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dropbox couldn't find any new photos or videos on iphone

I have Dropbox installed on my computer, and when I plug in my phone I get the message, "dropbox couldn't find any new photos or videos on iphone" when in fact there are lots of new images and videos for Dropbox to add to my Camera Upload folder.

The problem started about two months ago and was on and off, but for the past two weeks it appears all the time and nothing is imported from my Iphone.

I'm using macbook pro Sierra, Iphone 6 and DB with 1TB of space - all updated to their latest version.

Please help!

Noa.

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mvera

I know how to fix this, at least it worked for me, so first, make sure to download the latest version of Dropbox, then go to the menu tray, you know where the little Dropbox icon is next to WIFI signal, click there, then click the gear icon, preferences, account and click "unlink this dropbox", it will log you off from Dropbox account and that's okay, log in again and connect your iPhone again and voila! I decided to share my experience, so anyone finds it easy to solve, it took me quite a while to figure out, after trying everything, restarting, redownloading, etc...

dpbraun15071

It's been intermittent for me, but when it happens, I was able to resolve it by

clicking on the dropbox icon
clicking on the settings gear
clicking on preferences
clicking on the import tab
unchecking the "Enable camera uploads for..." checkbox
Closing that options screen
Repeat steps 1-4 above
checking the "Enable camera uploads for..." checkbox

Then it started importing everything

All comments

Kora

Hi @NoaMB,

Try following the steps below:

• Click on the Dropbox icon in your menu bar at the top of the screen and then click on the gear in the Notifications panel
• Choose "Preferences".
• Go to the "Import" tab.
• Uncheck and check again "Enable camera uploads for".

This will reset your Camera Upload settings for all your devices. So when you connect a device, Dropbox will ask you if you want to import pictures from it.

If the above won't help then you will have to email Dropbox Support for more personalised help

Kora

NoaMB

Hi Kora!

I've tried that already, along with any other suggestion I've read here so far, but nothing worked :-(

Also, sent the DB support an email a few days ago but didn't hear back, still waiting on that...

Thank you!

jqgsninimo

Thanks, worked just fine.

Steve D.11

For what it's worth, this is happening for me too (Dropbox 16.4.30, iOS 10.2, OSX 10.12.2) - If I attach the phone, the new photos don't import. If toggle "Enable camera uploads", it will import the missing photos once, but if I later reconnect the phone to the computer it doesn't import new photos. (I've repeated this a half dozen times this weekend.)

NoaMB

@Steve D.11 wrote:
For what it's worth, this is happening for me too (Dropbox 16.4.30, iOS 10.2, OSX 10.12.2) - If I attach the phone, the new photos don't import. If toggle "Enable camera uploads", it will import the missing photos once, but if I later reconnect the phone to the computer it doesn't import new photos. (I've repeated this a half dozen times this weekend.)

Exactly! so frustrating!

Zach Y.

I'm having the exact same problem, it's very irritating. I've restarted my iPhone 6 and my iMac, unchecked and checked the import option, unplugged and plugged my phone, tried all of these in different order. It worked, kinda. Two out of the 10+ times I've tried this over the last month, it's "found" a few more photos, choosing them randomly it seems from the selection of new photos. However, when I plugged in my Canon T5i, boom, it imported all the photos right away.

PLEASE HELP DROPBOX TEAM!

"Dropbox didn't find any new pho...

Dropbox couldn't find any photos or

videos on Zach's iPhone."

This is the first time I've had consistent trouble with iPhone photo imports since 2012, in the past it's happened a few times, nothing unplugging and plugging it back in didn't solve.

Phil_L

I have had the same intermittent problems also since being on the latest macOS version of 10.12.2 and Dropbox 16.4.30. I also have a somewhat related issue where any video files from my iPhones imported by USB to my iMac appear corrupted and will not open or play. If I use other methods to import they are fine, but not through the desktop app Camera Uplods import option.

I have opened a ticket with Dropbox, so hopefully a future release will fix these issues. These only seemed to arise after updated to 10.12.2.

Michael G.140

Exactly the same issue.

This began happening about a month ago. I've tried everything recommended, over and over, on multiple occasions. Restarted everything, checked things, unchecked, nothing works.

I've been archiving all my photos in Dropbox for years, like clockwork.

Now, inexplicably, it seems to be over.

I've got my most recent 1000+ stuck on my phone, unarchived.

What the hell?!

Kora

Hey people,

Have you tried Basic Reinstall and then Restarting your computer?

Kora

Phil_L

The latest update fixed my issues, not sure if it has resolved those for the others.

https://help.dropbox.com/photos-videos/camera-uploads-fix

mvera

Michael G.140

This solution worked for me too, and continues to work. I too had tried everything else, but nothing else solved the problem.

It's utterly ridiculous that we should now have to disconnect and reconnect Dropbox every time we want to upload pictures/videos, but right now it's the only way that works.

By the way, Dropbox's response to the problem was not to offer a solution, but to send me a series of questions (most of which I had answed in my original email, or implied that I was so clueless that I hadn't done something basic) and directives to provide them with various screenshots and filenames that would have taken me a chunk of time to fulfill (most of which were generic and unrelated to the problem). Their list follows:

"- Is the app crashing for you? If yes, could you explain the last thing you’re doing in the app before it crashes?"

"- Could you please send us a screenshot of your camera uploads settings page? You can find this page by going to the Recents tab, selecting the gear icon and scrolling down to the Camera Uploads section."
"- Could you please send us a screenshot of the “Photos” tab in the Dropbox app?"
"- When did this issue start happening?"
"- Is this issue happening to all photos and videos, or just specific ones? Could you provide us with a few example file names?"
"- Is this issue happening to both photos and videos, or just photos? If the issue is related to videos, please make sure that you have video uploads enabled in your camera uploads settings view."
"- Can you try uploading with both the WiFi-only and WiFi + Data setting? Does using one setting resolve the issue?"
"- If you are seeing duplicates, how many duplicates are being generated?
"- Could you send us a screenshot of your iCloud Photo settings? You can find this page by going to Settings → iCloud → Photos."
"- Could you send us a screenshot of your permissions settings for the Dropbox app? You can find this page by going to Settings → Dropbox."

"Thank you for your patience and I look forward to your response!"

Very frustrating.

dpbraun15071

It's been intermittent for me, but when it happens, I was able to resolve it by

clicking on the dropbox icon
clicking on the settings gear
clicking on preferences
clicking on the import tab
unchecking the "Enable camera uploads for..." checkbox
Closing that options screen
Repeat steps 1-4 above
checking the "Enable camera uploads for..." checkbox

Then it started importing everything

Steve D.11

Yeah, for me it's sufficient to just uncheck and re-check that box while the phone is connected. But it only works for that time. Subsequent connections will not auto-sync.

I did have it work once, when I had connected the phone to the computer while it was suspended and then unlocked the computer.

I suspect there is a timing issue involved - Dropbox is attempting to read the photos from the phone before the connection is fully ready to provide them. (Maybe still negotiating USB stuff or something.)

5406300115

Jean-Pierre M.3

Dear Michael,

Thank you for the infroamtion and comments.

I agree - DropBox is NOT helpful with this problem.

tomh1168

It worked!!! Thank you.

Rebecca S.22

Yes, THIS is the only thing that worked for me. thank you!

Uncheck the "enable camera uploads for: photos and videos" while the phone is still connected and has been for a few minutes.

kadocsa

SOLVED!

In my case it had to do with the "camera uploads" folder.

I just moved the photos I had inside the folder to a new folder, unchecked and checked the "enable camera uploads for" clickbox and it worked.

I think it had to do with the amount of photos inside the "camera uploads" folder.

Maybe there is a limit to it.

Garym57

Absolutley None of the suggestions SO FAR have helped me I am desperate. the Preference to "UNLINLK" the Unchcking of Enable camera for uploads then recheck...

Nothing at all!!!!

Garym57

Didnt work for me

kadocsa

EDIT: NOT SOLVED!!

Same problem again.

Very frustrating.

Hinx

This finally worked for me! After unlinking, relinking, pausing, unpausing nightmare with the same "DropBox couldn't find any photos" All it took was to unclick and reclick that checkbox in preferences. THANK YOU!

Jane S.7

This is not a solution for the actual problem. This is just a "when your dropbox forgets to check your phone." The actual problem is Dropbox NOT importing files because it thinks it has already imported them, which is has not.

ShinZe

It did not work for me... I unlinked and re-linked as suggested.

I connect my Nikon camera to my computer and it used to work all well; but now only imported 40 out of hundreds pictures and doesn't recognise any new pictures from my camera. Could this be my camera's problem? or what?

Daniel N.14

Finally started working after unchecking "Enable camera uploads for", closing, re-opening, and re-checking (had already signed out, upgraded, and signed in without it fixing the problem).

The bigger issue is:

Can I trust Dropbox to do the one thing I count on it to do, which is prevent me from losing photos/videos? The only reason I use Dropbox for my photos is so that my wife and I can have all of each other's photos (we share a Dropbox account). I'd use Google Photos except that last I checked, you have to select which photos go into the shared folder, and I just want to share everything. But if Dropbox is missing photos, then that defeats the purpose. And how can I know when Dropbox is missing something? While troubleshooting, Dropbox kept finding new photos, then saying it had everything or there was nothing, then finding more old photos. When can I trust that when Dropbox says there's nothing new, it really has everything?

Sanchez

Hey @Daniel N.14, welcome to our community!

Yeah, toggling CU (Camera Uploads) on/off sometimes jump-starts the process, and gets things going again. I’m glad it worked for you!

To ensure that our CU feature is capturing all your photos, we suggest that your equipment is always up to date:

cell phone/mobile device operating system updated to the latest stable version
computer operating system up to date (if you’re connecting your mobile to it for the CU feature)
cell phone/mobile device is using the latest version of our mobile app
computer is on the latest stable version of our desktop app

Anytime there is a change in the above, it’s a good idea to check on your uploads to make sure everything is still working smoothly. In other words, when there is a new operating system update, app update, or even an update or addition of other 3rd-party software, have a look to make sure that things are still good. If they’re not, then we suggest contacting our support team as soon as possible, so that you/we can focus our troubleshooting on the recent changes.

Cheers!

Sanchez

Welcome to our community, @ShinZe!

Is this still going on? If so, can you make sure that you are using the latest stable version of our desktop app (49.4.68) and that your computer’s operating system is fully updated?

Let me know.

Cheers!

Daniel N.14

Thank you, @Sanchez. I'll keep an eye on it, but it's disconcerting, because when the USB process syncs and grabs some photos, I've always assumed it grabbed all of them. It was only because I happened to look for a particular photo and noticed that it wasn't synced that I discovered the problem. It turns out Dropbox was missing around a hundred photos and videos.

Sanchez

OK, @Daniel N.14. If you notice this occurring again, by all means let me know, or go ahead and submit a support ticket so our team can investigate further.

Cheers!