Update 2: Google released a fix! App works perfectly after the latest update. Really grateful!
**Edit: Big thanks to everyone who helped! Looks like this affects more users and it stinks for those who can’t upgrade to newer devices. We’re terrible customers apparently!
Found a partial solution - I copy the spreadsheet URL and open it through Chrome browser. This lets me view the current data but editing isn’t possible. At least I can monitor task completion status.**
Hello everyone! I’m using my old Samsung Galaxy Note 8 as a secondary device for work files, especially one Google Spreadsheet that manages our team’s project tracking. This spreadsheet contains 52 different sheets (one per week) with color-coded conditional formatting for different team members. Pretty data-heavy stuff.
Everything worked smoothly until two days back when this error started appearing: “Network connection failed. Verify your internet access and file permissions, then retry.”
My internet works fine - Gmail, browsing, everything else loads normally. I’ve attempted phone restarts, cleared app cache/data, logged out and back in, but nothing helps. Even when I duplicate a single sheet into a fresh document, same problem occurs. Most existing spreadsheets won’t load, except maybe one or two very basic ones with minimal data. Creating new sheets still works though.
After researching this error, seems like it happens regularly and might be related to the device struggling with large datasets? Could it be my Android 9 being outdated? If it’s a data limitation, I might split the spreadsheet. Otherwise, I’ll need a new phone which sucks because this Note 8 runs everything else perfectly!
Has anyone experienced this before? What solutions worked for you? Thanks in advance!
glad they fixed it! I had the same issue on my s9+ last year. was stuck using the browser for ages. sheets just cant manage big files on older devices with low ram. so frustrating when other stuff works fine but 1 app is picky!
Had this same issue on my Galaxy S8 about 6 months back. It’s not your Android version - it’s how Google Sheets handles memory on devices with 4GB RAM or less when dealing with complex conditional formatting. Here’s what fixed it for me: Strip out all conditional formatting from those problem sheets first. They’ll load normally after that. Then add basic formatting back bit by bit to find your limit. Keep only 2-3 sheets open at once - that helps a ton. Here’s a trick I found: open the file through Google Drive first, then launch it in Sheets from there instead of going straight through the Sheets app. Loads way more efficiently for some reason. The browser workaround you mentioned is solid for just monitoring stuff. You’ll lose some features but it’s rock solid for viewing complex data on older phones.
Yeah, this is exactly why I ditched mobile apps for heavy data work. Google Sheets mobile can’t handle complex spreadsheets with tons of conditional formatting and multiple sheets.
I built an automated workflow that syncs project data to a lightweight dashboard instead of fighting device limitations. When someone updates the main spreadsheet, it processes the data and sends clean summaries via email or Slack.
No more RAM issues or Android compatibility problems. The automation does the heavy lifting in the cloud, and I get exactly what I need without opening massive files on my phone.
You could set up something similar - pull the key data you need to monitor, format it for mobile viewing, and have it auto-update when your team changes the main sheet.
Check out https://latenode.com for building workflows like this. Way more reliable than hoping mobile apps can handle complex data.