How to Download Videos From Google Drive

Google Drive’s 15 gigabytes of free storage lets you store a number of videos. However, you may find that you eventually run out of space. By downloading videos from Google Drive to a physical device, you free up space in Drive and create a backup of any videos you have stored there.

If you want to download your videos to a physical storage medium, here’s how it’s done.

How to Download Videos From Google Drive to a Windows PC

You can download individual files or sync Google Drive to your PC to download videos automatically. The former choice is ideal if you only want specific files, while the latter is great for creating a physical backup of your Google Drive.

To download individual videos:

1. Head to the Google Drive website and select “Go to Google Drive” to log into your account.
   
2. Click on the video file you wish to download. If you want to download multiple files, hold the CTRL-key as you click on the files.
   
3. Click the “Menu” icon in the top-right corner of the screen.
   
4. Select “More Actions.”
   
5. Click “Download.”
   

The video files are downloaded to your computer as a zipped file. To unzip them, right-click the downloaded file and select “Extract All….” Then, choose the folder you’d like to send the videos to.

Alternatively, you can synchronize files from Google Drive to your Windows PC:

1. Download “Google Drive for desktop” and double-click the downloaded file to install the software on your PC.
   
2. Click “Get Started” once installation completes.
   
3. Sign in using your Google Account details.
   
4. Click “Next” when prompted, followed by “Got It” to keep moving through the setup wizard.
   
5. Check the box next to the “Sync My Drive to this computer” option.
   
6. Select which folders you wish to synchronize. You can use “Ctrl+A” to select all of them.
   
7. Click “Start” to begin downloading your video files from Google Drive to your PC.
   

How to Download Videos From Google Drive to a Mac

Downloading Google Drive videos to a Mac is a similar process to downloading them for a PC. Follow these steps:

1. Go to the Google Drive website and log into your account.
   
2. Hold the “Command” key and click on each video if you want to download several videos.
   
3. Right-click your mouse and select “Download.”
   

Note that you will only be able to download a video if the owner enables the downloading option. In addition, you cannot download videos with “comment” or “view” access.

What if I Can’t Download a Video Despite Having Access to It?

If you can’t download a video from Google Drive and you’re sure that the owner has allowed downloads, you may have an issue with third-party cookies or your browser’s extensions.

To confirm that cookies aren’t the issue, do the following on both PC and Mac:

1. Go to Chrome’s Cookie Settings page.
   
2. Check for the phrase “Including third-party cookies on this site” underneath the site exception for drive.google.com. If you do not see this phrase, select “Trash” to remove the site and then attempt to download your video again.
   
3. If you still can’t download your video, return to Cookie Settings and navigate to “Sites that can never use cookies.”
   
4. Confirm that you do not see the following entries: “google.com,” “drive.google.com,” or “googleusercontent.com.”
   
5. If you see one of the above entries, click the “Menu” icon, then click “Remove.”
   

If these steps don’t resolve the issue, you may have an issue with your browser’s extensions:

1. Turn all of your extensions off and attempt to download the video.
2. If the download is successful, try turning one extension back on and downloading the video again.
3. If this second download is successful, repeat the process. Eventually, you may find an extension that prevents the download.
4. Deactivate this extension.

How to Download Videos From Google Drive to an iPhone

iPhone users have the option of downloading videos from Google Drive to their phone, their camera roll, or to a third-party app.

To download your video to an app:

1. Open the Google Drive app and sign in using your Google Account.
   
2. Locate the video you wish to download and click the “More” option. Three horizontal dots represent this icon.
   
3. Tap “Open In.”
   
4. Select the app where you wish to download the video.
   

To download a video to your iPhone:

1. Open Google Drive and use your Google Account to sign in.
   
2. Find the video you want to download and tap an icon showing three horizontal dots.
   
3. Tap “Open In.”
   
4. Tap “Save to Files.”
   
5. Choose where you want to save the video on your iPhone.
   
6. Tap “Save.”
   

To save the video to your camera roll:

1. Open Google Drive and sign in using your Google Account details.
   
2. Tap the “More” icon next to the video you want to download. Three horizontal dots represent this icon.
   
3. Select “Send a copy.”
   
4. Tap “Save video.”
   

How to Download Videos From Google Drive to an Android Device

Downloading Google Drive videos to Android devices is simple, probably because Google developed the Android operating system.

1. Download Google Drive from the Google Play Store and sign in using your Google Account details.
   
2. Hit the “More” button, which is an icon showing three vertical dots found at the bottom-right of the screen.
   
3. Tap “Download.”
   

The video will be downloaded to your Android device’s file storage. You can then go directly to the video upon downloading.

Setting Up a Google Drive Account

You need to have a Google Drive account before you can download videos from it. Luckily, you’ll get the free version of Google Drive when you create a Google Account:

1. Go to the Google homepage in your browser and click the “Sign Up” button at the top-right of the page.
   
2. Click “Create account.”
   
3. Complete the sign-up form.
   
4. Click “Next.”
   
5. Type in your phone number and click “Next.”
   
6. Wait for Google to send a verification code to you via SMS and then enter it.
   
7. Click “Verify.”
   
8. Google asks for more personal information once it has verified your phone number. Enter your birthday, gender, and an optional recovery email address.
   
9. Click “Next.”
   
10. Read Google’s “Privacy and Terms” agreement and click “I agree” to create your account.
    

With your Google account activated, you can now access Google Drive. You can do this by heading to the Google Drive page in your browser. Alternatively:

1. Sign in to your Google Account.
   
2. Click the “Grid” icon at the top-right of your browser.
   
3. Select “Google Drive.”
   

Watch Your Videos on Any Device

The cloud storage facility provided by Google Drive is accessible anywhere on most devices, and you can download videos and other files whenever you want. The above shows you how to do so for several devices, each of which can serve as physical storage mediums for your videos.

So, why do you want to download videos from Google Drive? Is it simply a case of having some physical backups, or do you have another reason? Let us know in the comments section below.