Unable to upload files to Google Drive: all possible solutions
Google Drive is there with the most influential software of the last decade, making it one of the most used cloud services in the world. Despite this, in recent times this has shown some major flaws.
Sometimes it’s even impossible to upload files to Google Drive. How is it possible to remedy this discomfort? In this article, we will address the issue by trying to find a solution capable of making the service active again.
Unable to upload files to Google Drive: all possible solutions
Google Drive is now widely used and, a file uploading problem can be very annoying for a huge number of users. So what to do when such a problem occurs? Even before embarking on more complex procedures it is good to consider if you have previously downloaded the app Backup and synchronization since, in this case, it could all be much simpler than expected.
First of all, it is good to disconnect and reconnect the account from the app. To do this, go up Backup and synchronization by clicking on its cloud icon in the notification area in the lower right corner of the screen. Then, click on the three-pointed menu icon, then going to Preferences – Settings – Disconnect account.
Once your account is disconnected, click the Backup and sync menu icon again and sign in to your Google Account. The synchronization process may take some time, but the loading problems should be solved.
Restart or reinstall Backup and synchronization
The problem is not always solved with the above procedure. In some cases, there is a need to be a little more “incisive”. Another solution, always linked to the Backup and synchronization app, is to restart or even reinstall the app.
To do this, select the application icon in the notification area, then go to the menu from which, once opened, you can choose to permanently exit Backup and synchronization. To reopen the app, type Backup and synchronization in the Windows search field from the Start menu and press Enter to restart the program.
Alternatively, you can reinstall Backup and Sync from scratch. Uninstall it by right-clicking the Start menu, clicking Apps and features, then uninstalling it from the list, then reinstalling it by clicking on the link that we proposed previously.
Disable Ad Blockers
Add-ons for Chrome, especially the AdBlocker, usually work without major problems with Google Drive. The extensions of this type, in fact, block any ads but do not affect the work of the cloud service protagonist of this article.
However, various problems with browser extensions such as AdGuard, which can sometimes block uploads or even prevent internet access for some or all Google-related apps.
Therefore, if you are having trouble uploading files and have an Ad Blocker running, try disabling it when you are on the Google Drive website. Remember, don’t completely disable adblocking, but only do it for Google Drive.
Divide your uploads into several less “heavy” operations
Google is designed to handle individual files up to 5 TB (unless they are Google file formats like Docs or Sheets, in which case they are 50 MB).
The service generally handles individual large files and folders very well, although your Internet connection could cause problems if you try to upload a large folder with hundreds of GB of data at the same time. As you probably know, uploads are even more critical than downloading for a network.
If you believe that uploading large folders has timed out or stopped loading Google Drive, try accessing the folder, selecting everything inside, and uploading everything as individual files. Google Drive will automatically queue them and may better manage your files.
Check the status of Google Drive
Google Drive is an outstanding service when it comes to uptime and it is very rare that the service itself does not work. However, it is worth checking on the status dashboard if there are outages on Google Drive before taking matters into hand.
If you see that the service is down, there is nothing else to do but put your heart in peace and wait for it to come back up. Alternatively, you can always search for one of the many alternative cloud services offered by the network.
Use the private/incognito window
Usually, this is a rather transversal solution, useful on a large number of occasions. A private window is isolated and does not use stored cookies which could affect normal browsing. Just open a private window in your browser and access Google Drive. After that, you can try to upload the file again and check if the upload works properly.
To open a private window, the shortcut Ctrl + Shift + N or Ctrl + Shift + P is used in most browsers, although it is also possible to manually open the private window from the main menu of the browser.
Clear your browser cache
If it’s still not possible to upload files to Google Drive, you can try clearing your browser cache. This, among other things, can help you free up hard disk space. Although cookies make navigation easier and faster, these can create a series of problems that could interfere with the cloud service we are dealing with.
Please note: you should also follow this step if using a private window solved your problem. In this sense, we recommend reading the article created specifically to clear the cache of the most common browsers.
Use a different browser
Desperate times call for desperate measures. If the above solutions have not been helpful, try using a different browser. Beyond Chrome, which has the largest market share, it should never be forgotten that there is a long list of rather illustrious “colleagues” like Firefox, Opera, Safari is Microsoft Edge.
Of course, before using a browser, always make sure that it is updated to the latest stable version available.
Make sure image uploading is turned on
For some reason, Google Drive stops working properly if image viewing is turned off in your browser. Although with modern browsers, it is difficult to have to turn off images, this could have happened involuntarily: take a look that everything is affixed from this point of view.
Taking Chrome as an example, you can act by writing in the address bar chrome: // settings/content then pressing enter. Once this is done, in the screen that appears, it is good to look for the item Don’t show pictures and make sure it doesn’t have a tick.
If you want to keep this setting but create an “Exception”, simply click on Manage Exceptions in Images. In the following window, down, you can type the URL www.google.com/drive/ and always allow images to be uploaded.
Network problem?
If despite everything, it is still impossible to upload files to Google Drive, the problem may be strictly connected to the network. This can be seen if the file being loaded, halfway through the process, sees the interruption and a network error is proposed. Restarting the router usually solves this problem altogether.
If that fails, try changing your IP address and also turning off any firewalls. Using a VPN can also affect the upload process, so make sure your VPN is turned off for testing. If you are sure it is a network error, resetting the router may solve this problem. There should be a reset button on the router which you can hold for five to ten seconds in order to reset the router.
The file may have a problem
What if at the end of it all I find out that the real problem is the file? Try uploading other files or temporarily uploading their extension to upload them. Make sure there are no special characters in the name (like ? <> or /). If the problem is related to the name and extension of the file, in this way the upload should be successful.
