Dropbox greyed out on IOS 13

From what I've read, apps that are greyed out in that list do not yet support the capability.

So I am guessing it must be an IOS 13 thing?

Still on iOS 12 on my iPad without issues.

Hopefully Dropbox updates and/or apple allows downloads like before.

Scott W.1

I tried to set Dropbox to be used for Safari downloads. However when I go to select Dropbox in system preferences it is greyed out.

Any ideas? Is this something that requires an update from Dropbox? Or does Apple only allow downloads to go to iCloud Drive?

Daphne

Welcome to the Dropbox Community @Scott W.1!

So that I can have a better understanding, can you just confirm for me if you're trying to do this on Safari on a mobile device or a computer? Also, when you're trying to change the downloads location, can you send me a screenshot (excluding any personal info) of where you see Dropbox greyed out?

Since you mentioned only being able to download to the iCloud location, it sounds like you might be referring to a mobile. If that's the case, can you see if you're able to change the location to your local device storage?

Let me know what you find and we'll go from there - thanks!

Scott W.1

Yes on iOS. With iOS 13 you can download files with Safari. In the Settings App on the iPhone you can specify a location to where downloads are saved. You will notice from the screenshot below the Dropbox provider is greyd out.

@thewallin wrote:
So I am guessing it must be an IOS 13 thing?

Seems to be, and it's not just Dropbox. None of my other cloud services are available and some that are enabled in Files don't even show up. Only the device itself, iCloud and ShellFish (SFTP access to my own server) are available to select.

Best guess is that this is an iOS issue unrelated to Dropbox, and Apple will need to correct it.

Just updated phone to 13.1, same issue. Dropbox greyed out.
Also updated IPad to Ipad Os 13 and now the ipad has the same issue. Lovely

You can still save to Dropbox; you just can't set it as the default location at the moment.

Long-press the link to the file and select Share to bring up the share sheet. Choose Save to Dropbox from the list and you'll be able to select where you want to save the file in Dropbox.

For some linked files that I download the "share" options doesn't work. I can do it but the files download incorrect.

My workaround is to download the file locally on iPhone/iPad and then go into files app and copy to Dropbox. For some reason file is correct then.

TechGuy

SCREENSHOT CAPTION: notice lack of other options

Since the release of iOS 13.1, it is no longer possible to download certain file types directly to a chosen Dropbox folder. Instead, Mobile Safari downloads the files directly to the new iCloud Downloads folder without asking or offering other options. This makes it extremely cumbersome to then go to the Apple Files app, locate the file in the iCloud Downloads folder, export it and finally resave it to the desired dropbox folder. (And finally delete it from iCloud if you don't want a duplicate hanging around.)

Has anyone found a way around this yet?

I would like to continue to tap downloads of all types in Safari and have the option to save them to a chosen Dropbox folder.

Thanks in advance for any solutions or suggestions.

Long press the link to the file and select Save to Dropbox in the share sheet.

Long press does not work for some file types for me, it downloads something but it doesn't get type correct. Looks like it turns the file into a generic no name filetype.

TechGuy

Long press to download is helpful. Thank you, Rich.

Alas, it won't fix all situations. If the page uses a script or redirect for downloads then "long press to export" will fail.

Script/redirect downloads sometimes offer a "click here if your download doesn't start in 10 seconds" link. So long press might work on that. Still clumsy.

This is doing to be a big frustration for users of any non-Apple storage service.

If anyone who works at Dropbox is reading this, may I suggest raising this issue with Apple Developer relations? This problem will likely require Dropbox and Apple to collaborate for a solution.

Typical Apple, we gave you a new feature, iCloud Downloads. (awesome!) So we took away a feature, prompt to save where you want. (groan) "We wouldn't want you to hurt yourself by allowing choices." - Apple

TechGuy

I had the same problem prior to iOS 13.1. After looking into it, I vaguely recall it's related to having a PIN, password or fingerprint required on each use of Dropbox. Because Dropbox is locked when it's not open, iOS can't access it.

The suggested solution was to completely remove Dropbox security on iOS. I find this solution unacceptable.

I don't have an answer for you. But hopefully this will help point you in the right direction, even if I got some of the details wrong.

Daphne

Hi all!

Just wanted to touch base here to let you know that I'll be more than happy to pass along your feedback to the relevant team @TechGuy. We always appreciate your feedback and suggestions here on the Community.

Give me a nudge if you have any questions - thanks!

LBPETE83

Hey All!

I recently found I was able to turn on the cloud sharing apps like Dropbox and OneDrive.

Go to the Files app. Then to Locations on the main page. The app has now made it availbe for the cloud sharing apps to be turned on. I haven't tried saving anything directly, but I was able to transfer the files I have been downloading since the iOS13 update to my Dropbox! Hope this helps!!

mieras

This happens when you have a passcode set in the Dropbox app.

Nope, my passcode is off and the option is still greyed.

Nope, still won’t work for me. No passcode either.

This is totally bogus, and might be what frees me from iphone bondage.

Lusil

Hey @Fred666, thanks for checking in with us and sorry to hear that you're also having trouble accessing Dropbox as a location on your iOS.

Could you check if the option for Dropbox is enabled in your Files app? If it's on, could you try toggling Dropbox as an option off and on again?

You can do this by:

Going to your Files app.
Tapping on the ellipsis (...) button that's on the top right corner of your screen.
Toggling the option off (if it's on).
Saving changes.

Let me know how it goes!

That was the second thing I tried - no soap! Super bummer for me, but what a massive bummer it must be for Dropbox!

Lusil

Thanks for writing back, @Fred666.

Did you open the Dropbox mobile app before checking within Files app by any chance?

Have you also tried uninstalling, rebooting, and reinstalling the mobile app? Maybe that will do the trick.

Keep me posted on any updates!

Yes I did the unistall and reboot, nothing changed.

I have the option in Files and it is selected. Where it needs to be selectable is in Settings / Safari / Downloads - THAT'S what will solve this.

Daphne

Hey @Fred666, just following up here!

For the default location for Safari downloads, it seems that Dropbox isn't currently a supported location.

As Rich mentioned here, it seems that Dropbox isn't the only app that isn't currently supported by the OS to be the default downloads location.

Sorry that we can't be of much more help here, let us know if you have any other questions.

Thanks!