The issues began shortly after 6.30am and led to a number of important services being down until around noon.
Google services including Gmail, Drive and Docs were disrupted for almost six hours this morning.
The issues appear to have begun shortly after 6.30am. Although they have now been resolved it isn’t yet clear what the cause was and whether it will reoccur.
Gmail users found the service was crashing when some attempted to compose a new email, while others found themselves unable to upload files either as attachments to emails or to Google Drive.
In a statement on its dashboard, Google said: “The problem with Gmail should be resolved. We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and continued support.
“System reliability is a top priority at Google. We are making continuous improvements to make our systems better,” the company added.
Google provided a summary of the problems its services were experiencing:
- Gmail sending issues
- Meet recording issues
- Creating files issues in Drive
- CSV user upload issues in Admin Console
- Posting message issues in Google Chat
The company’s customer service representatives were busy responding to users’ complaints on Twitter, particularly about the disruption to Gmail.
Hi there. Thanks for reporting. We are aware of a service disruption at the moment. Keep an eye out for the latest updates here: https://t.co/q8q9ZvenMk.— Gmail (@gmail) August 20, 2020
According to Google, its G Suite products – used by businesses as well as individuals – have more than two billion users.