ChatGPT recently expanded its capabilities, now allowing users to upload and analyze documents and images – adding yet another powerful tool to its growing feature set. While this is a good feature to have, it doesn’t always work, with some users experiencing the ‘Add files is unavailable’ error.

If you’re getting the error message Add files is unavailable or Attach files is unavailable when trying to upload files to ChatGPT, then there’s a possibility it could be resolved (or the reason at least identified) by trying the following:

• Check the service status of ChatGPT: Search ‘openai status’ in your web browser and click on the top option. Click on the components drop-down next to ChatGPT and see if there are any problems, particularly under ‘File uploads’. If there’s a noted problem, then you may simply have to wait for this to be over.
• Switch the version of ChatGPT: Sometimes problems can temporarily arise in the particular version you are using, but others may work fine. Click on the version you are using at the top of the page and select an alternative from the drop-down menu. You may also need to start a ‘New chat’ after doing this.
• Log out and back in: A pretty straightforward solution, but one that often works, particularly when combined with the step above.
• Uninstall and reinstall the app: If you’re using the app version of ChatGPT, you can always try doing this if the above does not work.

Possible browser-related issues

If the above reasons are not the source of the problem, and you are using ChatGPT within your browser rather than the dedicated app, then try the following to see if it improves things (most of the specifics of these instructions are tailored towards Google Chrome, but you can do the same thing in other browsers, the steps and location of menus will just be slightly different):

• Update your browser to the latest version: In Google Chrome you can find this by clicking on the three dots in the top right, clicking ‘Settings’, and then clicking on ‘About Chrome’ in the bottom left of the Settings list, and select the option to update the browser to its latest version.
• Delete your browser’s cache & cookie data: Find the Settings menu as described above, click on Privacy and security, then Delete Browsing data (with everything relevant selected, in particular the cache).
• Adjust ChatGPT permissions: Click on the icon that shows two horizontal bars with a circle on opposite ends, which should be visible to the left of the URL. A dropdown menu should appear – select ‘Site settings’, then scroll down the ‘Permissions’ section and make sure ‘Allow’ is selected for JavaScript, images, pop ups, redirects.
• Disable browser extensions: It could be that one of your other browser extensions, perhaps an Ad blocker, is interfering with ChatGPT. Disabling them (even if temporarily) can help you identify if there’s a problem. In Chrome, click the three dots in the top right, then ‘Extensions’ from the dropdown menu, and ‘Manage Extensions’. Disable whichever extensions you think might be the likely cultiprit and try your upload again.
• Try a different browser or use a VPN: Firefox, Edge, Opera GX, and Brave are all compatible with ChatGPT. See our best VPN for PC guide for some examples if this doesn’t work – enable the VPN once it is installed, and try the upload once again.

Other possible causes of ChatGPT upload errors

Although they’re not usually the cause of the aforementioned error message, if you’re having problems uploading files to ChatGPT more generally, then it could be because of the below:

• Unsupported file formats: ChatGPT supports most file formats for ‘text files, spreadsheets, presentations, and documents’ however, there is a chance that the files you are uploading are not compatible, in which case you may have to convert the file to a file type that is.
• File size is too large: There is a hard limit across most file formats of file sizes of 512MB per file to ChatGPT, with the limit on CSV or other spreadsheet files being lower, with a 50MB cap. You may have to compress your files if they exceed these limits for them to work, or convert them to a more size-efficient file format. There are other limitations you can read about here, including usage caps for individuals and organizations.

Internet connection issues: A weak or intermittent connection can interrupt file uploads or prevent them altogether. Make sure that yours is working fine.

About the Author

Charlie Noon

Charlie is the Affiliate manager for PC Guide. He has a vast understanding of most PC hardware and consumer essentials, using his knowledge to provide the best products and the biggest deals.