HTTP Error 403 of Google Drive – Fixed
A few days back I faced an issue with Google drive where I could not download my own Google drive files. It showed an error message “You don’t have the authorization to view this page- HTTP ERROR 403”. I thought it might be a server error of Google drive, so I tried again but the same error message was displayed this time too.
After all, what is the use of Google drive if I can’t even download my own files when needed? So, I started experimenting with it a little bit to see if it is working or not. And guess what, I discovered two methods to fix that HTTP error 403 Google Drive.
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Why this HTTP Error 403 occur in Google Drive?
This generally happens when you have multiple Google accounts logged in on the same device/computer. So, Google may decide not to let you access files for security reasons as anyone can see other accounts stuff just by switching the account. This HTTP error 403 of Google Drive can sometimes also occur when you have logged in to multiple (>5) devices with the same account.
Now I will be guiding you through both the working methods to fix the HTTP error 403 of Google drive along with some elementary tests. All methods are super easy and working on all browsers.
How to Fix “HTTP Error 403 of Google Drive”
Method # 1: Clear browser cache
Sometimes browser cache can prohibit you from downloading your Google drive files. Let’s try deleting cache files and see if this solves the problem or not.
Steps to clear browser cache on Chrome or Firefox
- Open Chrome or Firefox whichever you use.
- Press Ctrl+Shift+Del
- Set the time range to “All time” and uncheck all options except “Cookies and other site data” and “Cached images and files” or Cookies and Cache.
- Now click on clear now or clear data.
- Restart the browser and check if this fixes the Google Drive HTTP error 403 or not.
If the problem was due to cache then this will certainly fix the issue and if not continue to the next method.
Method # 2: Log out of all Google accounts
As explained in the above section why this problem occurs. So in this step, we will log out of all the Google accounts and then login with the account which has our files on Google drive. Simply go to Google homepage and click on your account profile and then click on Sign out of all accounts.
After you have Signed out of all the accounts, now sign in with the account which hosts your files. Now try downloading your file.
This should fix the issue in most cases. If it doesn’t, then below are the two quick workarounds for Google Drive error.
Method #3: Create a Shareable Link
You might have seen people sharing their files link of Google drive with their colleagues and friends. A shareable link is used to share your files hosted on Google drive with others. Steps to create a shareable link:
- Login to your Google Drive
- Right-click on the file you want to create a shareable link.
- From the pop-up menu click on “get shareable link”.
- Click on sharing settings
- Select “Anyone with the link can view” the file
- Copy the link and paste it in the new tab of your browser or different browser or in incognito mode.
Now try to download the file it will start downloading. If this method works for you do let us know.
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Method #4: Share with your other Gmail account
What you can do is share your file with one of your other Gmail accounts. Let’s learn how you can share your file with your other Gmail account.
- Login to your Google Drive.
- Right-click on the file you want to create a shareable link.
- From the pop-up menu click on “share”.
- Select “Anyone with the link can view” the file
- Under the people section, enter the Gmail address you want to share with.
- Now click on “Done”. That’s it!
Now sign in to your other Google drive account with you shared your link. Once you have signed in you will find the shared file on first or at starting. Now right-click on the file and click download. Your file will start downloading soon.
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That was all about how to fix HTTP Error 403 in Google drive. If you face any problem, do let us know in the comment section below.
I´ve used Method 2 and it worked! Thanks you! :)))Mercedes
You are welcome!!
the first suggestion worked perfectly! thank you for the help!
We are glad our method worked for you!
This error happens when you are or have logged in to the browser using multiple accounts. Please completely sign out and delete all accounts at the login screen, then sign in with correct account.