Google Drive failing to backup device data for many, throws 'disabled by your admin' error [updated]

Update 3 (October 18):

One of the affected users recently posted on a relevant thread about his interaction with team Android. The team confirmed that the error gets displayed by accident for some Android Nougat users, and should be fixed sometime in October.

Here’s the complete statement:

Update 2 (September 25):

A user updated others that the issue will be fixed by September end, through Google Play services, not a system update. Here’s what they said

Update 1:

We just tumbled into another thread where the same issue (Backup to Google Drive disabled by your admin) is being discussed, but for devices running Android Naugat. A couple of users got to hear from official Google support, and here’s what they say

User 1

User 2

We are not sure whether the information in these comments is applicable to other Android versions as well. However, the September time frame for the arrival of fix seems to be generic.

Original story follows:

As you might already know, Google Drive’s mobile app lets you backup your device’s data (app data + device’s settings) to cloud. The feature, however, isn’t working for many lately. Affected users say they get the error ‘Back up to Google Drive disabled by your admin‘ when they head to Settings->Backup & reset.

The issue is not device or account specific, as users with different Android devices (Samsung, LG, Motorola, Nokia) and multiple accounts are affected. Also, the problem is not limited to personal Drive accounts, as some G-Suite users have also reported it. There also not a particular use case that produces the error.

With complaints pouring in continuously, an expert on the official Drive forum updated on August 1, 2017 that

I’ve made the team aware of this. I will get back to you as soon as I get an update

and repeated the same afterwards.

As it stands, neither the expert has come back with an update, nor Google has officially acknowledged the problem yet. If you have been facing the same issue, keep a tab here as we’ll keep you posted in case of any further developments.

Source 1 | Source 2 | Source 3 | Source 4 | Source 5 | Source 6