SOLVED: Google Sheets “Something Went Wrong” Error When Exporting from Gemini – Up & Running Inc
If you’ve been enjoying your time with Google Gemini and attempted to export data to a neat spreadsheet, only to be met with the baffling message: “Something went wrong: New sheets created”, you’re certainly not alone.
Of course, you clicked “Learn more,” only to be met with a list of ambiguous suggestions from Google. We went through the same frustrating experience. The good news? The underlying issue is quite straightforward, and the solution is immediate. The culprit isn’t Google Sheets or Gemini—it’s your storage.
Understanding the Hidden Error Message
When you encounter a cryptic error message like “Something went wrong,” the most effective troubleshooting step is to explore the core product itself.
- Bypass Gemini and head directly to Google Sheets.
- Attempt to create a New Sheet manually.
When we did this, the actual, clear message appeared: “Storage is full.” Aha! Now we can address the issue effectively!
The Storage Full Dilemma (Why Google Makes It Tough)
You might assume that clearing out your Google Drive is a simple task—just delete a few old files. However, Google can make this process cumbersome. You could remove 100 small documents, yet see no significant change in your storage space.
The usual culprits behind this are:
1. The Google Photos Sync Issue
In our situation, a large portion of our 15GB free space was consumed by Google Photos without us even realising it. Often, devices like the Samsung S25 come with settings that sync all your photos and videos to Google Photos by default, which can quickly eat into your Drive space.
Here’s how to resolve it:
- Access Google Drive and click on “Clean up space.”
- Select the Google Photos section.
- Review your images and videos, then move unwanted items to the trash.
- (To prevent this in future, go to your phone’s Photo settings and disable backup.)
By removing unnecessary photos, we regained 6GB of space almost instantly.
2. Outdated Device Backups
Another common space hog is Device Backups. Generally, you only need the latest backup. If you’ve upgraded phones, you may have left old backups cluttering your Drive.
To clean this up:
- Return to the “Clean up space” section.
- Find the Device Backup option (e.g., Samsung S25).
- Select the old backup and hit Delete.
Achieving a Successful Export
After clearing out redundant photos and outdated backups, we found ourselves with ample space.
Returning to Google Gemini, we selected export to Sheets, and voila! It worked seamlessly.
Whenever you encounter that vague “Something went wrong” error, remember this vital rule: delve into the core product, sign in, and check for specific error messages. You’ll often uncover a straightforward solution.
Conclusion
Encountering issues when exporting data from Google Gemini to Google Sheets and facing the “Something went wrong: New sheets created” error can be incredibly frustrating, especially since the error message is completely unhelpful and leads you on a fruitless chase.
Fortunately, the fix is both easy and quick. The core issue typically revolves around a hidden “Storage is full” message in your Google Drive. Bypass the unhelpful error message, navigate directly to Google Drive or Sheets to identify the real problem, and free up space, usually by dealing with unwanted Google Photos syncs or obsolete device backups. Once the necessary space is cleared, the Sheets export should work effortlessly.
