Seeing the message "Google Workspace account has been suspended" can be alarming, especially when you rely on Google Workspace for day-to-day tasks. Google Workspace accounts can get suspended due to a variety of reasons. In this blog post, we’ll explore the leading causes and show you how to restore access quickly.
What happens if your Google Workspace account is suspended?
When your Google Workspace account is suspended, you’ll typically receive an email notification on the address associated with your Workspace account saying, ‘Your organization's Google Workspace account has been suspended. Please contact your Google Workspace organization administrator to re-activate your organization.’
Further, your team will also lose access to Gmail, Google Drive, Calendar, and other Workspace apps. This means they won’t be able to send or receive emails, access drive files, or collaborate on shared documents.
To regain access, you’ll have to resolve the cause of this suspension. Let’s explore the various reasons why your Google Workspace account may get suspended.
What causes a Google Workspace account suspension?
A suspended Google Workspace account can be due to billing and annual contract-related issues. However, it can also mean that the user or users are in some way violating Google’s policies.
Spam abuse or bad sending practices
Spam abuse or improper email-sending practices are common causes of suspension of Google Workspace accounts. If you send unsolicited bulk emails through your account, you can unintentionally trigger Google's spam filters.
Bad sending practices also include misusing your email list to send excessive promotional emails without proper user consent. It’s important to know that Google monitors outgoing emails for compliance by looking at markers with high bounce rates or being flagged as spam.
If Google regards the emails you send as suspicious and frequently in violation of its safe sending policies, they can cause a suspension of your Google Workspace account. Here’s how to check if your emails are going to spam.
Suspended by admin
The admin has a lot of control over the Google Workspace account. A Workspace account may be suspended directly by the admin for various reasons. For example, when an employee leaves the organization, the admin can choose to temporarily or permanently disable their account to secure sensitive company data.
Other scenarios where admins may decide to suspend a user account are if they suspect compromised accounts or improper use of company resources. Such suspensions are reversible, allowing the admin to restore access whenever they want.
Suspended by Google for being at risk
Sometimes, Google can suspend a Workspace account if it detects suspicious activity or believes the account is at risk of an unauthorized login. This can happen when trying to access your account from unfamiliar locations or devices. Repeated failed login attempts can also trigger this action.
To resolve these kinds of issues, users usually need to verify their identity or take security measures, such as resetting passwords or enabling two-factor authentication.
Exceeding account limits (temporary)
Google Workspace accounts have various limits, such as the number of emails you can send daily or the amount of storage available for files. If you exceed these limits, your account can be temporarily suspended.
This is why, as a marketer, it’s important to know Google’s bulk sender guidelines well. However, it’s important to take careful measures when choosing an email marketing platform, like YAMM, that abides by these guidelines.
How to restore a suspended Google Workspace user account
Follow these steps to restore a suspended Google Workspace account:
Step 1: Sign into Google Admin console
Navigate to Google Workspace and sign into your Google Admin Console
Step 2: Find the Users
In the left side menu, click ‘Directory’ and then click ‘Users.’
Step 3: Search by “Suspended” filter
If you don’t have too many organization members, you can simply locate the member whose account has been suspended in the user list and click their name to enter their account page.
However, another way is to click ‘add a filter’ under the search bar and then type in ‘Suspended.’ This will instantly give you the suspended user account. So, click the user’s account to enter their account page.
Step 4: Reactivate the account
On the user’s account page, you’ll be able to see why their account has been suspended. Click ‘Reactivate’ in the top right corner to reactivate their account.
Learn more about Google Workspace on the YAMM blog
Google Workspace is a powerful platform once you know your way around it. It’s great for team collaboration, real-time communication, and resource and file management. In fact, if you’re a business, you should know that it’s possible to market to small businesses with nothing but Google Workspace.
If you want to learn more about how to sign up, set up, or manage your Google Workspace account, try the YAMM blog! It has helpful resources for those building businesses with nothing but Gmail and Google Workspace accounts!