If you encounter the “file unreadable Google Drive” issue but don’t know what to do, you need to read this post. It will show you some possible causes of this issue. Meanwhile, it will show you 6 workable solutions to fix it.

Google Drive is a widely used cloud storage platform where people upload documents and various other files. However, uploads don’t always go smoothly – sometimes files may become unreadable after uploading. This is a frequent problem, with many users reporting similar issues in online forums. This post introduces how to fix the “file unreadable Google Drive” issue.

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Fix 1: Check the Internet Connection

A weak or unreliable internet connection can cause Google Drive to malfunction. For this reason, it’s important to verify your network connection when this problem occurs. To ensure a stable connection, consider restarting your router and modem.

If your internet is working properly but the issue continues, you may need to explore other fixes.

Fix 2: Check the Google Drive Status

If you encounter the “file unreadable Google Drive” error, you can check the Google Drive Status Dashboard to see if Google Drive is down in the list. If Google Drive does shut down, just wait for it to work again.

Fix 3: Check the Uploaded File Size/Name

Many users report encountering unreadable file issues in Google Drive, particularly when uploading large files. To avoid this problem, always verify your file size complies with Google Drive’s upload limits. For individual users, Google Drive supports:

  • Maximum file size: 5TB
  • Daily upload limit: 750GB (combined across My Drive and shared drives)

Additionally, ensure you have adequate storage space before uploading. If your Google Drive is full, you’ll need to either delete unnecessary files or upgrade your storage plan.

Some users find that simply renaming their files allows for successful uploads to Google Drive. When preparing files for upload, be mindful of Google Drive’s filename restrictions:

  • Character limit: Filenames cannot exceed 255 characters
  • Invalid characters: Avoid special symbols like %#, or ? in filenames
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Fix 4: Clear the Cache and Cookies

Sometimes, the corrupted Chrome cache can cause the “file unreadable Google Drive” issue. So, you can try clearing the cache and cookies to fix the problem. Here is a guideline below for you.

Step 1: Open Google Chrome and click the three dots icon. Click More tools and go to Clear browsing data.

Step 2: Go to the Advanced tab and select All time from the drop-down menu.

Step 3: Check the Browsing history, Download history, Cookies and other site data, and Cached images and files boxes.

clear the cache

Step 4:Click the Clear data button to apply this change. Then, check to see if the “file unreadable on Google Drive” error message has gone. If not, try the following methods.

Fix 5: Reinstall the Google Drive App

A corrupted installation could be the root cause of your Google Drive malfunctions. When experiencing persistent problems, we recommend performing a fresh reinstallation as your first troubleshooting step. For optimal performance and to prevent the recurrence of such issues, always ensure you’re running the most current version of Google Drive available.

Tips:
If the above solutions are not working, you can try to sync/back up your files locally. MiniTool ShadowMaker, a piece of Windows backup software, allows you to perform the backup task without the Internet.

MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Final Words

To sum up, this post has introduced how to fix the “file unreadable Google Drive” issue. If you want to fix the issue, you can take the above solutions.

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