Google Drive has become one of the most used cloud storage that is available on the market. It’s easy to access, which is why people love to use it.
Google Drive is an amazing cloud storage to use, but it also has its share of bugs and errors that can be annoying for the users. Many users have reported to us that they are facing the “Http error 403 Google Drive download failed” error whenever they try to download anything from their Google Drives.
This error can appear in various ways like Google Drive Access Denied Error 403 or Google Drive forbidden download but essentially, they are the same error caused by the same reasons.
So that you don’t have to face this error while downloading files from Google Drive, in this article we have discussed the ways to diagnose and troubleshoot this error.
What Is Causing The Google Drive Access Denied Error 403?
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There can be various reasons for the Google Drive forbidden download error to occur. Let’s take a look at those reasons so that you can troubleshoot them one by one.
- According to the users, an overloaded browsing cache seems to be the most common cause of this error.
- Multiple sign-ins at the same time on Google Drive account is also known to cause this error.
- Problematic or corrupted extensions are known to cause various different problems, including this error.
- The internet browser you are using can also cause this error if it is corrupted or incompatible with Google Drive.
Solving Http Error 403 Google Drive Download Failed Error
As mentioned above, there can be various reasons for this error to occur. Now, it’s time for you to troubleshoot them one by one and hopefully, this error would be fixed for you.
Solution 1: Clear The Entire Browsing Cache
Most of the users facing this error reported that it was fixed after they cleared their entire browsing cache. Sometimes, when your cache gets overloaded it can cause these types of errors. In this scenario, clearing your browser cache should fix this error.
To clear your browser cache for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, follow the steps given below:
- Press the Ctrl + Shift + Delete keys on your keyboard. This will open the Clear browsing data page.
- Change the Time range to All time and then make sure all the history and junk data are checked.
- Finally, click on the Clear data option. Your entire browsing cache should now be deleted.
Restart your browser after clearing the cache and try downloading the file from Google Drive again. Check if still, download from Google Drive is forbidden.
Solution 2: Sign-Out From Google Drive
As mentioned above, if you are logged in Google drive from multiple devices, then this error can occur. If this is the case, then you will have to sign out of Google Drive from all of the devices and then login freshly.
To sign-out of your Google Drive account, follow the steps given below:
- Open Google Chrome (or the Google webpage from other browsers) and click on the profile button on the upper right side that will either have a letter or your photo on it.
- Click on the Sign out option. Now, you will be logged out of your Google Drive account.
Follow the same steps for your other devices and sign out of Google Drive.
Once you have signed out of Google drive from all the devices, login only from one device and try to download your file. This solution should fix this error if it was happening due to multiple logins.
Solution 3: Disable Problematic Extensions
Problematic and corrupt extensions can create an awful lot of problems for you. It’s wise to check if an extension is causing the Http 403 error for you. To check the extensions, you will have to disable all of them first.
To disable extensions in Google Chrome, follow the steps given below:
- Open Chrome and type chrome://extensions in the address bar.
- Press Enter to start the search. The Chrome extensions should now be up on your screen.
- Click on the toggle beside the extensions to disable them. Disable all the extensions like this.
After you have disabled all the extensions, check if the error persists. If you see that the error is resolved, then most likely one or more of the extensions is the culprit. Enable the extensions one by one and check if the error arises again.
Once you have located the problematic extension, click on the Remove option to remove it from your browser completely.
If none of the above solutions have worked, you can try this solution that is a workaround for this error.
The Http 403 error generally appears when you try to download directly from Google drive. You can work around this by not downloading directly but rather creating a shareable link of the file and then downloading it.
If this solution works for you, remember that it is just a workaround for the problem. To create a shareable link of the file, follow the steps given below:
- Open the Google Drive and right-click on the file you want to download.
- Select the Get Shareable Link option.
The shareable link will now be copied on your clipboard.
- Sign-out of Google Drive and paste the link in the address bar. Press Enter to start the search.
- The file will open on your screen, click on the download option to download it to your computer.
Solution 5: Use Incognito Or Private Mode
Another workaround for this error is using the Incognito mode or the Private mode to download from Google Drive. If the Http 403 error is occurring because of browser problems, then using the Incognito mode can bypass the error.
To open Incognito mode in Chrome:
- Open Chrome and press Ctrl + Shift + N.
and to open Private mode in Firefox:
- Open Firefox and press Ctrl + Shift + P.
This solution should solve the Google Drive access denied error 403 for you.
Wrapping Up
So, now you know what to do if you face the Http error 403 Google Drive download failed error while downloading files from Google Drive. Remember, if the above solutions were not able to help you fix this error, then you can always use the workaround solutions given in the end to bypass this error for now. As always, feel free to leave your thoughts on the article in the comment section below.
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