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iPhone 15 pro can't focus close up documents when using the scan utility.

Since purchased the new iPhone 15 pro, it seems that the iOS Dropbox app can't automatically switch to the macro lens (the ultra wide lens), so it can't focus small documents (like tickets or barcodes).

This same error occurs in other third party apps.

Apple says is the "developer fault" because they are making the wrong call to the camera function, and so it only uses the main camera, that in the 14 and 15 pro models can't close focus.

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Accepted answers

Megan

Hey everyone, happy Monday!

It seems this issue has been fixed now. Feel free to let us know if you still face any issues, thanks! 😃

All comments

Megan

Hi @Nousmedis, let's jump right into this!

As a first step, can you clarify the OS that you're using on your iPhone 15, along with the Dropbox version installed on the device?

If you have a screenshot of how the content looks when you try to scan it using Dropbox, feel free to attach it here.

Keep me posted!

Nousmedis

Dropbox version 346.4.2
iOS version 17.0.2

Sample photo with Dropbox scan feature: [removed]

Same photo Using the iPhone default camera app: [removed]

Hannah

Hey @Nousmedis, I removed your shared links, to prevent unnecessary traffic in your account.

Can you attach your screenshots to your next reply here instead?

Nousmedis

This image was scanned using the "scan" feature of Dropbox:

2023-09-25 15.29.06.jpg

This image was photographed using the default iPhone camera app:

As you can see, the default camera app (and other, properly developed apps) can automatically switch between lenses.

This topic has been addressed in a session at WWDC 2021: https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2021/10047/?time=133

Essentially the solution is to use the minimumFocusDistance property of the capture device to derive a videoZoomFactor to make sure the users hold the phone at a larger distance than the minimumFocusDistance. This is also illustrated in this sample code: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/avfoundation/capture_setup/avcambarcode_detecting_barcodes_and_faces

Walter

Hey @Nousmedis, sorry to jump in here, but I just wanted to let you know that our team is working on improving this.

Thanks for your feedback and flagging this with us.

Maillabe

Hello Walter,
It seems your team has been up to this problem since a year and I cannot see any improvement. I use the scan function often and it is a problem to have to move far away from the document to get a clear focus and then to crop the picture to get the desired picture area. Please send updates on pb resolution! I'm certainly bot the only iphone user lf Dropbox users community 🙂

Nousmedis

One year later, new iPhones with the same problem, and still no solution... time to look for another cloud storage solution? (same with the Mac OS File Provider for Dropbox business)

DBX_Pedro

Hi everybody,

We've passed your feedback onto the team and they're looking into it.

We'll update you as soon as we have information we can share.

We greatly appreciate your understanding and patience over this period.

Megan

Hey everyone, happy Monday!

It seems this issue has been fixed now. Feel free to let us know if you still face any issues, thanks! 😃

Nousmedis

Well, two whole years later... but at least it works