Using GPU-enabled CoLab (free version) even when usage limit is already exceeded

Scenario: You have a GPU-required CoLab Notebook, given to you by someone, or created by you. Despite efficient utilization (i.e. only connecting when a piece of code needs to run, otherwise, disconnecting), you exceed the imposed usage limit, much sooner with the free version of CoLab. Now you must decide: either pay for the Pro version to keep things going on, or wait for sometime (days?) until the quota is available again.

Workaround/Bypass

I may have found this trick that allows you to bypass this restriction and continue working with the GPU-required CoLab Notebook in spite of the restriction, of course, without paying or waiting.

1. Put the CoLab Notebook into a shared Google Drive folder.
2. The aforementioned folder is shared with Edit Permission to a few other Google/Gmail users, who are preferably unrelated to the current user.
3. When GPU computation quota runs out, the current user just saves and closes the Notebook. One of the other users opens the Notebook separately elsewhere, and keeps up the work: the Notebook can be now run with GPU, using the other user’s GPU computation quota.
4. When this new user unfortutanely runs out of quota sooner or later, then another user repeats the cycle.
5. As you can guess, all those Google/Gmail users actually belong to one real person. 😀

Comments & Caveats

Google never reveals what they do behind the scene to detect abuse and keep users adhering to the imposed limit, as discussed here. But if they make this process too strictly, they risk more complicated system designs as well as possible extensive user annoyance. At the end of day, would it be worth it for Google?

I believe advanced users are already in possess of a few Gmail accounts. For example, one for work, one for personal things. To make sure Google can’t detect the connection between those accounts, we : 1). avoid using one account as the Recovery email in the others; 2). Use Igcognito mode (I can’t stress this enough!); 3). Turn off and on again the Router so that it gets a new IP address. Google surely knows these users share the same Notebook, but is not sure if they are actually one single real person.

The main thing to keep in mind is that the Notebook should be stored in an editable Google Drive folder so that any users can save at any moment, and the others can later re-open and continue the work.

Last but not least, cross your fingers as Google may patch this hole at some point in the future, when they want to incentivize more users to opt for the Pro version. 😉