Google Drive app will no longer support Windows 8 and 8.1 — it might be time to upgrade
Windows 8 and 8.1 users, beware
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It just might be time to finally make that upgrade fromWindows 8and 8.1, as theGoogle Driveapp will no longer support them as of August 2023.
The news comes from aGooglesupport page, reported byAndroid Police. The tech giant will be ending support for both the 8 and 8.1 OS, as well as Windows 10 32-bit version. After August, users will not be able to use thecloud storageapp to sync or upload files through the app and will need to upgrade to a newer OS to continue to use those features.
The good news is that you can still use Google Drive through yourbrowserif you’re using an older OS. But the bad news, according toThe Verge, is that browser support is ending for Windows 8 and 8.1 withMicrosoft Edgeending support in January 2023,Google Chromereleasing the first version that doesn’t support them in February 2023, andMozilla Firefoxplanning to end security support forWindows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 next year.
Not to mention the issue of auto-syncing files, which is a feature only available through the Drive app. For that only you’ll need to make the jump to eitherWindows 1064-bit version orWindows 11.
Google Drive has been pushing out solid updates
Google Drive has been improving its services in 2023, making the application much easier to use and navigate. This is on top of its new Material You redesign, which cleaned up its UI and completely changed the aesthetics.
In May 2023, Google redesigned the Drive homepage,making it easier to find files. In the ‘Home’ view, two view buttons at the top of the page allow users to alternate between a ‘Suggested’ and ‘Activity’ view. Earlier that same month, Google addeda new Spam folder. Moving a file there unsubscribes you from activity notifications and removes the file from all other Drive locations.
February 2023 brought along two updates. The first oneintroduced a new toolbarfor multi-selecting files that made it clearer and easier to make bulk changes, while the second oneadded new search parametersto help users narrow down their results.
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There was thebrief file limit updatethat Google rolled out to a small number of Drive users, before removing it in response to negative publicity. The limit of 5 million items is a large one that most people won’t hit, but the sudden error message with no advanced warning of the rollout was probably quite alarming to see anyway.
Named by the CTA as a CES 2023 Media Trailblazer, Allisa is a Computing Staff Writer who covers breaking news and rumors in the computing industry, as well as reviews, hands-on previews, featured articles, and the latest deals and trends. In her spare time you can find her chatting it up on her two podcasts, Megaten Marathon and Combo Chain, as well as playing any JRPGs she can get her hands on.
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