Why are my Google Drive uploads failing?

Sometimes uploads of PDFs or Slides from Google Drive can fail with the error message “Internal error.”

Common Causes

These are the most common causes of Google Drive uploads failing in Beam.

Mismatched Google Accounts

Google does not allow users to be logged into Beam with one Google account, then upload from a separate Google account. For example, if you use your work email to log into Beam through Google, you cannot then upload files from a Google Drive accounts associated with your personal email.

Google Workspace Settings

Sometimes, your company’s Google Workspace settings are configured to prevent uploading Drive files to Beam. Contact your IT team.

Questions to ask your IT team

• Is Skykit Beam blocked by default under API Controls?

  • Many enterprise environments operate on a "default-deny" policy for third-party applications. Ask your IT team to check the Google Admin console (Security > Access and data control > API controls > Manage App Access). If unconfigured third-party apps are set to "Don't allow users to access any third-party apps", Skykit Beam will need to be explicitly allowlisted.

• Can Skykit be added as a “Trusted” app?

  • If third-party access is restricted, IT can resolve the block by finding Skykit Beam in their Accessed apps or Apps pending review lists and changing its access level. Marking Skykit as Trusted allows the app to bypass standard restrictions and securely access the Google Drive scopes required for file imports.

• Has the Drive API scope been completely disabled?

  • Workspace administrators have the ability to disable third-party data access to Drive entirely by blocking the Drive API scope. If this is the case, they will need to explicitly whitelist Skykit Beam's access for your organization's supported platforms.

• Are there any Context-Aware Access (CAA) policies blocking the upload?

  • If your company uses Context-Aware Access (Google's Zero Trust security model), policies may restrict access based on IP address, device compliance, or location. Check if a CAA rule is inadvertently blocking Skykit's cloud infrastructure from fetching the Drive file once the user authorizes the transfer.

• Are local network rules or browser extensions blocking the Google Picker?

  • Sometimes the issue isn't Google Workspace, but rather local endpoint security. Ask if there are aggressive pop-up blockers, ad-blockers, or secure web gateways (like Zscaler or Cisco Umbrella) that might be intercepting the Google OAuth popup window or blocking traffic to drive.googleapis.com.

Empty Drive Documents

If all of the slides in a Slides presentation have been deleted, it will not be able to be uploaded to Beam.

Still unable to upload?

Contact our support team for further assistance.