I’ve been trying to download 5TB of data from Google Drive for weeks, and it's been a nightmare. Google Takeout keeps timing out or expiring before the download finishes. I’ve tried different browsers, incognito mode, and splitting the data, but nothing works.
Google agents keep telling me that the file sizes I was allowed to upload—some over 100GB—are not downloadable due to size restrictions. This makes no sense. If I can upload files this large, why can’t I download them? It feels like I’m being denied access to my own data.
Earlier this year, I had to download 40TB, and it was a disaster. After deleting my Drive (because prices increased from $29/month for unlimited storage to $29/month for just 5TB), I realized that 20TB of my data was missing from the Google Takeout archive. The process was marked "completed," but once I unzipped everything, there were countless incomplete files, and I lost years' worth of data.
It feels like Google is more focused on collecting data than allowing users to retrieve it. I need a clear answer: How am I supposed to get all my files back? Is there any reliable way to do this, or a service that can help?
I need a clear answer: How am I expected to get all of my files? Is there any reliable method to download everything, or a service Google offers to assist with this?
In downloading 40Tbs earlier this year ( which was a nightmare ) I lost 20Tbs of data when I deleted my drive ( prices were raised from 29 a month for unlimited to 29 a month for 5TBs!!! ) and found that the archive downloaded from Takeout was "completed" yet short by 20TB once I unzipped all folders. So many incomplete files and so many years of data loss. This is a data collection platform. Google collects and doesn't care if you ever see the data back on hard disk. It increasingly feels like they prefer you NOT ever see your data again.
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