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

dbwontsync's avatar
dbwontsync
New member | Level 2
7 years ago

My dropbox won't sync files if my IPhone screen is locked

Hi there,

I spend most of the day taking pictues with my IPhone and sending this photos to my drop box account, so I can access this photos from my computer for editing and posting on social media.

However, If my IPhone screen looks (is set to lock after 1 minute of inactivity), dropbox stop uploading the pictues. Or, if I send the files and change to another the app, it also stop synching. 

So I have to keep unlocking my phone all the time and can't change app in order to get all the photos uploaded to my desktop folder.

Is there a option i can change and dropbox on my phone will keep synching even if the screen is locked or keep synching in background?

It's really annoying and seem like a easy thing to fix.

Thanks 😉

Edit
Mobile
Sync
  • Walter's avatar
    Walter
    7 years ago

    Yes, that's expected since you're manually uploading your photos dbwontsync - read on for more context:

    Currently, photos and videos can upload while the Dropbox app is active and for a short time after it is dismissed, as you have noticed as well. After that time iOS applications' policy restricts us from continuing to access files to upload, unless you enable the background uploading option (available when using our automatic camera uploads feature).

    As mentioned, you can enable background uploading within the Camera Upload settings, at which point our app will ask for permission to access your device's location services while it does not collect your location's information.

    Moreover, you should be able to change this behavior following these steps (they might be slightly different depending on your mobile device's OS and version):

    1. Launch the “Settings” app.

    2. You will see some of your apps listed at the bottom of the list of settings. Tap the Dropbox app in this list.

    3. Enable “Background App Refresh”, and then tap the “Privacy” option

    4. Turn on “Photos” so that Dropbox can access your Photos, then tap “Location Services”. 

    5. Choose “Always”. 

    I hope this helps improve the progress on this matter while for more information, you can check out our Help Center article here: https://www.dropbox.com/help/mobile/location-data 

    Let me know if you need anything else! 

     

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

    Hey there dbwontsync - how are you today?

     As a frist step to fix this issue, could you please turn on Background Uploading following these steps? 


    1. Open the Dropbox app.
    2. Tap the "Home" tab.
    3. Tap the gear icon :gear:
    4. Select “Camera Uploads.”
    5. Toggle "Background Uploading" to "on." (Or, if it's already set to "on," toggle the setting off and then on again.)

    I hope this helps! 

    • dbwontsync's avatar
      dbwontsync
      New member | Level 2
      7 years ago

      Hey Walter,

      Thank you for you reply.

      Unfortunately I am only able to select "background uploading" option when the option auto upload photos if enabled.

      In my case, I dont want all the pictures to be synced.

      I usually select the one's I want, create a new folder and upload the selected one's.

      Is that because I am using the free account?

      Thanks

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

        Yes, that's expected since you're manually uploading your photos dbwontsync - read on for more context:

        Currently, photos and videos can upload while the Dropbox app is active and for a short time after it is dismissed, as you have noticed as well. After that time iOS applications' policy restricts us from continuing to access files to upload, unless you enable the background uploading option (available when using our automatic camera uploads feature).

        As mentioned, you can enable background uploading within the Camera Upload settings, at which point our app will ask for permission to access your device's location services while it does not collect your location's information.

        Moreover, you should be able to change this behavior following these steps (they might be slightly different depending on your mobile device's OS and version):

        1. Launch the “Settings” app.

        2. You will see some of your apps listed at the bottom of the list of settings. Tap the Dropbox app in this list.

        3. Enable “Background App Refresh”, and then tap the “Privacy” option

        4. Turn on “Photos” so that Dropbox can access your Photos, then tap “Location Services”. 

        5. Choose “Always”. 

        I hope this helps improve the progress on this matter while for more information, you can check out our Help Center article here: https://www.dropbox.com/help/mobile/location-data 

        Let me know if you need anything else! 

         

About Delete, edit, and organize

Solve issues with deleting, editing, and organizing files and folders in your Dropbox account with support 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!