Quick Links

  • General Google Drive Troubleshooting Steps
  • Check Google Drive's Online Status
  • Disable Your Antivirus and Firewall
  • Restart Google Drive
  • How to Become the Old Version of a Google Bulldoze File Back
  • How to Recover a Google Drive File That Has Disappeared
  • Google Drive Has Run Out of Storage Space
  • Unable to Print on Google Bulldoze
  • Can't View or Edit a Shared Google Drive File
  • How to Utilize Google Drive Offline
  • Can't Upload or Sync Files
  • Do More With Google Drive

Google Drive allows yous to interact with others seamlessly. It'south also integrated with lots of other services, and files are always attainable. Best of all, you get an ample amount of storage for free.

Despite Google Drive'southward excellence, at that place tin be bug in accessing the service. You lot may not be able to clear out storage infinite, share files, or are unable to access a document. Thankfully, many Google Bulldoze issues are easy to set up.

We're going to offering some typical Google Drive troubleshooting tips, then solve some specific Google Bulldoze problems.

Full general Google Drive Troubleshooting Steps

These are some simple steps that you should endeavour first. They can help diagnose and fix a multifariousness of problems with Google Drive.

1. Check Google Drive's Online Status

google status

Visit Google's app condition dashboard. This lists all of Google's services and tells you if there'due south a known problem with them. If you encounter a "service disruption" or "service outage" indicator on the app you want to use, you can click on the colored dot to meet details about when the service volition be back online.

If the problem with Google Drive is on Google'south stop, unfortunately, the only matter you can do is wait for the outage to exist over.

ii. Disable Your Antivirus and Firewall

Antivirus and firewalls cause problems with syncing files, or a "You are offline, some functionality may be unavailable" error. As such, try temporarily disabling your antivirus and firewall—just remember to turn them back on later.

On Windows 10, disable Windows Defender with these steps:

  1. Press Windows central + I to open Settings.
  2. Go to Update & Security > Windows Security > Open Windows Security.
  3. One time here, click Firewall & network protection.
  4. Select your agile network and slide Microsoft Defender Firewall to Off.

3. Restart Google Drive

If you're using Google Drive via a spider web browser, log out, close your web browser, ensure your net connection is reliable, and then log dorsum in.

quit backup and sync

You lot can too quit Google Backup and Sync from your desktop past clicking the Backup and Sync icon, clicking the Settings icon (iii dots), so clicking Quit Backup and Sync. And then reopen the app.

4. How to Get the Old Version of a Google Bulldoze File Back

Google Drive keeps a detailed edit history of any and all changes fabricated on your document by any user who has editing permissions.

To go dorsum to an before save of a file created within the Google ecosystem (like on Google Docs), get to File > Version history > See version history (or printing Ctrl + Alt + Shift + H).

The history of changes made to the file volition appear on the correct-hand side of the document, and you can navigate through all the revisions made.

For non-Google files that you have uploaded, right-click the file, click Manage versions, and you can scan and download all prior versions of the file (up to 30 days or 100 versions).

5. How to Recover a Google Drive File That Has Disappeared

If you're the only one with access to the file:

Check your Google Drive trash folder, accessible via Trash on the left-mitt navigation. If you see the file that you're looking for, right-click it and select Restore. Your file volition at present exist available in its original location.

If your missing file isn't in your trash, it's possible that the name has been changed, or it has been accidentally moved to some other file. Thankfully, Google Drive's search features are advanced. Try searching for your file using keywords or dates, and encounter if information technology's in another location than the 1 y'all anticipated.

If there are multiple people working on the file:

I of the about common mishaps with Google Drive is that information technology deletes the file for anybody if one person deletes a shared file. There are a number of factors to consider when using Google Bulldoze to collaborate, but this is one of the nigh important. Only similar with any other file storage system, information technology'southward imperative that y'all keep backups of your files in a separate, secure location.

The owner of the shared file may exist able to retrieve it from their deleted files. Alternatively, if yous take a Google Drive account through a school or workplace, there may be an administrator who can encounter all deleted files for 30 days after they have been deleted, and may be able to assist you lot in your case.

vi. Google Bulldoze Has Run Out of Storage Space

Google Drive's storage capacity is shared across services like Google Docs, Google Sheets and Gmail, and Google Photos. To see how much infinite you're using across all those Google services, visit the Google One storage page. If you run out of space, you take a couple of options.

Delete Data From Google Drive

The first is to clear out files yous no longer need. On Google Bulldoze, click Storage on the left-hand bill of fare. This will show you all your files, which you can sort by Storage used.

To delete something, right-click information technology and select Remove. Remember to also remove it from the trash.

google drive manage apps

You should also check for whatever third-party apps that are using storage invisibly. To do this, click the cog icon in the top-right and click Settings > Manage apps.

For each app, click Options, and you can utilize Delete hidden app data if necessary. You lot can also click Disconnect from Drive to remove the app integration entirely.

Upgrade Your Google One Storage

Google Drive comes with 15 GB of storage infinite, which you can quickly exhaust if you're not careful. If you lot tin't find annihilation to delete, consider paying to upgrade your storage chapters.

Bank check the Google One storage page for pricing, wherein you can pay a reasonable monthly or yearly cost for 100GB, 200GB, or 2TB of data.

7. Unable to Print on Google Drive

Printers and Google Drive sometimes don't play well together, but you have some options to try and troubleshoot the root of your problem:

  • Ensure that your printer software is upwardly-to-date. Because Google Drive is constantly being updated, it tin quickly outpace your printer software. This can cause communication problems between the two services, and effect in printing errors.
  • Similarly, you lot'll want to make sure that the web browser you're using is upwards-to-date too.
  • Disable any browser extensions that may be interfering with your ability to print.
  • If you're still unable to print straight from Google Drive, it might be worth taking the time to download your file as a PDF and then impress it from your PDF software instead of from your browser.

This problem oftentimes crops upward because of the number of choices users take for sharing Google Bulldoze files with others. The person sending you lot the link to the file may have missed a step in the process or called the wrong option. Therefore you may exist unable to come across the file at all or be able to see the file without the ability to make whatever changes.

If y'all don't have access to a file, Google Bulldoze will provide you with a button to Request admission from the file'due south owner, which will prompt them to change the sharing settings on the file.

If yous're the owner of a file and people are having trouble accessing it, double-bank check that you lot've prepare the sharing parameters correctly using the video above.

nine. How to Apply Google Drive Offline

In lodge to use Google Drive offline, you will demand to use either the Google Chrome browser or install the Google Drive app on your Mac or PC.

On Chrome:

Visit Google Bulldoze settings, and bank check Create, open and edit your recent Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides files on this device while offline. You will need to download the Google Doc Offline plugin, which information technology will prompt you to do.

Yous tin can only do this with one account per computer, so enable information technology just on the account that you use most frequently. Besides, in social club to enable offline syncing, you will need to have an internet connection initially, so it involves some forward planning the first time.

On your figurer:

Download Google Backup and Sync and follow the prompts to set up your account. You volition demand to exist connected to the cyberspace initially so that your files tin can sync to your figurer.

10. Can't Upload or Sync Files

One of the main advantages of using Google Drive is that it syncs your files across all your devices. If that breaks, information technology'southward a big problem.

We've compiled a dissever guide to solve upload errors in Google Drive, and then check that out.

Do More With Google Drive

If the communication here hasn't solved your problem, visit the Google Drive help page for more data. There is too a Google Drive aid community where yous can inquire others for support.

With Google Bulldoze up and running, information technology's fourth dimension to learn what else you can exercise with information technology. In that location are plenty of default settings y'all should suit to make the experience fifty-fifty ameliorate.

eight Google Drive Settings and Preferences You Should Change Now

Read Adjacent

About The Author

Joe Keeley (882 Articles Published)

Joe was born with a keyboard in his hands and immediately started writing almost applied science. He has a BA (Hons) in Business and is now a total-time freelance writer who enjoys making tech simple for everyone.

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