Video .mov Files transfer as Jpegs

Haha, leave it long enough, and we'll answer our own questions. Yes. My photos all transferred as jpegs, but today I learned that jpegs can be different sizes, so my iPad photos will go up to Dropbox in their original size from my iPad and will be downloadable by my Mac in their original size.

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Hi @Kat6, thanks for joining the Community!

Dropbox wouldn't convert your videos to still images, as there isn't a feature like that available.

How did you transfer the files to Dropbox? Was it using the automatic camera upload feature, manually uploading files to the site, or by moving them into the Dropbox folder?

Do you have any third party apps on your machine that could be converting the files?

Any other info or screenshots would be helpful!

Thanks, Jay...Well, I have the videos on my Mac in a folder (not a Dropbox folder) in Finder. I selected the videos in that folder, and dragged them into the my Dropbox folder which was open in the Dropbox website , like the Dropbox instructions said, and as it allows me to do. What was strange was that they took many many minutes each to transfer, just as a video would. Then voila! they were transformed into jPegs. I won't bore you with a screen shot of a jPeg file name.

In addition, I've spent hours and hours and hours transferring 2000 photos from a 2014 iPad, in batches of a 200 at a time, (because the app crashes if I try to transfer more) using the Dropbox uploader feature in the app, using the + feature, and they all turned into jpegs as well, and of course they look flat compared to the sizeable orginals, which I want to keep in their original format. Also, that Dropbox app doesn't transfer Live photos or videos. It's so frustrating, it seems to me that the Dropbox app's job is to allow me to transfer my files to Dropbox, and then back again. But I can't make it work.

I'm sure I'm doing something wrong with both my devices...and hope you can help! Many thanks in advance.

Hi Jeff, I just tried something for my Mac. I uninstalled Dropbox and reinstalled, and re-linked my Dropbox folder in Finder. From there I was able to synch and move the movies into the Dropbox folder, and now they're properly at Dropbox. I'm still not sure what to do about the iPad photos, so maybe you can help with that?

Thanks for the update, @Kat6, if you need any further assistance, please let me know.

Enjoy your week ahead!

bigbrad54

I just tried uploading a video file (.mov) from my iPhone 13 using the Dropbox app and it also transferred as a jpeg. How do you fix that?

Hey @bigbrad54, sorry to hear about this.

Could you please let us know the exact steps you take to do this and if this happens with other files as well or only with this specific one?

bigbrad54

I initially had my settings to only allow selected photos to be uploaded and I tried to upload one video and nothing happened. Then I changed my settings to All Photos and went back to the app. I don’t remember if I had to select anything to start the upload but it began uploading my camera library and converted the .mov files to .jpeg. The initially upload ignored my most recent files from yesterday and today which were all .mov files. I was just able to upload the recent files by selecting them and they uploaded correctly but all of my other .mov files are .jpegs now.

Hi @bigbrad54, how large are the renamed MOV files?

Are you able to rename them on the Dropbox site to make them MOV files again so they can be played?

Banncam

This is so terrible. It happened to me too. And I didn’t catch it in time so I deleted my videos from my phone after moving them to dropbox. My videos are lost!! I’m very upset.

I am truly sorry you lost them. I’m learning that even though we think the digital age tells us that we’ll have things forever, we can’t guarantee it. It then becomes a philosophical problem and not a technical one.

And check your phones deleted files. Maybe they’re still there. I can’t help you with how to do it sadly. But your phone doesn’t want to give up anything in order to use up more room in its memory.

l3x

Hi There,

I'm having the same issue. When I transfer some videos (.mov) from my iPhoto App into a drop box folder, by dragging and dropping the files are converted to .jpeg. How do I resolve this issue? Not all the videos just some of them.

Hey @l3x, sorry to hear you're having issues with this.

Can you please clarify the exact steps you take to do this and the OS of the device you're using as well?

Have you tried downloading or exporting the files from your iPhoto App and then uploading them to Dropbox?

Let me know of any updates!

l3x

Hello,

I am using the MacOS Ventura 13.1 and I usually just try to drag and drop from my iphoto app to a folder in my dropbox app.

Hannah

Hey @l3x, sorry to jump in here.

Is it possible that the videos in the iPhoto app are in some kind of 'online-only' state, meaning they're placeholders instead of actual, full-sized videos?

And is there any way to download or export them to the device first, like Walter suggested, and then move them to Dropbox, to see if that works?

GRC

I'm having the same issue. I'm trying to upload videos of my recently deceased father for my family members and Dropbox keeps converting them to jpegs. It is completely not helpful for Dropbox employees to just tell people that isn't happening. This thread is just people saying they are having this issue and Dropbox people insisting its not possible. How do you think that is helpful? I have videos taken from my iPhone in Apple Photos on my computer. When I drag the videos to Dropbox, it converts the .mov files to .jpeg, static images. It's maddening at a time I really don't need to be annoyed as I prepare for my father's funeral. You telling me that isn't a thing, is not helpful.

Hey @GRC, sorry to hear about this.

Can you please me know how this is logged in your events page?

Also, have you tried uploading your files via the website directly?

Any additional information is more than welcome!

l3x

I would love to hear a solution as well. I basically gave up trying a few months ago and have just been using a different service.

Hannah

Hey @l3x, would you mind giving us some more info about your case?

If you can reply to Walter's questions above as well, that would also be really helpful.

Alarmed-user

i am having the exact same issue! All my children and family videos have turned into jpg images! and I mean - in dropbox cloud, not just on my local drive. This is devastating. Has anyone been given a solution to this??

Hey @Alarmed-user, sorry to hear about this.

Could you clarify how exactly you uploaded these files to your Dropbox account in the first place?

Do you see any events mentioning them in your events page?

Any additional information is more than welcome!

worshipgirl

My company is having the same problem. So far, our only solution is to go in and rename every file with the .mov extension. Why is it forcing the .jpg extension on my videos? I'm using my iphone and uploading directly to DB from my IOS device. Movies are recorded on the iphone using the DJI software. We had no problems with uploads until this last month. Please advise. Thanks.

Hi @worshipgirl, could you clarify how you added the mov files to your account originally?

Does this happen during the upload, or is the extension changed after some time on your account?

worshipgirl

I uploaded them directly from my phone to the dropbox app, also on my phone. So far the only solution is to go in and rename the files back to MOV. Super maddening when we have a whole house full of video to upload and rename!

They're in HEVC format at 1080p 60fps. I don't know what other info you need. I record them on my phone, and when I transfer them, they show up as unreadable "image" files rather than movie files.

Please help.

Hey @worshipgirl - sorry to jump in here, but could you clarify if you're manually uploading those files or if you're using the automatic camera uploads feature?

You might also want to take a look at this Help Center article while we're at it.

Let us know of any updates!

jeyyo

I have been having this issue for the past month and was excited to find a whole thread about it but now disappointed there are no solutions. I am downloading videos to my phone from my security cameras. Then I will open the video to view it, hit the Share icon on my android phone, and one of the options is Add to Dropbox. When Dropbox opens, my file name is suddenly lost and renamed "image.jpg" and uploads as an image. It seems that if I download the file and rename it, I can okay the video. But why is this happening? Having to retype every file name is a irritating as it saving in the wrong file format.

Hi @jeyyo, could you let us know what Android OS version and Dropbox mobile app version you're running on your machine?

jeyyo

Android version 14, app version 384.2.2. This started about 2 months ago, worked fine before that.