Child Item

After the latest iOS mobile app update, my offline files have been re-syncing.

I upgraded to version 428.2 yesterday and now my Dropbox app always shows my offline files as queued for resync when I launch the app. I just tested it by syncing my files, then closing and relaunching the app and every entry in my offline list has that little blue circle with the white arrows. The files are still available so I guess it's not really re-downloading them? I'm hoping this is just a UI glitch.

Find more posts tagged with

Mobile

Sync

iOS

Closed - Partially Delivered

Comments

Megan

Hey there, @jwdoom, I'd be happy to help!

If you haven't already, I'd like for you to try to clear the app's cache.

You can do this by following these steps:

- Open your Dropbox iOS app.
-Then click your "Account" tab.
-You should see your gear icon at the top right part of the page.
-If you scroll all the way to the bottom of that page you should find "Clear cache".

Once you try this, please try restarting both your phone and the app. If the behavior remains the same, I'd appreciate a few screenshots in order for me to have a visual of your offline files.

I'll be waiting for your updates!

zacw

It is not re-downloading them, but it is checking to see if there's any changes. If it does start downloading the text under the file/folder name will indicate how many files are downloading or not.

This was changed to make it a little more clear when the offline files are refreshing because it often was showing an incorrect error ("refresh to update") when this was occurring. Is it the blue that's making it seem like it's downloading? We might be able to make it look a bit different instead.

jwdoom

Hi Megan, thank you for your suggestion. I just followed your instructions, but nothing changed. Probably because as Zac pointed out this is an intended behavior.

jwdoom

Hi Zac, I don't need to know that Dropbox is checking for changes. I expect that to happen and I only want to be notified if something goes wrong. Right now every time I go into my offline list there's a blue circle on every item on my offline list along with notes like "queued' or " determining while files...". I much prefer the behavior of the prior version, even with the occasional incorrect error, than this distraction.

Karl-Otto

I'm experiencing the same issue. If this behavior is intended, I find it absolutely baffling. It often takes minutes for all the blue gears to turn green again. Please change this behavior, or I'll find an alternative solution to Dropbox!

Megan

Hey guys!

Your insight has been shared with our Team. It's helping shape how we improve.

Thank you for pointing it out. I'll forward your feedback to the appropriate areas so we can continue to grow.

jwdoom

Release 430.2 no longer does this! Thank you, Dropbox, for your quick response! - ed: I was wrong here, see following post.

Walter

No worries @jwdoom - let us know if anything else comes up!

Klaus7

Unfortunately, the old behavior remains on my old iPad with iPadOS 17.7.8! Even after a reboot!

jwdoom

I typed too soon. This is in fact still happening. When I checked my offline files this morning they were all sync'd, but it must have just checked. I just opened Dropbox a few moments ago and it went through the same checking-queuing routine.

petermooreworld

This is happening to me, too. Files appear offline (due to blue sync'g icon and "determining which files to download...." message) and eventually come online. But giving it a minute, exiting and returning to the same screen yields the same blue icons.

Dell_Dropbox

@jwdoom Thanks for following up and letting us know this is still an issue for you, we'll forward this to the team.

PaperQueen

Thanks for the clear steps, Megan. Clearing the cache and rebooting solved the problem for me.

Weird behavior—having the blue sync icons appear—since the current iteration of files were accessible on other devices and on Dropbox via a web browser.

Klaus7

This does not work for me on my iPad! I have the the same strange behavior as before!

Neal

Hi @Klaus7,

I've looked into this and our team have advised me that in this case it’s not redownloading the files, it’s refreshing the folder and metadata but Dropbox uses the same icon for both states, just the text changes. The subtitle text should also make this clear - it’ll explicitly say when it’s downloading.

Klaus7

Thank you for the explanation. But I found the old behaviour better! The refreshing takes a few minutes if one has many files offline and the new downloaded files are shown as downloaded earlier than the old files (which are only refreshing). Strange behaviour in my eyes! 😭

Neal

Thanks Klaus!

I'll pass the feedback directly to the team and hopefully some improvements can be made!

PaperQueen

Hmmm. The pair of blue arrows is a bit confusing. On desktop, the arrows whirl, showing you a sync is in progress; a green checkmark shows for files that are in sync.

Yesterday, all files in the iOS app had blue arrows icons, making it appear my entire account was in need of sync. That's pretty jarring and disconcerting--especially when the behavior appears just as you're about to leave town....

In my case, Megan's suggestion to clear the cache got things back on track (whew!). If, however, the intent is for all files to display the blue arrows upon launch while the app "calls home," well...that's going to give a more than a few people heart palpitations.

jwdoom

I downloaded an update this morning, cleared my cache and this behavior continues. I can't understand why anyone at Dropbox thinks this is a good idea. Checking for changes should be a background process that occurs invisibly to the user.