Proxies for Google Workspace in China and Other Countries: Access Gmail, Docs, and Drive Without Restrictions

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If your team works in China, the UAE, or another country with strict internet censorship — you know the pain: Gmail won't open, Google Docs freezes, and Google Drive is completely inaccessible. Business comes to a halt. In this article, we discuss which proxies actually solve the problem, how to set them up correctly, and why not all solutions work equally well.

Why Google Workspace is blocked in China and other countries

China is the most well-known example. Since 2014, all Google services, including Gmail, Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Meet, and Google Calendar, have been blocked in the territory of the PRC. This is part of the so-called "Great Firewall of China" (GFW) — a state system of internet censorship that blocks not only websites but also the IP addresses of Google servers at the provider level.

But China is not the only country. Full or partial blocking of Google services also occurs in North Korea, Iran, Syria, Turkmenistan, and several other states. In the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the situation is unstable — some services work, while others are periodically blocked. Since 2022, Russia has also restricted several Google services, although there is currently no complete blocking.

For businesses, this is a critical problem. Imagine: you have an office or partners in Shanghai. The entire team works in Google Workspace — correspondence in Gmail, documents in Google Docs, files in Drive, meetings in Meet. And none of it works. Employees are forced to use WeChat and local Chinese services, creating chaos in communications and a risk of data leaks.

Technically, the blocking works as follows: the GFW analyzes DNS requests and IP packets. When your browser tries to connect to gmail.com, the request is intercepted at the provider level, and instead of a response from Google, you receive a connection error or a blank page. This is why a mediator is needed — a proxy server located outside the blocked zone.

It's important to understand:

The blocking works at the level of IP addresses and DNS. The proxy server redirects your traffic through a country where Google operates normally. For the browser and operating system, it looks like a regular connection.

Which proxies are suitable for Google Workspace

Not all proxies handle bypassing GFW-level blocks equally well. The Chinese firewall is one of the most technically advanced in the world. It can identify VPN and proxy traffic by characteristic patterns and block them. Therefore, the choice of proxy type is critically important.

Residential proxies

Residential proxies use IP addresses of real home users in other countries. When you connect through such a proxy from Shanghai, your request to Gmail looks like it’s being sent by an ordinary person, for example, from Germany or the USA. The GFW blocks such traffic much less often because it cannot distinguish it from legitimate user traffic.

This is the most reliable option for continuous work with Google Workspace. Especially if you need to work with Gmail (authorization, sending emails), Google Drive (uploading and downloading files), Google Meet (video calls).

Mobile proxies

Mobile proxies work through IP addresses of mobile operators (3G/4G/5G). They are considered even more "trusted" than residential proxies because thousands of real users can share one mobile IP. Blocking such an IP would mean cutting off an entire area of the city from the internet. Therefore, the GFW and other firewalls tend to avoid them.

Mobile proxies are a good choice if residential proxies occasionally fail or if you work with Google Meet and need stable speed for video calls.

Datacenter proxies

Datacenter proxies are the fastest and cheapest, but the least suitable for work in China. The GFW actively blocks IP ranges of major cloud providers (AWS, DigitalOcean, Hetzner). If you use a datacenter proxy from China, there is a high probability that it is already blocked or will be blocked soon.

For countries with less strict blocks (for example, some regions of Russia or the UAE), datacenter proxies may work fine. But for China — we do not recommend them.

Proxy Type	Works in China	Speed	Stability	Suitable for
Residential	✅ Excellent	Average	High	Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet
Mobile	✅ Excellent	High	Very high	Meet, Drive (large files)
Datacenter	❌ Poor	Very high	Low (blocked)	Not for China

Residential vs mobile proxies: what to choose for working with Google Workspace

Both types work in China, but each has its strengths. The choice depends on how you use Google Workspace and how many people are on your team.

When to choose residential proxies

Residential proxies are the optimal choice for most business scenarios. They handle continuous work in the browser well: opening Gmail and replying to emails, working in Google Docs for several hours, downloading and uploading files in Drive, connecting to Google Calendar.

The key advantage is a large pool of IP addresses. If one address suddenly gets restricted, the system will automatically switch you to another. For businesses, this means minimal downtime.

Choose residential proxies if: you work alone or in a small team (up to 10 people), the main tasks are correspondence and document work, and stable connectivity throughout the workday is important.

When to choose mobile proxies

Mobile proxies are indispensable when maximum speed and reliability are needed. If your team regularly conducts video calls in Google Meet from China — this is your option. Video communication requires a stable channel without interruptions, and mobile IPs handle this best.

Mobile proxies are also suitable if you work with large files in Google Drive (presentations, videos, archives) or if your team is in regions with particularly strict blocks (for example, in some provinces of China, the blocks are stronger than in Shanghai or Beijing).

Choose mobile proxies if: you have regular video calls in Google Meet, your team has more than 10 people, you work with heavy files, and you need maximum stability without interruptions.

Setting up proxies on Windows and macOS for Google Workspace

The easiest way is to set up the proxy at the operating system level. Then all traffic, including the browser and Google applications (Google Drive for desktop, Google Backup and Sync), will automatically go through the proxy.

Setting up on Windows 10/11

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Open Start → Settings → Network & Internet → Proxy
2. In the "Manual proxy setup" section, switch the toggle to On
3. In the "Address" field, enter the IP address of your proxy server
4. In the "Port" field, enter the port number (usually 8080, 3128, or the one specified in your account)
5. Click Save
6. Open the browser and check: go to gmail.com

If the proxy requires authentication (username and password), Windows will prompt you to enter them the first time you access the network. Enter the credentials from your proxy provider account.

Setting up on macOS

1. Open System Preferences → Network
2. Select the active connection (Wi-Fi or Ethernet) and click Advanced
3. Go to the Proxies tab
4. Check the box for HTTP Proxy or SOCKS Proxy (depending on your proxy type)
5. Enter the IP address and port
6. If authentication is needed — check the box "Proxy server requires password" and enter the credentials
7. Click OK → Apply

Setting up proxies in the browser for Gmail and Google Docs

If you don’t want to change system settings or need only the browser to work through the proxy (while other programs connect directly), set up the proxy at the browser level. This is convenient if multiple people are using the same computer with different settings.

Google Chrome — via extension

Chrome does not have its own proxy settings — it uses system settings. But you can install an extension that allows you to manage the proxy directly in the browser:

1. Install the Proxy SwitchyOmega extension from the Chrome Web Store
2. Open the extension settings (icon in the top right corner → Options)
3. Click New Profile, enter a name (e.g., "Google Work")
4. Select the protocol type: SOCKS5
5. Enter the IP address and port of your proxy
6. Save the profile and activate it through the extension icon

Mozilla Firefox — built-in settings

Firefox has its own proxy settings, independent of the system:

1. Open Menu (three stripes) → Settings → General
2. Scroll down to the Network Settings section and click Settings
3. Select Manual proxy configuration
4. In the "SOCKS Host" field, enter the IP address, and in the "Port" field — the port number
5. Select SOCKS v5
6. Check the box Use DNS through SOCKS5 — this is important for bypassing DNS blocks
7. Click OK

Mobile devices (Android and iOS)

If you need access to Gmail or Google Drive from your phone in China:

Android: Go to Settings → Wi-Fi, long press the network name → Edit network → Advanced options → Proxy → Manual. Enter the proxy details. Note: this only works for Wi-Fi, not for mobile data.

iOS: Go to Settings → Wi-Fi, tap the network name → Configure HTTP Proxy → Manual. Enter the server and port. This also only works for Wi-Fi.

How to organize access to Google Workspace for the entire team

If you have an office in China or another country with blocks, and it has 5, 10, or 50 people working in it — setting up proxies on each computer manually is inefficient. There are several approaches to organizing team access.

Option 1: Proxy at the router level

The most convenient way for an office. You set up the proxy once on the corporate router, and all office traffic automatically goes through it. Employees do not need to configure anything on their computers.

This works on routers with OpenWRT, DD-WRT firmware, or on corporate devices from Cisco, MikroTik. The setup requires technical knowledge or the involvement of a system administrator, but it is done once.

Option 2: Proxy via PAC file

A PAC file (Proxy Auto-Configuration) is a small script that tells the browser which sites to open through the proxy and which to access directly. You create one PAC file, host it on a corporate server, and all employees enter the link to it in their browser settings.

In the PAC file, you add all Google domains: *.google.com, *.googleapis.com, *.googleusercontent.com. Everything else goes directly. This helps avoid slowing down work with local Chinese sites.

Option 3: Anti-detect browser for work profiles

If part of the team is engaged in marketing or arbitrage, while another part does regular office work, it is convenient to use anti-detect browsers (Dolphin Anty, AdsPower, GoLogin). Each employee gets their profile with a configured proxy. This is especially convenient if different employees need different IPs (for example, a manager for Europe works through a European proxy, a manager for the USA — through an American one).

Common mistakes and why proxies don't work with Google Workspace

Even a properly chosen proxy may not work if typical mistakes are made during setup or use. Let's discuss the most common problems.

Mistake 1: Using blocked datacenter IPs

As mentioned, the GFW actively blocks IP ranges of major cloud providers. If you bought a cheap proxy based on AWS or Vultr — there is a high probability that it is already blacklisted. Solution: switch to residential or mobile proxies.

Mistake 2: Incorrect protocol

HTTP proxies do not support UDP traffic. Google Meet uses WebRTC and UDP for video communication. If you set up an HTTP proxy, voice and video calls in Meet may not work or may have huge delays. Use SOCKS5 — it supports all types of traffic.

Mistake 3: DNS leak

This is a common and insidious problem. You set up the proxy, the browser opens Google — but DNS requests still go through the local provider. The GFW intercepts them and blocks them. As a result, the page does not load, even though the proxy seems to be working.

Solution: in Firefox, enable the option "Use DNS through SOCKS5". In Chrome, use Proxy SwitchyOmega with the option "Use proxy as DNS". Or specify alternative DNS servers in the system (8.8.8.8 from Google or 1.1.1.1 from Cloudflare) — but keep in mind that these DNS may also be blocked in China.

Mistake 4: One IP for the entire team

If all 20 office employees use one proxy IP, Google may suspect suspicious activity and require additional account verification. For team work, use a pool of IP addresses or dedicated proxies for each employee.

Mistake 5: Proxy only for the browser, but not for applications

If you use the Google Drive desktop application (Backup and Sync or Drive for Desktop), it may not pick up the proxy settings from the browser. You need to either set up the proxy at the system level or specify the proxy in the application settings.

In Google Drive for desktop, go to Settings → Network → Proxy settings and enter the details manually.

Mistake 6: Unstable proxy with frequent disconnections

If the proxy frequently disconnects, Google Docs may not save changes to the document, and uploading files to Drive may be interrupted. For working with Google Workspace, a stable proxy with uptime of at least 99% is needed. Clarify this parameter with the provider before purchasing.

List of countries with Google blocks and operational features

The situation with the availability of Google Workspace varies by country. Here is the current picture for 2024-2025:

Country	Blocking Status	What is blocked	Recommendation
China	Full blocking	All Google services	Residential or mobile proxies
Iran	Full blocking	All Google services	Residential proxies
North Korea	Full blocking	All foreign internet	Special solutions
Turkmenistan	Almost complete	Most Google services	Residential proxies
UAE	Partial	VoIP in Google Meet	Mobile proxies for Meet
Russia	Unstable	Periodic slowdowns	Residential proxies for stability
Belarus	Unstable	Periodic blocks	Residential proxies

Operational features in China

The Chinese GFW is the most technically advanced blocking system in the world. It uses DPI (Deep Packet Inspection) — deep packet analysis. This means that the firewall can determine not only the destination address but also the type of traffic. Ordinary HTTP/HTTPS proxies with datacenter IPs are blocked within hours of use.

Therefore, it is critically important to use proxies with real user IPs (residential or mobile) and the SOCKS5 protocol, which stands out less against ordinary traffic.

Also, keep in mind that in China, the speed of connection to foreign servers is generally lower due to limited bandwidth of international channels. Choose proxy servers located in Hong Kong, Japan, or Singapore — they are geographically closer to China and provide lower latency.

Working in the UAE

The situation in the UAE is specific: most Google services work fine, but VoIP calls (including voice and video calls in Google Meet) are blocked. This is done in the interest of local telecommunications operators Etisalat and du. If you work in the UAE and need Google Meet — use mobile proxies with IPs from Europe or the USA.

Conclusion

Working with Google Workspace from China and other countries with blocks is a solvable task. The main thing is to choose the right type of proxy. Datacenter proxies are not suitable for China: the GFW blocks them quickly and reliably. For stable work with Gmail, Google Docs, Drive, and Meet, you need residential or mobile proxies with real user IPs.

For individual work, it is sufficient to set up the proxy in the browser via Proxy SwitchyOmega or in the system settings of Windows/macOS. For a team — use a PAC file or router-level setup. Don’t forget about DNS leaks and use SOCKS5 instead of HTTP proxies to support all types of traffic.

If your team works in China or another country with restrictions and you need stable access to Google Workspace — we recommend trying residential proxies: they use real home IP addresses that the GFW does not block and ensure reliable operation of Gmail, Docs, and Drive throughout the workday. For teams that critically need uninterrupted video calls in Google Meet, consider mobile proxies — they provide maximum stability and connection speed.