You might see that the Dropbox Community team have been busy working on some major updates to the Community itself! So, here is some info on what’s changed, what’s staying the same and what you can expect from the Dropbox Community overall.

Forum Discussion

sulevreisberg's avatar
sulevreisberg
Explorer | Level 4
6 years ago

Photo sync from Samsung Galaxy not instant

The photos taken by Samsung Galaxy are not immediately synced to Dropbox for some reason. It seems it takes several hours to sync them, although the phone is connected to Wifi and also syncing over a...
Android
Camera uploads
Mobile
Sync
  • Daphne's avatar
    Daphne
    6 years ago
    Hey there sulevreisberg,
     
    So as a first step, can you try clearing the cache through the Dropbox app with the steps below:
     
    1. Tap the menu icon in the top left of the screen.
    2. Select the option Settings.
    3. Select Clear cache.
     
    After doing so please restart the app and see if you still see the same behavior. If the issue persists then please let me know if this happens for all uploads (videos and photos). Also, please clarify if you see the photos being uploaded for this long period or does it take a long time let’s say for the app to “recognize” there are new files to upload?
     
    Let me know how it goes - Thanks!
sulevreisberg's avatar
sulevreisberg
Explorer | Level 4

Did the things you suggested - no changes. Interestingly it syncs new files from my computer to phone nicely. So it seems it does not recognise the new photos on the phone to sync.

Daphne's avatar
Daphne
Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
6 years ago
Hey again sulevreisberg,
 
Could you please send a screenshot (excluding personal info) of the camera uploads setting? You can access this by:
 
  1. Open the Dropbox app.
  2. Tap the menu button.
  3. Tap Settings.
  4. Under Camera uploads, please take a screenshot of the settings 
Also, can you let me know if the photos are never uploading automatically, or do they upload after a long period? When you open the app, do you see any notification of files being uploaded when you have new photos to upload?
 
Cheers!
  • sulevreisberg's avatar
    sulevreisberg
    Explorer | Level 4
    6 years ago

    Here is the picture. What is interesting - yesterday I had "use cellular data" turned on and as far as I've understand, I did not turn it off (it seems now that it is turned off). However, I was in Wifi yesterday, therefore it should make the difference.

    During the night, all photos seem to have uploaded/synced. So, I'd say after some period the photos are synced, but it might be a long time. I think it would be valuable if a dropbox would show some message within in Dropbox like "There are photos that are not synced, because ...". I did not see any notices in Android... however, I've blocked all Dropbox messages and that might be the reason.

    • sulevreisberg's avatar
      sulevreisberg
      Explorer | Level 4
      6 years ago

      Okay, probably the cache issue was still the problem because when I cleared the cache, the battery level was below 30% and that might have prevented the immediate sync after clearing the cache. Today the screenshot was uploaded immediately. So, can you elaborate on this cache issue a bit further? It seems this issue has been a problem for a while.

      • Daphne's avatar
        Daphne
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
        6 years ago
        I’m glad to hear that clearing the cache was indeed helpful sulevreisberg!
         
        So the cache is a temporary storage area which will retain certain data when you are using the app. Essentially, the aim of the cache is to help with keeping your app running smoothly and reduce the amount of data that needs to be processed and downloaded. For example, a list of your files within an accessed folder should be saved in the cache so navigating through your files is quicker the following times (as it needs to download the data the first time so is a little slower to load).
         
        While I can’t say for certain exactly the reason clearing the cache worked for you, as it could have been a number of reasons, it’s possible that the main issue was due to space. If you haven’t cleared the cache for an extended period (restarting your device would do this), then there may be a lot of temporary stored files. It’s always a great first step to take when having issues with the mobile app.
         
        Hope this explains it clearly for you - Thanks!

About Create, upload, and share

Find help to solve issues with creating, uploading, and sharing files and folders in Dropbox. Get support and advice from the Dropbox Community.

Need more support

If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X or Facebook.

For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.

If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!