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Forum Discussion
Can't open password protected file
One of my files is password protected but when I try to access it via Dropbox.com on my PC I put in my password but it says that it is incorrect. It is not incorrect. I can access the file via my Tab...
Walter
Dropbox Community Moderator
Dropbox Community ModeratorNo biggie, John. I'll be glad to help out with this.
I just followed up via email, so please have a look at your inbox and we'll take it from there.
I just followed up via email, so please have a look at your inbox and we'll take it from there.
Can’t find your post?
John
- WalterHey johnblakemore, I just sent you another email.
Could you have a look at your inbox and let me know if you received my message this time? Yes received.
John
- I am having this exact same problem, and getting exactly the same error message as the original poster. The file opens from my DB app on my phone, but says password wrong, when I try to open online through any browser. The end of the conversation with previous user was via email, so I can’t see what the solution was. Thank you!
- Walter
Hi sz999, sorry to hear you're having issues with this.
Can you please send us a screenshot of the exact error you're getting, omitting any personal information if possible?
Have you cleared your browser's and the app's cache at all lately?
Were you ever able to open the file normally?
Same problem here.
When I try to open a protected word file, I am asked to input the password. But dropbox says the password is wrong.
But if I download the file I can use the same (correct) password to open the file. Then I have to delete the file in dropbox and upload the changed word file from my computer. Please fix this issue!
I tried that now. Made a file on my computer and password protected it. Could open it from my computer. When I uploaded the file to dropbox and tried to open the file from chrome browser. I get "wrong password"
- Jay
Could you attach a screenshot showing the exact window you're on when entering the password?
Hi,
Thanks for your reply. I cleared my cache in one browser and it had no effect so I haven’t cleared it in other browsers (I’m concerned about doing that b/c there are some sites that don’t require login that I want to remember me). It also happens in browsers that I don’t think keep caches or cookies (e.g., firefox focus and duck duck go)
At any rate, I’m showing the message I get when I try opening the doc in any browser. (it opens fine when I open it through the app, but there are times I want to access it via the web). Docs and pdfs that don’t require passwords open fine in a browser — this only happens with pw protected docs.I appreciate any help/ guidance you can offer.
Thank you,
Susan
- I’ve been able to open them on a browser in the past, but don’t remember how long it’s been — it could have been quite a while ago.
- Hi,
I think that’s what I pasted below. Do you mean something else? If it helps, these are the steps I take: I go to dropbox.com; sign in; scroll down to desired document; click on it to open it; get asked for a password; enter the password, and then get the error message shown below. As I said this only occurs in a browser (I’ve tried all -safari, firefox, chrome, firefox focus, and duck duck go, with the same results); it isn’t a problem when I use the app, but I’m not always on a device that allows the app (since DB limits this unless you’re a paid subscriber).
Any insight into why browsers are determined to believe that a correct password is incorrect would much appreciated. - Hannah
Sorry to jump in here, sz999.
If you open the file through its original app and remove the password, are you then able to preview it on our website?
Generally, password protected files cannot be previewed on our website, so you might need to do that to preview them.
You can see more info about this here.
- Hi Hannah,
Thank you, I didn’t realize that. I haven’t removed the password because I know I can open files that aren’t password-protected, but I want to keep this one protected.
I realize you don’t control the policies, but what’s the logic behind not being able to open pw protected files in a browser? If it can’t be done, why does it even ask for the pw (rather than just show a message that says pw protected files are unsupported), and why does it then tell me the pw is wrong? It seems strange to ask for the info, when no pw would be accepted — asking for one and giving an error message implies it’s possible to open a pw file and that either there’s a bug or the user is doing something wrong, which is apparently not the case. Again, I appreciate this info; do you know if there’s a way to communicate with dropbox to let them know how uninformative and confusing the way it works now is? Thank again for explaining why it won’t / can’t work Strange that it is not possible to open password protected files in browser when it ask for password, and reply that the pasword is wrong....
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