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Solved
Syncing error with the Dropbox mobile app on Android
Hello, for several days I'm experience a syncing error with the Android app. Anything updated from the Android device appears on other connected devices, but not the other way around. Updated files from my home and work computers appear at dropbox.com but not in the Android app. I have restarted my phone several times and removed and reinstalled the Android app. The only way to get files to sync now is to logout and log back in, but I really shouldn't have to do that every time I want to update my to do list from my phone. Please help!
Hi Stephen, today's Dropbox Android app update appears to have resolved the issue and files are again syncing in the normal way. I thank the staff for their help!
- Walter
Dropbox Staff
Hey PDub81 - sorry to hear you're having issues with this.
Could you let us know your device's OS version and the version of the Dropbox mobile app installed there as well?
Have you tried clearing the app's cache since you first noticed this?
Let us know more and we'll take it from there.
Thanks, Walter. Android 10 and Dropbox app version 368.2.2. I cleared the Dropbox cache in Android settings, which did nothing, but I see that clearing it in the Dropbox app itself does force a fresh sync without logging out, but it still has to be done every time a file has been updated elsewhere.
Also, I tested to make sure this was not just a problem with one particular file. No files are syncing from other devices without logging out and in or else after clearing the cache. Furthermore, and stranger, after clearing the cache, a file can be updated multiple times from other devices and will still sync correctly the first time it is opened in the Android app, but then it will not sync again until the cache is cleared again.
This syncing error with the Android app has resurfaced in the past several weeks. Sometimes clearing the cache works, sometimes not. The app is up to date. What is going on?
I'm sorry for the "undefined" comments above. Now I'm having trouble with this website too. I encountered the syncing error again less than an hour ago and updated the plain text file from my phone. The "events" page shows it as "(conflicted copy)."
- Walter
Did you have the same file open on another device of yours while you were editing it on your mobile PDub81? This could explain why you're seeing a conflicted copy.
Also, what is your device's exact OS version and the version of the Dropbox app installed there?
No, the file was not open on another device. Android OS version 14, Dropbox Android 410.2.6
File name is 00 Calendar. It is literally the only file I access from multiple devices on a daily basis. Yes, it is closed on other devices when the syncing error occurs.
- Jay
Does the issue occur on any other text file on your Dropbox account, either if it's a different name, or if the file is in a different location?
I'm having trouble replying on this page again, sorry. I have also encountered the syncing error with a MSWord document accessed on my work and home PCs, but not edited on my phone.
- Megan
I see, PDub81 thanks for letting us know.
So, to summarize: when you visit your account online, you can see the changes you made when using the desktop app, but this doesn't reflect on your mobile app, right?
Do you notice that entire files might be missing, or is it just the updates you made on these files?
Have you tried clearing the app's cache or uninstalling and then reinstalling it, by any chance?
Yes, and not just mobile, but from one desktop to another. Newly added files might be missing, but not older files previously synced. I have cleared cache and also uninstalled and reinstalled.
