Multiple Accounts Errors

What should I do if I receive errors related to using multiple Google accounts?

This article describes how to overcome error messages which may result from using multiple Google accounts within the same web browser.

The Problem

You may receive one of the following error messages while using the Mail Merge add-on:

  • "Authorization is required to perform that action."

  • “A server error has occurred. Please wait a bit and try again.”

These errors occur when two or more Google accounts share the same web browser.

For example, Tom may check his personal Gmail (tom@gmail.com) on one browser tab and then access his work Google Drive (tom@company.com) on another tab. When Tom later comes to do a mail merge, he may receive one of the errors above.

This is a documented Google bug.

The Temporary Workaround

Load your browser in Incognito/InPrivate mode by pressing Ctrl+Shift+N.

Login only with your licensed Google account and run the add-on as normal.

The Permanent Solution

In Google Chrome, create a profile for each Google account. Each user account can then have its own profile to access its Google account, rather than using a single shared profile to do so.

In our example, Tom would have a Chrome profile where he would access all of his personal (tom@gmail.com) Google services. Likewise, he would have a Chrome profile where he would access all of his work (tom@company.com) Google services (see screenshot below). The error would be avoided as Tom would not use multiple Google accounts on the same profile.