Our Community is in read-only mode until April 8th, learn more here. You can still search existing threads or get help via Dropbox Support, the Dropbox Help Center, or Learn.
Forum Discussion
Solved
Decryption fails running iOS 14.2
Just updated iPhone and iPad to iOS 14.2. Now, trying to open an encrypted file, it tell me "Decryption Failed. Null" If I open with Excel, it works fine. Anyone else having this issue?
I also have success opening an encrypted file within Dropbox after updated 14.4 IOS update. Thanks for everyone's help and input.
259 Replies
Replies have been turned off for this discussion
- That's good to hear! I use my MacBook more with a registered MS Office package where I have no problems. I rarely use Excel and Word on the iPhone and iPad.
Wish you a great weekend! Same with me, I use MS Office on my Mac but I have a few encrypted Excel files I keep on my iPhone and need to open them on the iPhone when I travel. Of all the apps/programs I have, the only ones I ever have issues with are the Microsoft ones :-(
I solved my issue.... one encrypted .docx file would open in Dropbox, the other would not. I opened the "bad" file in Word... saved a copy back to Dropbox. Went to Dropbox and the new copy was able to open with the password... no errors... I deleted the "bad" one and renamed the copy to the original.... it now opens both on my iPhone & ipad on the Dropbox app.
try it... it may work for you...excel or word...
- You didn’t solve your problem. You found a work around. If you remove the password and the restore it on a pc or Mac, the file will open on your device as it will with the iOS office apps. This is a huge bug in iOS 14.2 and needs attention from Apple ASAP.
I didn't use a pc or Mac ... did it on my ipad. I didn't remove the password either. Problem solved!
Kritzstew,
Do you have Microsoft Office running on your iPad? Or do you have any of the Office stand alone programs like Excel, Word or Powerpoint?
Using stand alone app... but signed into Microsoft office. I don't think the MS app is an issue though... it seems more like a sync issue between IOS & Dropbox... my "work around" just "fixed" my problem... as I mentioned... one encrypted file worked fine the other didn't.
- Ditto, but no replies or “fixes” from the Dropbox people.
- So many people reported the problem but Dropbox has todate not replied or rectified the problem. Disappointing.
It's not a Dropbox problem, its not a Microsoft problem, its an Apple problem that first started with iOS 4.1 so don't expect anyone other than Apple to fix it. I just installed 14.2.1 on my phone and that did not fix it. The version notes did not mention this issue so I didn't have my hopes up too much.
If you are trying to open a Microsoft Office file (Excel, Word, Powerpoint) that is password protected, you will need to have Microsoft Office or the individual apps (Excel, Word, Powerpoint) on your device. I chose to install Microsoft Office instead of the individual apps just to cut down on the number of app icons on my screens.
If you want to test your devices ability to open a Microsoft password protected file without having Microsoft on your device, just email the encrypted file to yourself and try to open it from within the native Apple Mail app, do not save it anywhere on your device, just tap to open it. If Apple has fixed the issue, it will open otherwise you will get the blank white screen with the words Decryption Failed (null).
About View, Download, and Export
Get support with viewing, downloading, and exporting files and folders from your Dropbox account.
