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Forum Discussion

Jillwb's avatar
Jillwb
Explorer | Level 3
2 years ago

Photo uploads dates from iphone are off by 20+ years

I hit the dropbox backup this morning on my Iphone12 pro and the photos are backing up, but the dates are way off (January 2043/ March 2025 and February 2025), plus the photos with these dates are fr...
Camera uploads
Mobile
Sync
katie_p's avatar
katie_p
Explorer | Level 3
2 years ago

Hi there

I was wondering if anyone could help with an annoying and puzzling problem... I have about over decade's worth of photos stored in Dropbox but some folders have the wrong date in the metadata - so they are taken in 2037 or 2053 and they're always at the top of my Photos display on the iPhone app. 

I have tried to correct this by copying the folders to my Desktop, using Windows File Explorer to remove all possible personal data, and then copying the folders back into Dropbox. But even though the offending metadata doesn't appear to be there any more, Dropbox still seems to see it and they remain at the top of the Photos display on my iPhone.

I tried clearing the Dropbox cache on my PC, and logging out and back in again to the app on my iPhone, to no avail.

Does anyone know what might be going wrong and how to fix it?

I'd be really grateful for any suggestions.

Thanks in advance!

  • Hannah's avatar
    Hannah
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    2 years ago

    Hey katie_p, sorry to see that you're having this issue.

     

    Can you please send us a screenshot showing this behavior?

     

    Do you still have those photos saved to your device?

     

    If you do, can you try to manually upload them, to see if that changes anything?

    • katie_p's avatar
      katie_p
      Explorer | Level 3
      2 years ago

      Hi Hannah - thanks very much for your reply.

      I wasn't sure what you meant by manually uploading them, but here's what I've tried:

      First, I removed the offending folder from Dropbox, by dragging it from the Dropbox folder to my desktop and telling Dropbox to delete it for everyone. Then I removed the metadata for some of the files, and dragged them back into the Dropbox folder - but they were still shown as being from 2037. I deleted the Dropbox cache from my PC, and I logged out of the mobile app and logged back in. None of that worked, and that's when I posted my original message. I restored the original folder to Dropbox via my web browser.

      Just now, I have again removed the folder from Dropbox in the same way. Then I went through all the subfolders and deleted the metadata. Then I went to the Dropbox site through my web browser (Firefox) and uploaded the whole folder that way. (There are 2,500 items.) When I open the Dropbox mobile app, in the Photos tab, most of those photos are still shown as being from 2037. But it does seem to have worked for a few files - mainly jpegs that were altered in Photoshop, or via an app, or which were taken by someone else, or png screenshots.

      There is another folder with the same problem, photos that were sent to me by someone else, and which are dated 2053. For these, I tried something else: I selected "Make available offline", then deleted the metadata for the Date taken, and waited for Dropbox to update. This didn't work: when I look in the Photos tab of the iPhone app, they are still shown in 2053, and when I select one of the pictures, it says "You have saved a new version" and gives me the option to refresh it. I do that, but it doesn't change anything - it still appears in 2053, even though the file info does show that the 2053 date has been removed. I'm pasting a screenshot below.

      Is there anything else you could suggest?

      Thanks in advance

      Katie

       

      • Walter's avatar
        Walter
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
        2 years ago

        Hey katie_p - sorry to jump in here, but could you confirm if the files show the right dates when you navigate to the Files tab in the mobile app and then your Camera Uploads folder?

         

        Also, could you clarify the mobile app's version and your device's exact OS version?

         

        Have you tried clearing the app's cache as well by the way? 

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