Not able to download a photo from Dropbox to my phone. Why?

[Marshal mellow]

I've always used my PC for Dropbox and now all I want to do is download a picture to "photos" on my phone and I can't seem to do it. Can anyone help?

[Hannah]

Hey @Marshal mellow, thanks for your post.

If I understand correctly, you're having trouble downloading a file from Dropbox to your mobile device, right?

Have you taken a look at the steps in this article, to see if they help?

Keep me posted.

[Marshal mellow]

Hi Hannah,
Thank you so much for trying to help me. When I use Dropbox I feel really stupid 😭. When I push on the app all I can see are my camera pics and I can't seem to get farther than that no matter what I push

[Hannah]

No, please don't feel like that! We'll get to the bottom of this together, step by step! 🙂

You want to download a photo to the device, right?

First of all, are you on an Android phone or an iPhone?

And are you able to locate the photo in question when you open the Dropbox app?

[Marshal mellow]

Hi! I was able to find "all files". I chose any pic and downloaded it. Then when it said "open" I pushed it it and it was there with a lot of others I had apparently tried before. They were just letters like "you.jpg." or "me.jpg" and they wouldn't open

[Nancy]

Hello from me too, @Marshal mellow! Can you try to send us a screenshot of what you see on your end? It may be better to have a visual and guide you from there.

Here’s the button you can click to upload it here (before posting your reply): 

The “Open” option that you mention, do you see this on the Dropbox app or your phone, after the file has been downloaded?

[Marshal mellow]

I'm sorry but maybe because I'm old I find the whole thing complicated. I can find my pictures when I log in. They have 3 dots next to them and no matter what I do I just get a check next to them. When I download load them and push open them I get what I said before, writing for what it is. I'm not able to do anything with it. This whole thing started with me trying to get a picture into my "photos". I don't seem to be getting any closer. 😩

[Nancy]

Hmm, let’s see. So, from what I’ve understood, you’re able to download your pictures to your mobile device, correct?

If you open the camera roll on your phone (not on the Dropbox app), where the rest of your local pictures should be, can you see it there?

Let me know, and we’ll go from there.

[Marshal mellow]

I'm sorry but I'm not. I push on the app and I see the photos from my camera. I push on one and I get a bunch of of folders and it says "can't use this folder". That's as far as I get.

[Nancy]

Hey @Marshal mellow, let’s try one more time.

Please open the Dropbox app, go to "Photos" (you will see that right at the bottom of the screen), find one of the pictures you want to save to your device.

Then, tap on it once, and let us know if you see a check-mark or if the photo loads, and we'll go from there.