn’t working go to this Google Drive help page to find out more. There’s as well a Google Drive help community where you can contact other users for assistance.
Once you have Google Drive up and running now, you need to know how you can make the most of it. with it. There are a lot of standard settings that you should alter to make your experience more enjoyable.