Why isn't my Files app working?

Last reviewed: September 27, 2026 · Markdown version

If the app will not open at all, that is a crash problem, and our page on a Files app that keeps crashing has the fixes in order. This page is for the other kind of "not working": the app opens, but the files you expect are not there. That usually comes down to one of four things, and each takes a minute to rule out.

1. It has lost its storage permission

A file manager can only list what it is allowed to see. Google describes the Files by Google permission as one that "Allows Files by Google to access your device’s storage so the app can manage files" (Manage permissions, read 27 September 2026). To check it: Settings › Apps › the app › Permissions, where Google says "If you allowed or denied any permissions for the app, you’ll find them here". On the list of permission types Google publishes, the file one reads "Files: Access all files on your device" (Change app permissions on your Android phone, read 27 September 2026).

Permissions can go away without you touching them. That Google page files a per-app setting, "Pause app activity if unused", under the heading "Automatically remove permissions for unused apps", and Samsung's advice is the same in reverse: "If you haven't used an app in a while, you may need to make sure it has the permissions it needs to operate" (App is crashing or not working on Samsung phone or tablet, read 27 September 2026). A file manager you open once a month is exactly the kind of app that happens to.

2. The file is hidden

Some files and folders stay out of sight until you ask for them. Files by Google has a switch in its own settings: "At the top left, tap Menu Settings", then "Under “Browse,” turn on Show hidden files." Google gives those steps on its Trash page, as part of fixing a blank Trash screen (Move files to Trash & restore files from Trash, read 27 September 2026) — the folder that fix is after, ".FilesByGoogleTrash", is one you only see once the switch is on. Our reading is that the switch is worth trying for any file you are sure exists but cannot find.

3. The SD card is not being read

If the missing files were on a card, check the phone before the app. Google's order: open Settings and check whether the card is recognised; "If the SD card isn’t detected in Settings, remove and re-insert the SD card." If Settings sees it and Files by Google does not, "that SD card might be formatted as internal storage" (Troubleshoot: SD card undetected issue, read 27 September 2026). Google's warning on the fix it recommends: "If you format your SD card, data will be permanently deleted. Before you format the SD card, backup your files." More on that — what reformatting costs, and the other storage that goes missing.

4. You are looking in a list, not a folder

Files by Google opens on lists, not on the folder tree: "Under the Recents section, you can view your recently added, downloaded, and modified files", and "Under the Categories section, you can tap a category to see files from that category in a list" (View your files, read 27 September 2026). Our reading: a file that fits no category, or is not recent, will not appear on either list even though it is on the phone. Browsing the storage itself shows it; why the category lists leave things out.

And some files were never in shared storage. Google's Pixel help puts it this way for media: "You can download files like music, movies, or books in various apps. To find that content, go to the app where you downloaded it" (Find & delete files on a Google Pixel phone or Pixel Tablet, read 27 September 2026). What a file manager can and cannot reach inside an app's own folders.

If none of the four fits

Then treat it as a broken app rather than a missing file. Google's general steps for an installed app that "Won’t respond" or "Isn’t working properly" start with restarting and updating, then force stop and clearing the cache (Fix an installed Android app that isn't working, read 27 September 2026). Our crash page walks through them with the one warning that matters for a file manager: look in its trash before you clear its data.