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I can't download zipped folders from Google Drive because "third-party cookies aren't enabled," even if they are.

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I am not sure what category this goes into since I don't know if this is a cookie problem or a security problem or what.

I can download individual files from Google Drive just fine. But when I try to download entire folders from Google Drive, I can't download them as of a couple days ago. It looks the file zips, but then it won't let me actually download the file. Instead I get an error message "Can't download file. To download this file, try enabling third-party cookies for Drive."

The problem first started a couple days ago. (I have Firefox set to update automatically. Checking my update history, it looks like it started with 103.0.1 when it was updated Aug 1) The day the problem started, after trying just about everything, I cleared all my cache, site data, and cookies. That did fix the problem. But today when I got on, the problem came back. It was a huge hassle to log in again and do 2FA for everything again last time. If I have to do that every couple of days, I'm dropping Firefox because as much as I love it I just can't.

My browser privacy settings are set to Standard. I also currently have Firefox set to delete all cookies and site data upon close, with the exception of a list of websites I use every day. That includes drive.google.com. I have since added every google website I can think of, including the ones that it looks like Google tries to access when downloading zipped folders (as seen in Chrome) such as takeout-pa.clients6.google.com.

Things I have also tried besides clearing all site data:

  • starting Firefox with all add-ons disabled
  • turning Enhanced Tracking Protection off entirely on Google Drive
  • Changing my security settings from Standard to Custom and changing "Cross-site tracking cookies, and isolate other cross-site cookies" to just "Cross-site tracking cookies"
  • Changing my security settings from Standard to Custom and not blocking any cookies at all
  • Going into about:config and changing the network.cookie.sameSite.laxByDefault setting from false to true (It was on false when problem started. I changed it back after troubleshooting.)
  • Doing all of the above in various combinations

If it matters, when I was changing the laxByDefault setting, I can see two other settings with that phrase but I don't know what they do exactly. If changing either of these would help, let me know. network.cookie.sameSite.laxByDefault.disabledHosts [the rest is blank] network.cookie.sameSite.laxPlusPOST.timeout [currently set to 120]

And Google Drive still claims it can't download zipped files. I am going slightly insane because I have to download several large folders from Google Drive every day. Currently my solution is to download all files in Chrome.

I can also try uninstalling and going back to 102 somehow, but that's not a good permanent solution. I guess I can also try clearing the cache again. But there's got to be a better way. It's way too much of a hassle to do that every couple of days.

Please help. Thank you.

I am not sure what category this goes into since I don't know if this is a cookie problem or a security problem or what. I can download individual files from Google Drive just fine. But when I try to download entire folders from Google Drive, I can't download them as of a couple days ago. It looks the file zips, but then it won't let me actually download the file. Instead I get an error message "Can't download file. To download this file, try enabling third-party cookies for Drive." The problem first started a couple days ago. (I have Firefox set to update automatically. Checking my update history, it looks like it started with 103.0.1 when it was updated Aug 1) The day the problem started, after trying just about everything, I cleared all my cache, site data, and cookies. That did fix the problem. But today when I got on, the problem came back. It was a huge hassle to log in again and do 2FA for everything again last time. If I have to do that every couple of days, I'm dropping Firefox because as much as I love it I just can't. My browser privacy settings are set to Standard. I also currently have Firefox set to delete all cookies and site data upon close, with the exception of a list of websites I use every day. That includes drive.google.com. I have since added every google website I can think of, including the ones that it looks like Google tries to access when downloading zipped folders (as seen in Chrome) such as takeout-pa.clients6.google.com. Things I have also tried besides clearing all site data: * starting Firefox with all add-ons disabled * turning Enhanced Tracking Protection off entirely on Google Drive * Changing my security settings from Standard to Custom and changing "Cross-site tracking cookies, and isolate other cross-site cookies" to just "Cross-site tracking cookies" * Changing my security settings from Standard to Custom and not blocking any cookies at all * Going into about:config and changing the network.cookie.sameSite.laxByDefault setting from false to true (It was on false when problem started. I changed it back after troubleshooting.) * Doing all of the above in various combinations If it matters, when I was changing the laxByDefault setting, I can see two other settings with that phrase but I don't know what they do exactly. If changing either of these would help, let me know. network.cookie.sameSite.laxByDefault.disabledHosts [the rest is blank] network.cookie.sameSite.laxPlusPOST.timeout [currently set to 120] And Google Drive still claims it can't download zipped files. I am going slightly insane because I have to download several large folders from Google Drive every day. Currently my solution is to download all files in Chrome. I can also try uninstalling and going back to 102 somehow, but that's not a good permanent solution. I guess I can also try clearing the cache again. But there's got to be a better way. It's way too much of a hassle to do that every couple of days. Please help. Thank you.

All Replies (3)

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Okay, after posting this I saw an article under "See also" that didn't show up in any of my searches: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1364774. Looks like that guy had the same problem I had but didn't follow up with troubleshooting.

I have now tried downloading a separate install of Firefox. Without logging into my Firefox account or syncing anything, I logged onto Google Drive. Zipped downloads work fine. Then I tried syncing my Firefox account with the new installation. Zipped downloads still work fine.

So it's got to be some kind of cache issue, right? But then why does the cache need to be cleared so often? I am lost.

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Thanks, but I still have the problem even when a) Enhanced Tracking Protection is turned off entirely for Google Drive and b) I have no cookies blocked at all.