Google Shared Drive: “Can’t join family group It looks like you’re not in the same country as the person who invited you”

Troubleshooting Google Shared Drive Family Group Invitation Error: “Can’t Join Family Group – Location Mismatch”

If you’ve recently tried to join a Google Workspace Family Group for shared storage and encountered an error message stating, “Can’t join family group. It looks like you’re not in the same country as the person who invited you,” you’re not alone. This issue can be particularly frustrating for users who frequently travel or work across borders, such as between the United States and Canada. In this article, we’ll explore the possible causes of this problem and offer practical solutions to help you seamlessly join your family group.

Understanding the Error

Google imposes certain restrictions on family group memberships to comply with regional legal and licensing requirements. One such restriction is based on your country or region setting in your Google Account. When attempting to join a family group, Google verifies whether your account’s country matches that of the account that sent the invitation. If there’s a mismatch—say, your account is set to the U.S., but the inviter’s account is set to Canada—Google might block the process with this error message.

Common Causes

Country Settings Mismatch: Your Google Account’s country setting differs from the invitee’s region.
Using a VPN or Proxy: Routing your connection or using VPNs can sometimes cause Google to detect a different location.
Frequent Travel or Business Cross-Border Activity: Users who switch between countries regularly may experience this issue due to their account settings.

Practical Solutions

1. Verify and Update Your Google Account Country Settings

Access Your Google Account Settings:
Navigate to Google Account and log in.
Go to Personal Info:
Select the “Personal info” tab on the left menu.
Check Your Country:
Look for “Country” under “Basic info.” If it doesn’t match the inviter’s country, consider updating it.
Update the Country:
Click on the country to change it. Note that changing your account country can only be done once and may have some limitations.

2. Use the Same Account Country as the Inviter

Coordinate with the person who sent the invitation and confirm their account country. Temporarily adjusting your account’s country to match theirs can enable you to join the family group.