GeminiStuck?
Quick fixes for Gemini.
Find your problem, try the fix, and get back to it. Still stuck after a minute? Raise your hand.
Settings and setup
- My screen doesn't match the site.
Menus move. Look for the same words nearby, or ask Gemini "Where is the setting for...?" and name it. Then tell a facilitator, so we can fix the site.
- Most of the settings table isn't on my screen.
You're on a work account. Work accounts don't have Memory or Personal Intelligence. That's expected. Check Activity, then move on to step 2.
- I don't see Skills anywhere.
Skills are still rolling out to work accounts. Make a Gem with the same instructions instead, and start your chats from it.
- The interview only asked a few questions.
The prompt probably didn't paste in full. Use the Copy button, not click and drag. Start a new chat and paste it again.
- It already seems to know things about me.
That's memory from your earlier chats. If what it knows is right, keep going. If it's wrong or out of date, say so, and it will ask.
- Gemini told me to paste my instructions somewhere else.
Trust the site. An AI's idea of its own menus is often out of date. Use the click path on the step.
- I ran out of time in the interview.
Type "pause." It gives you a one-line summary, and you can finish later in the same chat.
Email and calendar
- My email is Yahoo, iCloud, or personal Hotmail.
There's no connector for those. Skip the connect step. Do More to build, or paste a few emails into the Inbox Assistant when it asks.
- It didn't look at my email or calendar.
Start the request with @Gmail or @Google Calendar so Gemini knows where to look.
- @Gmail doesn't show up.
On a work account, ask your admin to turn on Gemini's access to Google Workspace apps.
Inbox Assistant
- It says it can't see my email.
Pick Gmail and Google Calendar from the @ menu along with the skill. Without them, Gemini doesn't look at your email.
- No drafts showed up in my Drafts folder.
That's expected on Gemini. Your drafts are in the chat. Copy each one into Gmail.
- It asked if I want to send something.
Say no. The skill never sends. Open the draft and send it yourself if it's right.
- My name shows up twice at the bottom of a draft.
Your email signature already adds it. Tell it "no sign-off on drafts," and add that line to My settings so it sticks.
- Times in the report are off by an hour.
Check the Time zone line under My settings.
- It missed an email I expected to see.
Gemini can't always see your whole inbox in one search. Ask "@Gmail run my inbox sweep, and check my unread mail from the last 7 days."
- The skill didn't start when I typed the phrase.
Use the exact trigger phrase.
- It says "I encountered an error doing what you asked."
Send the same message again, with your three @ picks still in the box. If it happens twice, start a new chat and add the picks again.
More to build
- It didn't draw the flowchart.
Some setups can't draw inside the chat. You'll get the flowchart as boxes and arrows in text. Same steps, same decisions.
- It couldn't open my price page.
The prices have to be on a public page as text. Prices inside an image, a PDF, or a customer login can't be read reliably. Use a price list file instead.
- It made up a price.
Your price list didn't load. Paste it again, then ask for the quote again.
- It can't save a skill from the chat.
Save the prompt in your Notebook instructions instead. It works the same way every time you open a chat there.
When all else fails
- Nothing here matches my problem.
Ask Gemini itself. Copy the prompt below, fill in the brackets, and paste it in. For where a menu lives, trust the site first.
I'm trying to [what you're doing] in Gemini and I'm stuck. Here's what I see on my screen: [describe it, or paste a screenshot]. Walk me through fixing it, one step at a time, and wait for me after each step.