Google Sheets: Loading... / Loading data may take a while
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Error Loading data may take a while because of the large number of requests. Try to reduce the amount of IMPORTHTML, IMPORTDATA, IMPORTFEED, or IMPORTXML functions across spreadsheets you've created.What it means
Cells that sit on Loading... for a long time, or switch to this error, mean Google is throttling external fetches for your account. Google documents that import functions have strict usage limits enforced on the creator of the document, and that usage across all spreadsheets you created counts together; a collaborator's edits can also consume your quota.
No numeric limit is published, so there is no counter to check. The behavior is consistent, though: a sheet with hundreds of import formulas, or formulas that keep being forced to refetch, ends up with many cells stuck while others resolve.
What is not wrong: individual formulas. The same formula often works on its own in a fresh sheet. Google has also had service incidents where IMPORTXML and IMPORTHTML hung on Loading across many users; those clear on Google's side.
What it looks like
A2:A500 =IMPORTXML(B2, "//span[@class='price']") (498 cells)
Loading...
Error
Loading data may take a while because of the large number of requests. Try to reduce the amount of IMPORTHTML, IMPORTDATA, IMPORTFEED, or IMPORTXML functions across spreadsheets you've created.Why it happens
- Hundreds or thousands of IMPORTXML, IMPORTHTML, IMPORTDATA or IMPORTFEED calls across the spreadsheets you own.
- Source ranges or URL cells that change frequently, which forces every dependent import to make a new external call.
- Cache-busting tricks (appending NOW() or a random number to URLs) that make every recalculation a fresh fetch.
- Chains of IMPORTRANGE where one file imports from another that is itself still loading.
- A slow or unresponsive target site holding each request open.
How to fix it
- Count the import formulas in your files (Find with "Also search within formulas") and remove duplicates; fetch a page once and parse it with INDEX or QUERY rather than calling IMPORTXML per cell.
- Stop changing the source cells that feed URLs unless you need fresh data; Google names frequent source changes as the main cause.
- Convert historical results to static values with Paste special > Values only.
- Break IMPORTRANGE chains so each file imports directly from the original source.
- Wait. Throttling eases on its own once the request volume drops; check the Google Workspace Status Dashboard if every sheet is affected at once.
How to stop it recurring
Keep live imports to the handful of values that genuinely need to refresh, and store everything else as values. For recurring collection from many URLs, run a scheduled job that writes results into the sheet in one batch instead of keeping hundreds of live formulas; see scraping a website into Google Sheets for the trade-offs.
Official documentation: support.google.com/docs/answer/12188454. See all Google Sheets error messages or the Google Sheets limits and quotas.
Related errors
Definitions
Quick answers
What does "Loading... / Loading data may take a while" mean in Google Sheets?
Cells that sit on Loading... for a long time, or switch to this error, mean Google is throttling external fetches for your account. Google documents that import functions have strict usage limits enforced on the creator of the document, and that usage across all spreadsheets you created counts together; a collaborator's edits can also consume your quota.
How do I fix "Loading... / Loading data may take a while"?
1. Count the import formulas in your files (Find with "Also search within formulas") and remove duplicates; fetch a page once and parse it with INDEX or QUERY rather than calling IMPORTXML per cell. 2. Stop changing the source cells that feed URLs unless you need fresh data; Google names frequent source changes as the main cause. 3. Convert historical results to static values with Paste special > Values only. 4. Break IMPORTRANGE chains so each file imports directly from the original source. 5. Wait. Throttling eases on its own once the request volume drops; check the Google Workspace Status…
When an IMPORT formula cannot read the page
IMPORTXML and IMPORTHTML only see the HTML the server sends. An Autonoly extraction step reads the page in a real browser and writes rows to Google Sheets. Sites that block automated visitors can still block it.
Also see Google Sheets integration.