How to Fix Google Drive Upload Stuck on ‘Starting Upload’

The frustrating issue where Google Drive remains indefinitely frozen with the status indicator “Starting upload…” (or “Uploading 0 of 1 items”) occurs when the web application fails to initiate the chunked HTTP multi-part upload protocol with Google’s storage servers. While the local file selector acknowledges the file, the data stream never transfers across the socket connection. This issue frequently stems from corrupted browser service worker caches, aggressive third-party ad-blockers intercepting tracking tokens, stale local storage permissions, or firewall inspection filters. Resolving this issue involves clearing web app storage, disabling conflicting browser extensions, and verifying account upload permissions.

Understanding Why Google Drive Uploads Stall

Google Drive transfers larger files using a resumable upload protocol that breaks data into small 256 KB or 512 KB byte chunks. Before dispatching the first payload byte, the client browser negotiates an upload URI with the Drive API. If the client browser cannot complete this handshake, the web interface remains trapped on the “Starting upload” phase.

Common technical reasons for this failure include:

• Corrupted Service Workers: The Google Drive web application utilizes offline service workers to manage background caching. A desynchronised worker thread can reject new transfer queues.
• Extension Interference: Ad-blockers, tracking shields, or security extensions aggressively blocking Google API endpoints (such as upload.video.google.com or clients6.google.com).
• Storage Quota Exhaustion: The unified Google One account storage (shared across Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos) has reached 100% capacity.
• VPN and Proxy Protocol Collisions: Virtual private network tunnels dropping persistent WebSocket or long-lived TCP connections required for file chunking. If you experience broader desktop client errors, explore our guide on fixing Google Drive cannot connect error.

Layer	Operational Role	Common Failure Symptom
Service Worker Cache	Coordinates offline queues and upload states	Upload spinner runs indefinitely with zero bandwidth usage
Network Ad-Blocker	Inspects outgoing API calls and network tokens	Console shows ERR_BLOCKED_BY_CLIENT on upload URIs
Google One Quota	Enforces cloud storage capacity boundaries	Silent upload halt or abrupt transfer rejection
Browser Cookie / Origin	Maintains active OAuth2 session tokens	Authentication timeout during byte stream negotiation

Step 1: Test Upload in an Incognito / Private Window

The fastest way to isolate whether the upload stall is caused by cached browser data or installed extensions is testing via an isolated browser profile:

1. In Google Chrome, press Ctrl + Shift + N (or Cmd + Shift + N on macOS) to open an Incognito window.
2. Navigate to drive.google.com and sign in to your Google Account.
3. Attempt to upload the problematic file.
4. If the upload completes immediately, an installed browser extension or corrupted local cache is responsible for the stall. Proceed to Step 2 and Step 3 to fix normal browsing mode.

Step 2: Clear Site Data and Unregister Service Workers for Google Drive

Flushing Google Drive’s site storage removes corrupted local databases and forces the browser to register a fresh service worker thread.

1. Open Google Drive in Chrome.
2. Press F12 (or right-click anywhere on the page and select Inspect) to launch Developer Tools.
3. Navigate to the Application tab along the top menu bar.
4. In the left sidebar, click Storage.
5. Ensure all checkboxes (including Local and session storage, IndexedDB, and Service workers) are ticked.
6. Click the Clear site data button.
7. Reload Google Drive by pressing Ctrl + F5 and sign back in.

Step 3: Whitelist Google Drive in Ad-Blockers and Privacy Shields

Extensions like uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger, and built-in browser shields can mistake Google’s telemetry and chunk-resumption requests for invasive tracking scripts.

1. Click your ad-blocker icon in the browser toolbar while on the Google Drive tab.
2. Click the power icon to disable protection specifically on drive.google.com.
3. If using Google Chrome with Enhanced Protection, ensure your third-party antivirus does not intercept encrypted traffic.
4. If using Brave or Opera, click the shield icon in the address bar and set shields to Down for the domain.
5. Reload the page and retry the upload.

Step 4: Verify Google One Storage Availability

When storage limits are reached, Google Drive does not always display an immediate error dialogue; instead, upload requests may simply sit in queue.

1. Open a new browser tab and navigate to one.google.com/storage.
2. Check the total storage breakdown across Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos.
3. If the available free space is below the size of your file (or at 100%), delete unnecessary large attachments in Gmail or empty the Google Drive Bin:
   • In Google Drive, click Bin (or Trash) in the left menu.
   • Click Empty bin in the top-right corner to permanently reclaim deleted allocation blocks.

Step 5: Disable Hardware Acceleration and Split Archive Files

Large video files or complex archives can stall if browser hardware rendering conflicts with file memory buffering.

1. In Google Chrome, navigate to chrome://settings/system.
2. Toggle Use graphics acceleration when available to Off.
3. Relaunch Chrome.
4. If uploading a directory with thousands of tiny files, compress the folder into a single .zip archive before uploading to prevent browser thread exhaustion.