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hw213nw's avatar
hw213nw
New member | Level 1
1 year ago

Audio files are compressed/downgraded in quality when exported to iMessage.

I've noticed an issue with exporting/sharing audio files over the last few months, from Dropbox into iMessage. 

I often share audio files for work, and I go into the app, click share, then export file. 

Recently when I do this my audio files are getting compressed and severely downgraded in quality. I've also noticed file size going from 8-9mb to 2-3mb. The degrading of quality is a major problem.

this bug seems to be continuing and would love to have it reported to the team!

19 Replies

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  • Nancy's avatar
    Nancy
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    1 year ago

    Yes, please. Before trying that though, can you also test one more thing with me (if you haven’t done this already)? Can you create a shared link to one of your files instead, send it via iMessage, and tell me if there’s an issue then, as well?

  • hw213nw's avatar
    hw213nw
    New member | Level 1
    1 year ago

    You'd like me to delete and reinstall Dropbox completely?

  • Nancy's avatar
    Nancy
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    1 year ago

    Hi from me too, hw213nw! It sounds then that this has something to do with iMessage specifically. Is it possible to reinstall the app on your device? Do you see any difference after that?

  • hw213nw's avatar
    hw213nw
    New member | Level 1
    1 year ago

    Hi, I believe so, it's something about that sharing function via iMessage. 

  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    1 year ago

    Hi hw213nw, does this issue with the compression only occur when sending files via iMessage, since it appears downloading them normally works fine?

  • hw213nw's avatar
    hw213nw
    New member | Level 1
    1 year ago

    Hi looks like it saves to iPhone Files and plays normally with no degradation

  • Hannah's avatar
    Hannah
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    1 year ago

    Hey hw213nw, just as a test, if you choose the "save to device" option instead, and then play the audio file locally on the device, what do you see?

  • hw213nw's avatar
    hw213nw
    New member | Level 1
    1 year ago

    Hi, thanks for addressing this. It's been a real pain the last while.

    Dropbox iOS v 404.2.2

    iPhone iOS 18.2 (iPhone 15 Pro)

    It seems to also be doing this when I export (as a copy) video files (cut a 20mb down to 10mb). ZIP are preserved.

    My messages settings should be fine, I have it selected to show images in high quality, etc. 

    Thanks again

  • Megan's avatar
    Megan
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    1 year ago

    Hi hw213nw, let's jump right into this!

    Does this only happen when with your exported audio files or with other file types too? 

    Would you mind clarifying your device's OS, along with the Dropbox version that you're using on your end? 

    Keep me posted, and we'll take it from there!

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