How to Download Videos from Google Drive

Google Drive's 15 gigabytes of free storage lets you store a number of videos. However, you might end up running out of space. By downloading videos from Google Drive to a physical device, you free up space in Drive and create a backup of all the videos you have stored there.

If you want to download your videos to physical storage, here's how.

How to Download Videos from Google Drive to Windows PC

You can upload individual files or sync Google Drive to your PC to upload videos automatically. The first choice is ideal if you only want specific files, while the second is ideal 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 sign in to your account.
   
2. Click on the video file you want to download. If you want to upload multiple files, hold down the CTRL key while you click on the files.
   
3. Click on the “Menu” icon in the upper right corner of the screen.
   
4. Select "More actions".
   
5. Click "Download".
   

Video files are downloaded to your computer as a compressed file. To unzip them, right-click on the downloaded file and select “Extract All…”. Next, choose the folder you want to send the videos to.

You can also sync files from Google Drive to your Windows PC:

1. Download “Google Drive for Computer” and double-click the downloaded file to install the software on your PC.
   
2. Click "Start" when the installation is complete.
   
3. Sign in using your Google account details.
   
4. Click "Next" when prompted, followed by "I got it" to continue advancing through the setup wizard.
   
5. Check the box next to the option "Synchronize my disk with this computer".
   
6. Select the folders you want to sync. You can use “Ctrl+A” to select them all.
   
7. Click "Start" to begin downloading your video files from Google Drive to your PC.
   

How to Download Videos from Google Drive on a Mac

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

1. Go to the Google Drive website and sign in to your account.
   
2. Hold down the "Command" key and click each video if you want to download multiple videos.
   
3. Right-click and select "Download".
   

Note that you will only be able to download a video if the owner enables the download option. Also, you cannot upload videos with "comment" or "view" access.

What if I can't download a video even though I have access to it?

If you're unable to download a video from Google Drive and you're sure the owner has allowed the downloads, you may have a problem with third-party cookies or browser extensions.

To confirm that cookies aren't the problem, follow these steps on PC and Mac:

1. Go to Chrome's Cookie Settings page.
   
2. Look for the phrase "Include third-party cookies on this site" under the site exception for drive.google.com. If you don't see this phrase, select "Trash" to delete the site, then try uploading your video again.
   
3. If you are still unable to upload your video, return to Cookie Settings and navigate to "Sites that can never use cookies".
   
4. Verify that you don't see the following entries: "google.com", "drive.google.com", or "googleusercontent.com".
   
5. If you see any of the above entries, click the "Menu" icon, then click "Delete."
   

If these steps don't fix the problem, you may have a problem with your browser extensions:

1. Disable all your extensions and try to download the video.
2. If the download is successful, try re-enabling an extension 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. Disable this extension.

How to Download Videos from Google Drive to iPhone

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

To upload your video to an app:

1. Open the Google Drive app and sign in using your Google account.
   
2. Locate the video you want to download and click on the "More" option. Three horizontal dots represent this icon.
   
3. Tap "Open in".
   
4. Select the application in which you want 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. Press "Save".
   

To save the video to your camera roll:

1. Open Google Drive and sign in using your Google account information.
   
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 Android Device

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

1. Download Google Drive from the Google Play Store and sign in using your Google account information.
   
2. Tap the "More" button, which is an icon showing three vertical dots located at the bottom right of the screen.
   
3. Press "Download".
   

The video will be downloaded to your Android device's file storage. You can then directly access the video while downloading.

Setting up a Google Drive account

You must have a Google Drive account before you can download videos from it. Fortunately, you will get the free version of Google Drive when you create a Google account:

1. Go to the Google home page in your browser and click on the "Sign up" button at the top right of the page.
   
2. Click on "Create an account".
   
3. Complete the registration form.
   
4. Click Next. »
   
5. Enter your phone number and click "Next".
   
6. Wait for Google to text you a verification code, then enter it.
   
7. Click on “Check”.
   
8. Google asks for more personal information once it verifies your phone number. Enter your date of birth, gender, and an optional recovery email address.
   
9. Click Next. »
   
10. Read Google's "Privacy & 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 going to the Google Drive page in your browser. Alternatively:

1. Sign in to your Google account.
   
2. Click on 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 this for multiple devices, each of which can act as a physical storage medium for your videos.

So why do you want to download videos from Google Drive? Is it just to have physical backups or do you have another reason? Let us know in the comments section below.