nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

The files on my computer don't appear on my Android mobile app.

Jeff047

Hello, I create Dropbox files on my PC and can view them on my Android phone. They don't go anywhere else.

Recently, changes to the PC files were not showing on the phone, just the old version. I checked the account on the phone, and it was showing an obsolete email address from about 5 years ago. I managed to change it to the new email, but that didn't work. I have signed out of Dropbox on the PC and signed back in again. All the files are still there, but my phone now shows one device (the phone) and has lost the entry for the PC.

What can you suggest, please?

Find more posts tagged with

Desktop

Mobile

Sync

Windows

Android

Accepted answers

Jeff047

Things are looking good! I have just modified a file and downloaded a file to my PC Dropbox, and they are showing correctly on my phone.

May I say a very big THANKYOU to you and your colleagues who have persevered with my problem over the last week and a bit! We got there in the end. Your knowledge is impressive.

Hopefully, it will continue to work as it should.

All comments

Walter

Hey @Jeff047 - sorry to hear you're having issues with this.

It sounds like you're still logged into the wrong account on your mobile device. Can you try signing out and back in with the email address you're using in the Dropbox desktop app on your computer?

Let me know how it goes!

Jeff047

Walter,

Thanks for your reply. The email address on my phone Dropbox is the current one. All the files I can see on my phone are 3 years old!

P.S. I'm not a computer expert (I'm 73!) so please don't worry about explaining things in too simple terms. You won't be!

Jeff

Walter

Can you please double check that the email address is the same shown in the Dropbox desktop app's preferences under the Account tab and in the Account tab in the mobile app on your phone, Jeff?

Also, can you take a look at your system tray/t ask bar and let me know the exact status and version of the desktop app?

Jeff047

I don't know how to do that. Dropbox is on the same screen as Pictures, Documents etc. I can't see how to get the account details.

Walter

You should be able to see a Dropbox icon in your system tray/task bar, Jeff. Once you click on it, you'll get the option to access the app's preferences by clicking on your account's icon.

Could you give it a go and let me know how it goes?

Jeff047

My PC Dropbox has my obsolete email address attached to it. I have tried requesting an email to reset the password to change the email address. It sends an email to the new address, I change the password, but I still can't change the Dropbox account to the new email. I am not finding this easy!

Walter

So, you're not using the desktop app but a web browser like Chrome, Safari or Edge to access your Dropbox account. Is that right Jeff?

Jeff047

I have now managed to pin Dropbox to my start screen, but it just goes to my file list as normal from there. If I right click, there is no account option.

Walter

Can you send me a screenshot of that so that I can have a visual too, Jeff?

Also, did you see my previous question?

Jeff047

[removed for security purposes]

The first shot shows the account screen. When I select 'edit' against the email address, I get the second screen, but…

When I enter the password, it won't let me submit, only cancel.

Walter

I see, thanks for the screenshots, Jeff. It seems that you're using a web browser to access your old account and not the Dropbox desktop app.

When it comes to the old email address, can you clarify if you have access to it and/or if you're able to recreate it?

If you have any files in that account (the one associated with your old email address), you can put them in a folder and share that folder with your new account (the email address you're currently using) to avoid losing any content.

Jeff047

I cannot access the blueyonder email, which I haven't used for about five years.

Until about two weeks ago, I was happily adding and updating Dropbox files on my PC, which I could then see on my phone. Suddenly, the phone showed old versions of files, without the recent changes.

I haven't changed my phone, PC, or phone number for years.

Jeff047

Hello, I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling Dropbox on my phone, but that hasn't helped. My phone still shows files which were updated three years ago. How do I relink my phone to my PC? Please see previous posts. Thanks.

Jay

Hi @Jeff047, just to check, could you confirm what email address you're signed into on the Dropbox site according to this page?

Just the domain name would be helpful, and not the full email address for privacy and security purposes.

Jeff047

Jay,

The email address on my PC Dropbox account (when I can find it!) is my obsolete blueyonder email. When I try and edit it, I type in the password, but I can't then press the submit button.

The email address on my phone Dropbox is the current gmail address, but it shows that the only device connected is the phone itself, not my PC. The Dropbox files here are three years old.

It was all working perfectly a few weeks ago, and nothing has changed.

Jay

It does sound like you have two separate Dropbox accounts, one with the old blueyonder email on the site, and the Gmail account on the mobile app.

If you try to sign onto the Dropbox site in an incognito/private browsing window with the Gmail address, are you able to see the same files as those on the mobile app?

Jeff047

I don't know what a private browsing window is, but the PC has the up-to-date versions of the files.

I had a similar problem a few years ago, which your colleagues kindly sorted out for me.

Jay

You can follow these steps on how to open a private browsing window in your browser:

Let me know what files you see on the website.

Jeff047

I think that I followed the instructions successfully, using Edge, and I could only see the same three-year-old files that I see on my phone. I will not be able to progress with this until about 6.30pm today (Saturday), as I will be out during the day. Please feel free to suggest the next step. Many thanks for all your help so far! Jeff

Jay

Okay, so this confirms that you have a Dropbox account under the Gmail email, which is what you're seeing on the mobile device, as it has the old files on there.

If the blueyonder Dropbox account has your up-to-date files, then you would need to log in to that account on Dropbox mobile app by first signing out of the Gmail Dropbox account.

Jeff047

Hello again. I signed out of my gmail address on my phone, and tried to sign in with my old blueyonder address. However it sent a link or something to my blueyonder but I cannot access it as I have long forgotten the relevant passwords. I don't know how to see my blueyonder emails - I stopped using it years ago. Please advise me in the simplest of terms!

Jeff047

It would be easier, if possible, to change my PC Dropbox to reflect my gmail address, but I haven't been able to achieve this. I tried to get my phone email to connect to the blueyonder address, using a guessed password, but it said 'unable to connect to server'.

I will be away for a few days, but able to access my PC again on Wednesday afternoon. I can't seem to post these comments using my phone.

Hannah

Hi from me as well, @Jeff047.

What I would suggest at this point, since you're already logged in to your original Dropbox account (the one under blueyonder), would be to download your files from it and then upload them to your current account (the one under Gmail).

Once you download the files from the original account to your computer, you can log in to the current account through a different browser, like you did before with Edge.

After you upload the files to the current account, they'll also show up in the Dropbox app on your phone, since that's logged in to the current account.

However, if any files or folders are shared on the original account, you will need to re-share them after uploading them to the current account.

I hope that makes sense, but let me know if you have any questions!

Jeff047

Hello again, I am back from my holiday. This sounds like the perfect solution, but I am not sure how to do it. I have copied all of my Dropbox files into my Documents folder for safekeeping.

I tried to access Dropbox using a private browser - my account there shows the gmail address, but the files are all still 3 years old. I am totally out of my depth.

Please explain what steps I have to take in the simplest way that you can! 'Download' and 'Upload' mean very little to me! Thanks.

Hannah

No worries, Jeff, I'll try to explain things as best I can!

Since the current account that uses the Gmail address has obsolete files, all you need to do is upload (add) your updated files to it.

You mentioned that you've already copied them to your Documents folder for safekeeping.

Can you now try to upload them to the Gmail account using these steps?

Once they're uploaded, they should show up in your mobile app, since it's linked to the Gmail account, but let me know how it goes!

Jeff047

Hannah,

I have managed point 1.

I can't find an Upload button anywhere on the screen (see attached screenshot).

What am I doing wrong?

Jeff

Screenshot_20-8-2026_153036_www.dropbox.com.jpeg

Jay

You'll need to log in to the Dropbox account that uses the Gmail address by using this link.

Once you've logged in, you'll see the option to upload files and folders to that account.

Jeff047

Jay,

You're a genius! I have now uploaded the files back to Dropbox, and I can see the latest versions on my phone.

One thing is still not quite working, though - I just updated a file on the PC Dropbox, but the changed version is not showing on my phone. Do I need to do something else?

Jay

Not really, if the latest version of the file is on the Dropbox site, then any other device (meaning your phone) should be able to see the latest version of the file.

It might be viewing an older cached version of the file, so you can try closing the Dropbox mobile app using these steps for Android. Once closed, try reopening the app and see if the file has updated on the phone.

Jeff047

I uninstalled the app on my phone, and reinstalled it, but it is still not showing the updated version of the file.

Jay

Could you let me know what type of file it is? Is it a Microsoft Office file, PDF, or some other type of file?