Photo backup on iPhone isn’t working

[Em_6]

I’ve been using Dropbox to backup my iPhone and noticed recently it’s been really slow. Last night I went to back it up again but it just said it was starting photo backup, but it still hasn’t found any photos or videos.

I’ve restarted the app, my phone and turned off photo backup and left it before trying again, I’ve tried airplane mode with WiFi. I’ve tried using my data, but it’s not finding anything. Or doing anything. I’ve been using Dropbox alongside iCloud and haven’t had any problems until this. I’ve used about 6% of the 2tb storage I’ve got.

Any help on this?

Thanks

[Em_6]

@Walter & @Megan I didn’t tag you so idk if you were notified of my replies sorry

[Evan P.4]

I'm also experiencing this "starting photo backup" "looking for photos" issue since an app update a few days ago. The process was so stable prior to the app update that I used it as my primary way to move photos from phone to internet, I hope they can get this figured out ASAP.

[Megan]

Hey @Ákos M.  & @Evan P.4 & @Em_6 ! 

The first sync after any update of the Dropbox app will usually take a bit longer. You would need to give it 30 minutes, to an hour. 

If the issue remains after this time-frame, give me a shout so we can have a closer look into this through email.

Thanks!

[Em_6]

@Megan, I left it on overnight after updating (screen unlocked) and it didn’t do anything. Going to try again for an hour though and then let you know. Thanks.

[Ákos M.]

Unfortunately did not help, i checked my GFs phone as well, it’s not working for her either, but on her iPad the app was not yet updated and it’s working fine there, so this seems to be an issue with the latest app update.

[Evan P.4]

So what did work for me was signing out of the app, restarting my phone, and signing in again. After I signed in again, I was re-onboarded to turn on photo backups and there appeared to be 4 new settings related to that process. It may be that the update isn't gracefully handling the inclusion of those settings, especially because it now defaults to 'back up new photos since photo backup was enabled' rather than backup all photos.

[Em_6]

@Evan P.4, can you link a screenshot of your photo backup settings after updating? I tried just what you said and at first the photo backup settings did seem to be different, but after closing the app it went back to the same layout / not working. Thanks

Also @Megan, that didn’t work for me unfortunately. Currently just have to log in and out for it to upload my photos and videos so it does seem likely it’s to do with the update but doesn’t explain why it would lag before then

[Ákos M.]

I also logged out and back in again. It works after logging in until I close the app, after reopening, the error is back.

I also noticed that after login, when it’s working, the layout of the Photos tab is the same one I’m used too. When it stops working, the layout slightly changes (different font size, icon and wording on the Photos tab). It looks like if some sort of beta feature was switched on…

[Megan]

@Em_6 & @Ákos M., I appreciate the info! 

Also, @Ákos M. great work on your troubleshooting skills! When you see the error message, is the app up to date with your Camera uploads? 

Let's check one more thing, @Em_6. Can you please ensure that background uploading is enabled? Here's how:

- Open the Dropbox app
- Tap the ‘Account’ tab
- Press Camera Uploads
- Ensure ‘Background Uploading’ is On

Thank you both!

[BuckWebb]

The *only* way to get this new version to sync properly for me is to log out, log in, re-set all the photo backup, background, videos etc etc settings. Then it works until I leave the app (background upload set or not, doesn't matter).

When I go back in it after adding a new image, it just says "Starting photo backup. Looking for photos...", but it never actually does anything. Been messing with this off and on since this last update a few days ago.

Dropbox team, this is happening to several people here, obviously. I've updated to the latest IOS, rebooted, deleted the app and rebooted and re-installed, turned of every possible option available in Dropbox/Account area, and in settings (except for auto update of the app). Nothing works except logging out. logging in, and then going through all the steps. Yeah, that's not going to be a thing that I'll be doing much longer. So let's focus on this problem, ok?

IOS: 14.5

iPhone 7 Plus

256 Gig, 68 Gig available