Please make Google Drive work better with Apple File Provider on macOS

[leonceaklin]

I am very unhappy with the recent update of Google Drive Desktop on macOS that makes it "compatible" with Apple's File Provider API. First of all, I find it unacceptable that these new changes weren't communicated earlier. I had an external cache drive of 2TB set up that I now can't use anymore from one moment to the other (thanks to auto update). The Drive client couldn't move the files automatically of course, because my internal disk doesn't have 2TB of spare storage. I had to delete every application data and reinstall the Drive client to make it work again. Now that there is no option anymore for an external cache disk so I can now find a new solution for my workflow which deals with a huge amount of video footage. (Maybe I should directly switch to a competitor that doesn't come up with such breaking changes out of the blue)…

Imagine a big business had this as a standard setup. They'd be doomed. I can now wait days to redownload everything.

Now that everything is set up the new way, one could imagine that everything works better now due to "native" integration. Today I saw this message countless times while working with files stored on Drive:

By the way this is a folder which is supposed to be "available offline". So why do I have these cloud symbols inside this folder? I always bragged about Google Drive, especially the "streaming mode" being better than iCloud drive. Now we have this…

Look, I get that the source of this issue is Apple forcing developers to use this API, but this is still a breaking change! As a Google Workspace customer, I expect to be informed appropriately before such an update gets rolled out to be able to react accordingly. The File Provider API is available since October 2021, so there was plenty of time to inform customers. It's the same as I, for example, have to make changes to my web applications to make it work with the latest version of Chrome, even though I'm not affiliated with Chrome.

Anybody else having difficulties with the new update? Please upvote and describe your issues so that this issue gets addressed.

[cryptochrome]

A couple of things:

1.) Google announced the Apple-enforced switch to File Provider API over a year ago, and delayed the rollout for a very long time so everybody could adapt. Shortly after the announcement, they provided knowledge base articles explaining the technical details of the switch. 

2.) The fact that you can't use an external cache drive anymore is entirely Apple's fault, not Google's. Apple is forcing all storage providers to use the new Apple File Provider API. Apple's File Provider API does not allow to change the cache location. Even if Google wanted to give you an option for that (they probably do), they couldn't. It's technical limitation on Apple's end. 

3.) The cloud icons inside the folders are also coming from Apple, not from Google. We have the same problem with box.com, for example. 

Overall, these limitations affect all cloud storage apps, including Microsoft's One Drive. You can thank Apple for this absolute mess. 

I know this doesn't help you fix the issues you are currently facing, but I wanted to set the record straight regardless. 

[Tom_Sch]

I am reading the Google Workspace Update email for a while now and I haven't read anything about it. Anyway Google is mentioning the switch from Hangouts to Chat a lot and I don't know how many times I read an email about it, but the change for Google Drive was just mentioned once? Well I guess the Drive thing is a bit more important than Google Hangout / Chat. 

Even if Apple is the culprit Google was able to test the whole thing before making the switch and try to iron out a lot of issues upfront. I am running a workspace with more than 20 people and as of now just 2 users had to make that switch. Still wondering why the old way is still working. It is working so far and we don't make files offline. We stream everything. I guess there is no SSD with 20TB available in a MacBook Pro 😉 

There are some issues with the new way and if they start developing and adopting the new way over a year ago they should have come up with a better way. Most importantly repeat the news over and over since Google Drive for Desktop is essential for a lot of companies and we pay for this! 

No matter who is to blame, the way Google communicated about this could have been better.

[RHimadiiev]

May you please show where have Apple requested to switch to File Provider? I was told on Apple forum it wasn't necessary.

Thanks

[leonceaklin]

Thank you for your comment! I didn’t know about these announcements. I guess I just wasn‘t a Google Workspace user back then, I‘m using it since summer 2022. But I‘m sure that there wasn‘t any notice that the cache feature will be unavailable soon inside the Drive for Desktop app itself.

I hope that Google is aware how important this feature was to some users and will reimplement it as soon as it‘s possible to do it somehow. It just doesn’t seem to me that many end users have already reported the problems they have with File Provider.

And I understand that this is kind of a „tech giants fight“. I‘ve seen topics about the problems of File Provider in Apple‘s developer forum too where you can read solutions like „Why don‘t you just use iCloud drive?“ 😞 It‘s the users that suffer in the end.

[cryptochrome]

I am pretty sure Google is aware. Probably one of the reasons for why they delay the rollout of the File Provider API integration so much. Unfortunately, there is nothing at all they can do. If Apple decides the cache folder has to be in the Library folder, then that's the law, basically. 

Maybe it's time for you to reconsider your strategy? Do you really need to have 2 TB of data that is on your Google Drive available offline? That kind of defeats the purpose of online storage.

If you do, and you only need it as a backup (since you work with the offline files anyways), you could consider switching from file streaming to Google Drive's built-in backup feature. That completely bypasses File Provider, as it works like a normal backup and you simply point it to the files and folders you want backed up. Google calls this "Mirroring" as opposed to Streaming.

Here is some more info:

https://support.google.com/drive/answer/10838124

And here is the help article that explains that you have no option for the cache folder location once you switch to File Provider mode:

https://support.google.com/drive/answer/12178485

Cheers

[RHimadiiev]

As as sound engineer I can't agree. We use Google Drive for file exchange. The file could be really large and I need to have actual project on my Drive. I can reconsider the strategy in general like stop using Google Drive.

[Crispin]

Absolutely not.  We work in vg and film audio and use Google drive to exchange files with our clients.  We're talking 10's of TB across multiple projects that we need to access regularly.  

This new situation has completely broken our workflow and cost us hundreds of hours in workarounds and, just as bad, eroded client satisfaction.  It's a disaster.

[Rycuda]

I've had nothing but problems since this change to Apple's File Provider API. Most documents no longer fully upload so between my different locations, I end up with different versions. This is exactly the reason I started using Google Drive a few years ago. 

I don't know what to do? Thankfully I';m just a small business so it doesn't really hurt but I have lost plenty of work because if you restart your machine before it's fully uploaded the the file you've worked on, it goes back to the version stored online. It's absolutely nuts. It all worked so well before.

[Hadrien500]

Hello @Rycuda , our company is currently encountering the same problem. We are an advertising agency with a studio part and for the past 2 weeks we have found ourselves with different versions because google drive does not synchronize well. Problem seen on small files and large files.

[Rycuda]

Yes, that's the same as us. We're a branding/Advertising Agency too and find it is small and large files. Everything worked fine until they moved to the Apple File Provider API. Also, the setting for choosing where you'd like the file cache was useful, you could set it to a large external HD. I've not seen any solutions online anywhere so we're left to wait for system updates or GoogleDrive updates to solve the problem.

[farhadd]

I had been using Retrospect on a Mac Mini with a paltry 256GB SSD (and a large external HDD cache) to back up some of our servers to an offsite "Disk" backup set stored in a Google Workspace shared drive. It only works properly if the files are cached for offline access. Since Apple / Google pulled the rug out from under me, I got an error saying that I didn't have enough disk space and my offline access files are now cloud only. I CAN NO LONGER BACK UP MY DATA OFFSITE! I would have to purchase a different Mac with more internal storage, pay for a different cloud provider, or switch to PC. For folks who require a Mac for their work and need offline access to large amounts of data, this is tantamount to racketeering in my opinion.

[JasonTM1]

Requiring synced file systems to use the new File Provider API was forced by Apple, Google had nothing to do with it. This change has impacted all providers and is not limited to Google Drive.

[Hadrien500]

Hello ! for information, we are in the process of downgrading our macs to macOS Monterey 12.0.1 which does not yet include this API. No more problems since. We're also going to ditch google drive and go back to a NAS server. Quite painful but good.

[Sgldzn]

Hello, Group!

I noticed about six months ago that files and folders had disappeared from my Google Drive. I have spent these past six months in a back and forth with GoogleOne Support who have only been able to confirm that my data has somehow been deleted. I am not that tech savvy, I’m just an individual who now has lost at years of saved data and files — everything I have created in Google Docs, Sheets, Slides since the early 2000’s is now apparently unavailable. Google has not been able or willing to tell me when this happened, or how. 

I just came across this thread and think that I might be having the same problem as others here. 

I have been using an older Mac and last year purchased a newer one. I think my troubles might have begun at that time. 
Could this be the case? Some sort of conflict between Google Drive and the Mac OS?

like I said, I’m not tech savvy. Just a person who has lost years of work and memories 

thanks in advance for any insights 

[Crispin]

Completely agree.  This has absolutely destroyed our workflow.  We have 8+TB of video and audio data that we're syncing and now what happened automatically and easily involves hours or days of file management because we can't fit everything on the system HD (which is a terrible place to store project data in any situation for many reasons).

Apple, get your act together and stop letting hubris be your pilot!

[fontcl]

Hello @Crispin, did you (or any other) find a solution for this!?

[Crispin]

Sadly no.  Looking into whether or not I can switch to PC for my work.