How to fix file uploads errors in Google Drive

Google Drive is an online and offline file syncing service, but what happens when the syncing stops working and you get upload failure errors?

It’s not uncommon to have file upload problems with Google Drive on Windows and Mac. From checking your network connection, disabling your firewall, or reconnecting your account, hopefully, one of our tips below will solve your Google Drive upload issues.

How to fix file upload errors in Google Drive

Check Google Drive’s Status

Though Google prides itself on its uptime, it isn’t unknown that its services to go down. If you have file upload difficulties, the first thing you should check is Google Drive’s status. There’s no point in trying to resolve the problem if it isn’t on your end.

Troubleshoot Your Network Connection

The next thing to do is check that the issue doesn’t lie with your internet connection. Handily, both Windows and macOS include troubleshooters that check your connection, find issues and offer potential solutions.

Check Your Storage Space

Your Google account comes with 15GB of free storage space. This isn’t exclusive to Drive because it’s shared across other Google services like Photos and Gmail. If your file isn’t syncing to Drive, you may have reached your storage limit.

Rename Your File

Sometimes, files won’t sync if they have particular characters in their name. If your file contains characters like <, >, /, \, ?, or * then get rid of them. Depending on your operating system, these won’t be allowed anyway, but sometimes a program may erroneously insert them into their file names. In fact, rename the file entirely and only use letters and numbers. See if this pushes the file through. Sometimes, files won’t sync if they have particular characters in their name. If your file contains characters like <, >, /, \, ?, or * then get rid of them. Depending on your operating system, these won’t be allowed anyway, but sometimes a program may erroneously insert them into their file names. In fact, rename the file entirely and only use letters and numbers. See if this pushes the file through.

Restart the Google Drive App

It’s the age-old troubleshooting tip, but it does often work. Try restarting the Google Drive client to see if this resolves the file upload issues. To do this, click the Google Drive icon in your system tray (bottom-right on Windows, top-right on Mac). Click the cog icon and click Exit. Then reopen the utility. If this didn’t work, try restarting your system entirely. On Windows, do that via Start > Power > Restart. On Mac, go to Apple menu > Restart.

Disable Your Antivirus and Firewall

If you’re using antivirus software or have a firewall, try turning these off to see if your files start syncing. You might need to restart your computer for the changes to take effect.