Google Takeout Not Downloading or Keeps Failing

By Josep Mampel Marques, updated November 11, 2026

When Google Takeout will not download or keeps failing, Google's own advice is to export fewer products (ideally only Google Photos), choose a smaller archive size, use a desktop computer rather than a phone, or have the archive delivered to a cloud storage service instead of downloading it. If the export itself failed, create a new one. Remember that each archive expires in about 7 days and can be downloaded 5 times, after which you need a new export. The fixes below follow Google's Takeout help, with the cause first.

Quick checklist

1. Are you on a computer? Google recommends a desktop computer, not a mobile device.
2. Is Google Photos the only product selected?
3. Is the link less than about 7 days old, and has each part been downloaded fewer than 5 times?
4. Is there enough free space on the disk you are saving to, for all parts?
5. Is it a work or school account? An administrator may have disabled downloads.

The export failed or never arrives

• It is still being created. Google says archives take anywhere from a few minutes to a few days, depending on the size of the account, and most people get the link the same day. Accounts in the Advanced Protection Program have exports scheduled two days in the future.
• The archive failed. Google's advice is to create a new one, or to export one product at a time.
• You were asked to sign in again. Takeout may ask for your password and an extra 2-Step Verification step before it starts.

The download stops or the file is broken

Large archives over a slow or unstable connection are the usual cause. Ente's guide notes that downloading 50 GB files on a bad connection can take several attempts.

1. Request a smaller archive size. Google lists this first. Smaller parts are quicker to retry: a failed 10 GB part costs far less than a failed 50 GB one.
2. Download parts one at a time. If downloads keep breaking, retrying a single part on its own is easier to watch and wastes fewer attempts.
3. Use a cloud destination. Google suggests exporting to a storage service such as Box. Takeout can also deliver to Google Drive, Dropbox or Microsoft OneDrive. Drive delivery counts toward your Google storage, and Box skips files larger than your Box upload limit.
4. Watch the 5-download limit. Every attempt counts, so do not restart a part more often than needed.

A part that downloaded fully but will not open is covered in Google Takeout multiple zip files, including the zip versus tgz choice.

The link expired or stopped working

Google says your archive expires in about 7 days and that each archive can be downloaded 5 times. Once either limit is reached, the only option is a new export. Plan to download all parts within a few days of the email arriving.

Photos are missing from the export

• Recent changes. Google says changes made after the request, such as photos added or deleted, may not appear, and items still being deleted are excluded.
• Albums deselected. Check the "All photo albums included" selection when you create the export.
• Missing from one part only. A photo and its .json can be in different parts, and an album can be split across parts. Make sure you have every part before concluding something is missing.
• Deleted photos. Takeout exports what is in your account; it is not a recovery tool.

For direct transfers to another service, Google lists items that are never transferred, including Locked Folder content, trash, unsaved memories and the video part of Motion Photos and Live Photos.

The iCloud transfer fails or stops

• Not enough iCloud storage. Apple says to manage or add storage and request another transfer; the new request won't add duplicate files.
• iCloud Photos was turned off. Apple says the transfer stops and only items already transferred remain. Turn it back on and request another transfer.
• The option is not shown. See Google Photos to iCloud for the account types that cannot use it and the Takeout alternative.

Once you have every part

1. Keep the parts as they are; there is no need to unzip or merge them.
2. Open PhotoFixer and choose all of them at once. It reads them in the browser without uploading anything, and in Chrome and Edge it writes the result straight to your disk.
3. Press Fix my photos: every file gets its real date as the file date, JPEGs without EXIF also get the location and description, and videos get their creation date. Background in how to download Google Photos with Takeout.

If the option is missing on a work or school account, see Google Takeout for Workspace accounts. If you want to avoid Takeout altogether, these are the alternatives.