Wait, what? Google drive is asking owners for permission to access their own files

First reported in October 2015, and continues to be encountered till date. Google Drive asking owners for permission to access their own files, is a problem reported for long.

Affected users note that whenever they try to open a document on desktop, “Need to request permission or switch account” notification pops-up. Most of the users report they encounter this ‘access error’ despite being owner of the document, and irrespective of the OS and the Web browser used.

Requesting access, switching accounts, using incognito mode, or changing password, nothing seem to work. For a majority, this problem is limited to document files, but some report facing the issue with spreadsheets and music files as well.

A quick look at the official Drive forum reveals that despite hundreds of comments in the relevant thread, Google has not responded yet. If you have been facing this access error, you might have to wait till the company considers this issue worth addressing. Rest assured, we’ll be the first ones to update in case of any further development.

Meanwhile, following are some of the suggested workarounds that you can try your hand on:
• Sign out and sign in again
• Sing in using a single account, avoid using multiple accounts

Source