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Could not add a shared folder to Dropbox

My daughter sent me an invitation to add and edit a folder that she created in her Dropbox account. When I try to accept the invitation, I receive an error message that says "Could not add to Dropbox". There is plenty of space in my account to accept this folder, and she and I have shared many folders in the past without any problem, so this came as quite a surprise. I have checked settings, restarted my phone, none of which helped. I have the Android Dropbox app running on my Google pixel 6 pro, which has never had a problem accepting a folder before.

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Jay

Hi @sargamites, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

How large is the shared folder you're trying to add?

Do you have enough quota to add it to your account?

This will help me to assist further!

sargamites

Hi Jay! Thanks for reaching out.
The shared folder is 121.3 MB.
My account shows 5.5 GB free space.
Mike

Jay

Could you try switching browsers to see if this helps?

Otherwise, you can try using incognito/private browsing mode without any extensions running, clearing your cache and even resetting your browser entirely.

sargamites

Jay,
I've been using Google Chrome Android for years and it has always worked. Others are using the same browser and have not had problems sharing folders. I guess it's possible it's Chrome but if it was, wouldn't Dropbox be getting a huge influx of support requests from the millions of Chrome Android users?

I tried incognito mode, clearing the browser cache, restarting the browser, and power cycling the device, but still getting the error...

Jay

The purpose of using a different browser is to see if there could be an issue with the way the browser sends data to Dropbox.

If you're not able to use another browser on the mobile, have you tried adding the shared folder while using a desktop machine and browser, to see if this helps?

sargamites

Jay, I didn't have or want to put another browser on my phone.

I asked my daughter to send a web link and the link worked, on my phone, using the same Google Chrome browser. Interestingly, the web link opened a page in the browser that looked nearly identical to the one linked to the invitation. The invitation sent thru DropBox, which comes as an email with a button to join the folder, did not work and was the one that generated the error.

Given that the web link worked and got me onto the folder as a member, does this info give you any idea why the invitation did not work?

Thank you,

Mike

Hannah

Hey @sargamites, sorry to jump in here.

We can't really know the reason this might have happened, without ruling out whether this was browser related or not.

It could be cache related or something to do with an extension on the browser.

In any case, I'm happy to see that you were able to find a workaround and were able to add the folder to your account through a 'can edit' link.

If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to let us know.

Have a great weekend!

SINGERNZ

Hi there

I had the exact same issue - for the same error message when trying to add the folder from my gmail on my phone. Also when using my tablet. I had to copy the url and paste it into my Samsung Internet and get into my account that way. Then it would load and it now shows on my phone app.

Whilst I also found a work around, probably helpful for you to know others are having the same issue.

Cheers

Walter

Hi there @SINGERNZ - thanks for joining the discussion here and letting us know about this and sharing your workaround. Let's see if this works for @sargamites as well!