I'm having the exact same problem too. I can't even describe how unbelievably frustrating this is... I tried turning my phone off and on with no help. And based on things I've read, many have tried anything and everything but all in vain. I immediately sprung into action and tried what was mentioned above about clearing cookies/history but no luck 😟 Does anyone know a way around this at least for the tmie being until its fully resolved? This is a huge inconvience.. Apple or Google or anyone, you need to fix this ASAP!! Out of desperation I deleted the Google app the iPhone initially came with and re-dowloaded it..to my relief it worked ok BUT for only about a day or two cause it began to do the exact same thing. Also, i have the iPhone 4s like you and I've had this problem for about 2 to 3 weeks now
Sorry I couldnt be of help but I too wonder how many more people have this issue and most importantly what to do about it... either way good luck 🙂