Gemini will not open a PDF from Drive or reads it with errors: what to check

Symptoms

• After you reference a Drive file, Gemini says it has no access
• A scan is summarized with invented content
• A large file is rejected

Causes and fixes

1. The file is on another account's Drive or has no access for the account Gemini is open in

What to do: Check which account you use in Gemini and that the file is on that account's Drive

2. The Google Workspace extension is off in Gemini

What to do: Turn on the Google Workspace connection (Drive, Gmail, Docs) in Gemini settings

3. A scan without a text layer

What to do: Right-click the PDF in Drive and open it as a Google Doc: Google recognizes the text, and that document reads without errors

4. The file exceeds the limit

What to do: Split it into parts or extract the sections into a separate file

5. A document with personal data in a personal account

What to do: For such documents use Gemini in the company Workspace or anonymize the text

Common problems and fixes

• Gemini not working: five causes and what to do
• Gemini limits: how many requests on the free plan and Google AI Pro, and what to do when they run out
• How to delete your data from Gemini and turn off activity saving
• Gemini in Google Sheets does not appear or cannot see the data: causes and fixes

About Gemini

Google's chat with access to Drive, Gmail and Sheets, deep research and a localized interface. Paid plans from $14/mo. Free plan available.

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