Child Item

GarageBand (.band) files couldn't be read, it seems they're not on the right format.

I exported a .band file (GarageBand project) to Dropbox, then later copied it and tried to open it again on GarageBand. I got an error that GarageBand couldn’t read the file format. When I contacted Apple/GarageBand support they told me that Dropbox doesn’t save these project files on the right format. How can I get this file back up and working on GarageBand?

Find more posts tagged with

Export

Accepted answers

Walter

It could all be coming down to the file type @djessel, GarageBand files are known to be package files.

Those files appear to be a single file when viewed on an Apple computer or iOS device but they actually contain many other files and are represented as a folder on non-Apple computers and most web browsers.

To ensure compatibility across your devices in the future, you can follow these steps to upload those files.

What were the steps you followed when you first uploaded the mentioned .band file to your account?

All comments

Walter

Hi @djessel; thanks for joining our Community and sorry to hear about this.

Could you please let me know some additional information so we can have a better look into the matter?

For starters, are you on a desktop device or a mobile one? Were/are both apps in play up to date, namely on the latest stable versions of the apps?

Also, how exactly did you copy the file after having exported it to Dropbox? Have you tried downloading it and opening it locally on a computer with the appropriate software?

Could you check the file's whole name (or better yet, its complete file-path) to see if the extension is missing somehow?

If you could include screenshots of the particular error you're getting, I'd appreciate a bunch.

Thanks!

djessel

Hi Walter - All of this was done from my iPhone. Basically, in order, 1) I needed to backup a GarageBand Project file ("MTWTLA 6.band") so I shared it / saved to Dropbox. 2) It turns out that I lost my original Project file, so I now I needed the backup file (ONLY exists now on Dropbox). So I exported from Dropbox and it took me to "Copy to GarageBand" 3) Opened Garageband on my iPhone, and the file was there, but now it looked different. 4) Tried to open it and got the error message: "the song you are trying to open is damaged or in a format that GarageBand cannot read" Surely there must be some way to retrieve/convert the file back to its original version so that I will be able to open it in Garageband? Please help... I need to recover this file! Thank you.

Daphne

Thanks for getting back to us here @djessel!

When you uploaded the file to Dropbox, it wouldn't have edited or converted the file in anyway.

When you uploaded the file to Dropbox did you perhaps rename the file at all? I'm wondering if perhaps there is a stray space after the extension perhaps.

Otherwise, can you try exporting the file to your device's local storage and then open the file in the GarageBand app from there?

Also, can you let me know which version of the Dropbox app on your iPhone and the device's iOS version?

Keep me posted!

djessel

Hi Daphne, No I did not rename the file when I uploaded it to Dropbox. I already tried exporting the file to my phone's local storage and then opening in GarageBand and it still gave me the same error message. On my iPhone, I am on Dropbox "App Version 202.3.2", and my iPhone 7 Plus is iOS version 13.6.1 Hope that helps. Thank you. Drew

Daphne

Thanks for checking on that @djessel, and apologies for the delayed reply here!

Were you editing this file only through your iPhone, or also through the Mac version of the GarageBand app too?

Can you let me know how much space you have free on your device's storage?

From some digging, I can also suggest trying out some of the steps outlined here, which was suggested for another person receiving the same error message that you mentioned.

djessel

Hi Daphne,
Thank you for getting back to me on this... to answer your questions, I only edited the file through my iPhone, and I have 10 GB of free space left on my phone.
Also, I tried doing what Apple support suggested on the link you gave me, but still the file will not open in GarageBand.
I think I may have mentioned this, but when I presented the issue to Apple support via a phone call with them, they insisted that the problem was with Dropbox and that the file was somehow changed/damaged when I first copied it over to my Dropbox acct.
Best regards,
Drew

Daphne

I see, it would be difficult to know for certain where the issue occurred there @djessel.

It certainly wouldn't be expected that the file becomes corrupted when uploading to Dropbox, but perhaps there was an issue when the file was exported or during upload.

Perhaps one last step I can suggest would be to create a new project and see if you can import the info from this file.

djessel

OK - that makes sense... I just did the exact same thing (on my iPhone, as before) with a completely different .band file, and got the exact same error after exporting it from Dropbox back into Garageband. Here is a link to the file on my Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/s/bnr76dm8bmdqm7l/No%20Regrets%20%28Latest%29.band?dl=0 So I'm convinced that the problem is with Dropbox. I'm surprised you've not come across this before. I also had my daughter try it with some of her Garageband files and the same thing happened. Last question: isn't there a "tech wiz" employed at Dropbox who can examine my original file and fix it for me? Thanks Drew

Walter

It could all be coming down to the file type @djessel, GarageBand files are known to be package files.

To ensure compatibility across your devices in the future, you can follow these steps to upload those files.

What were the steps you followed when you first uploaded the mentioned .band file to your account?

djessel

I simply exported the .band file (GarageBand project) to Dropbox.

Lusil

Hey there @djessel, thanks for the additional info.

Are there different versions of the file on the website by any chance?

djessel

Hi Lusil -
No, just the .band (GB Project/session) version.

Jay

Hi @djessel, it sounds like that backup file wasn't uploaded to Dropbox correctly, for some reason. Either the upload was interrupted (if doing it via the site directly), or the file was somehow corrupted before it reached Dropbox.

As there isn't a previous version to recover, it wouldn't be possible to bring back older copies of this backup file, unfortunately.

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news. If there's any additional info you need, please let me know.