Thousands of users across the United States experienced problems accessing Google Drive, Docs and Sheets on November 12, 2025. The issue began around noon EST, with outage reports quickly rising to nearly 3,000 as people struggled to open files, connect to servers, or access their accounts.
Widespread Outage Reported
According to outage monitoring platforms, disruptions began appearing shortly after midday on Wednesday. By 1 p.m., over 2,800 reports had been logged for Google Drive, while hundreds more users reported similar problems with Google Docs, Sheets and even Google Search.
Google Confirms the Issue
Google confirmed that it is aware of the problem and is currently investigating. The company stated it was “investigating access issues” affecting several Google Workspace services, including Drive, Docs and Sheets. At the time of reporting, the Google Workspace Status Dashboard showed no available workaround for users.
User Experience and Impact
Data from outage trackers revealed that around 50% of users were facing server connection errors, while more than one-third were unable to access their personal files. Many users said they tried reloading pages or switching devices, but the issue persisted. Some reported that the services came back briefly before going offline again.
The outage has also affected students significantly, as many rely on Google Docs and Drive for schoolwork and assignment submissions. Frustrated users flooded social media and online forums with complaints, expressing concern over missed deadlines and disrupted workflows.
Google’s Official Response
In its official update, Google said:
“We are experiencing an issue with Google Drive, Google Sheets and Google Docs beginning at Wednesday, 2025-11-12 09:00 PST. Our engineering team continues to investigate the issue. We will provide an update by Wednesday, 2025-11-12 11:45 PST with current details. We apologize to all who are affected by the disruption.”
Later, at 9:18 PM UTC, the company added:
“We are investigating access issues with multiple Workspace products. Our engineering team is actively investigating the issue. We will provide an update by Wednesday, 2025-11-12 14:15 PST with details.”
Additional Errors and Temporary Fixes
Some users also encountered SSL errors, such as “This site can’t provide a secure connection / ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR,” while trying to open the affected services. Google suggested users reboot their routers or try accessing the services via mobile devices as temporary workarounds.
Current Status
As of now, Google’s engineering team is still working to restore normal service. The company has not yet shared a clear timeline for full recovery, leaving many users waiting and hoping for a quick resolution.
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