I paid for the subscription, but I’m unable to upload any files …
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Hi everyone,
I’m experiencing a recurring issue in ChatGPT where I’m unable to upload files or images using the “+” button. This happens randomly throughout the day and only affects specific chats.
In the affected conversations, the “+” button disappears or shows the warning:
“File uploads unavailable.”
Temporary Workarounds I’ve found:
- Opening a new incognito/private window and starting a brand new chat (without opening the problematic one) often restores the upload button.
- I also saw @John_WVila 's mention that manually reselecting the GPT-4o model from the top-left dropdown (even if it’s already selected) can fix it. I tried this myself — and it actually worked!
However, once I return to the affected chats, the problem tends to come back — even in incognito mode.
I’m wondering:
- Is this a known bug?
- Has anyone else experienced the same behavior?
- Is there a more permanent solution?
Any insights or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!
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I have the same problem and was told to start new chats but now it is also happening with brand new chats
Same issue here - Happens with new chats too. Might as well cancel my subsription - seems this is the case now for over 30 days and still not fixed. What a bunch of losers.
I empathize with your frustration, as I have encountered similar issues. While the tool previously functioned effectively for me, it now fails to attempt extracting data from PDFs. Instead, it automatically displays an error message indicating that the file upload has been unsuccessful. Furthermore, I am concerned about the quality of ChatGPT 4o. It appears that I am utilizing the free version, yet it erroneously displays that I am subscribed to version 4o, which I have paid for. As an ongoing subscriber to this plan, I feel deceived and believe that I am being defrauded. I have verified OpenAI’s status, and it states that the service is fully operational. If this is indeed the case, it is reasonable to assume that I am being unjustly charged for a service that does not provide the quality I paid for.
Thank you so much!! That was very helpful!
THANK YOU for this. It’s odd though as there have been times I have uploaded outside 4.0, no problems. None the less this was incredibly helpful at the right time.
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I also have disabled photo upload feature in GPT Plus and I receive a message try August 30
It did work decently until 7/31 on which I finally decided to switch to the paid $20 monthly plan. Now it is not working anymore even for a new chat (“Add files disabled for” reads the tooltip text over the greyed out ‘+’). It’s just plain wrong that the issue is around now for this long and OpenAI doesn’t seem to care. So I pay and the functionality is downgraded from the free plan!?
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I just reached the same issue today! It’s telling me to upgrade to Pro ($200/month) or wait until September 1, but I can still upload on the web browser. The app is having so many issues.
Just renewed 3 days ago, wanted to update a 10kb Python script (Removed the previous one to replace with the new one), so my first upload of the month & now it’s empty haha…
Hopefully that bug is fixed soon!
Hi,
This is a developer community: a space for developers building apps with OpenAI APIs and tools to have technical discussions with other developers. The ChatGPT team doesn’t monitor this forum.
For ChatGPT discussion, join the official Discord: OpenAI. For support, you can visit https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6614161-how-can-i-contact-support.
Thanks!
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This worked for me too, would never have thought to check if not for your post, thanks for this!
Hoy es 07 de agosto de 2025 a las 19:13 hr. Ya no se pueden adjuntar archivos y poner capturas de pantalla en el hilo en el que trabajo. Tampoco hay forma de pedir ayuda en ningún lado en Open IA.
A nadie parece importarle. El error, si es que esto es un error, parece que no tiene solución alguna o a nadie le interesa arreglarlo.
Cuando cuestioné a la propia IA por el error, sólo se ciclo interminablemente en la respuesta anterior, lo cual se observa que ya han tenido problemas similares y sólo se limitan a repetir la respuesta anterior.
También tengo el plan Plus, supuestamente lo pago para tener acceso a todas las funciones, las mismas que no están disponibles y jamás fuimos notificados por eso. Es lamentable porque es una buena herramienta, pero con estas situaciones, me hacen dudar de si seguir o no con ustedes.
I got around the problem by starting a new project, and adding files to the project.
The forced upgrade to GPT-5 has started this problem for me. The chatGPT interface sucks. Even after logging out and back in I couldn’t see any of my old chats UNTIL I searched for one then magically they all appeared. I figured out through trial and error that all my projects had been upgraded to GPT-5 by default so I could add files in them but some chats I had to manually select GPT-5. Maybe this is just how it works today. Who knows about tomorrow?
The interface keeps changing its mind and messing up. Not worth the money for Pro. I will start spending that money elsewhere.
Same here. I just upgraded hoping to solve this exact issue and it persists. Absolutely unacceptable!!! I heard the fix is to switch to GPT 4 but I don’t have it in the list, GPT 5 only. I want my money back!
Edit: I cleared cache and it the option for adding files showed up but as soon as I entered text, the option greyed out again. Mad frustrating!!!
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Perfect. This is helpful. I just changed the model from Auto to 4o and upload option became active again.
I have the same issue . I upgraded to CHAT GPT 5 PLUS which is a paid service. Here the file upload is missing whereas it works in non paid version !!. Really bad. Any solutions?
Having the same issue for 3 days in a row, it’s very frustrating