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Can no longer add album art to mp3s in the Dropbox folder

Operating System: Windows 11 Home
Dropbox App Version: 239.4.8301

Question or Issue

As of last night, I can no longer add album art to mp3s using the program mp3tag. I seem to be able to edit all other metadata. This seems to only be a problem if the files are in my Dropbox folder!

What I've tried:

Editing other metadata fields. Worked fine.
Pause Dropbox, in case it was mid-sync. Nope. And sync is up to date.
Make a "new" version by converting the file (open in Audacity, copy waveform into a new window, export as mp3). Nope.
Computer restart, several times as I went through the processes below.
Moved files out of Dropbox and tried adding art. This was successful! I put the files back in Dropbox and tried to edit again, and could not.
Upgrading Dropbox to latest version.
Downgraded Dropbox a few versions.
Upgraded again.
Made sure mp3tag was up to date. Latest version release was from November 11, 2025, so it seems unlikely to have broken due to that long-ago update.
Uninstalled Dropbox. Success! I was able to edit all mp3 files, no issue. Obviously, not ideal, because I need to back things up!
Reinstalled Dropbox. Failure. Can no longer add album art.
Checked if other kinds of files can be edited. Can edit images and .txt documents, stopped there. Issue really seems to just by album art for mp3s.
Checked if files were read-only, they are not.
1. Folders are marked as indeterminate, but this seems to be a Windows behavior. No hidden files found.
Checked security/permissions. Authenticated users, SYSTEM, and Administrators have full permissions (except "Special permissions," which I wasn't able to enable for anyone.) Plain "Users" did not have write permission, but when I enabled write permission, this did not resolve the issue.

I haven't tried messaging support, yet, since hopefully someone can guess what I'm missing.

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Jay

Hi @KitsuneHeart, thanks for messaging the Community!

Just for confirmation, as you said you uninstalled the Dropbox desktop application, could you try quitting the desktop app instead and then try editing the metadata to see if this helps?

Keep me updated with any progress!

KitsuneHeart

Ah, forgot to put that on the list! Yes, I tried that. Just to be sure, I tried again a moment ago, even going into Task Manager to ensure all processes are ended. No luck.

Jay

I use MP3tag and have tested it with an MP3 file in the Dropbox folder, and it allowed the file to be edited with no issue.

Do you have any other music app open at the same time while editing the tags on the files?

KitsuneHeart

Not as far as I can tell. My only music app is VLC, and that's not showing up in the task manager.

I just tried uninstalling and reinstalling mp3tag, with no luck. I made sure to attempt an album art save before I reloaded my regular configuration, in case my configuration somehow messed something up, and I couldn't save. Reloaded config, still couldn't save. So it's not that install of mp3tag.

Jay

Are you able to edit the tags using VLC itself, as that feature is available in that software?

Does it occur for any MP3 file in the Dropbox folder, or just those located in certain folders?

KitsuneHeart

Ooooh, that's interesting....

I was able to add a cover image with VLC, and it did show up in mp3tag. I was able to REMOVE that image from the track, and could ctrl-z to get it back on, but could not paste and save to get it to save.

Huh. Now I'm unsure which is the source of the issue: Dropbox or mp3tag (or both in conjunction?) Seeing as I was able to save a cover only when the file wasn't in Dropbox, that would imply Dropbox, but since a different player can add a cover...I don't know. I suppose I'll go ask in the mp3tag forums, too!

KitsuneHeart

The plot thickens. There are some mp3 files which allow me to add covers, but the MAJORITY won't.

In this folder, there's 4 mp3 files. File 1 gets an error when adding an image, but files 2-4 take an image just fine. All files play fine in VLC, have the REST of their metadata edited, and can be renamed.

Megan

Hey @KitsuneHeart!

We're going to need to investigate this further. I just sent you an email, please reply back to me and we'll take it from there.

Thanks!