Searching Not Working on iPadOS Files app

Hi, Daphne , I have created a ticket as well as you suggested. The ticket number is #11186119

Thanks for the ticket number jasontx0426, I've just followed up with you there. Please check your inbox for my message when you have the chance.

Hi Daphne! I am having the same issues and have attempted in all of the ways I can find to get a ticket number, but have been unsuccessful. However, I am having the same issues after multiple re-installs and different networks. No matter what I try I cannot search within the native iOS Files app.

Hi there Michellem921, thanks for nudging us on this thread. 

I've sent you a ticket to have more in-depth look on this together.

When you get the chance, check your inbox for my latest message. 

Cheers!

I notice this issue has been fairly widespread and reported by a number of users, including me.

Depite this, it doesn't seem to have been addressed by Dropbox, and I notice the fault still remains. I've tried to use the search function on my iPad's Files app (iPadOS 14) today and there are still no results appearing.

Can we have an official update from Dropbox on this aspect please?

Hi Stanners1980, in order to look into this matter in more detail, could you contact the support team directly for them to investigate it further? Thanks!

Dropbox my ticket number is #10297404 and this issue was raised over 1 year ago. I am very disappointed with the service, I've received no updates and tried all you have suggested including contacting Apple Support. Apple have confirmed that there is an issue with the Dropbox app. This thread makes it very clear that your users are having issues with the app functionality. Please could you update me on when this will be resolved.

Also on the iPadOS will you be adding functionality so that we can have 2 windows of the dropbox app side by side? MS Word has implemented this.

this is just a Dropbox problem, I've tested the other cloud providers and they work as required. Dropbox seem to show no will to resolve this issue, but happy to be proven wrong.

I don't have other services but Google Drive does not have this problem. And after more than a year of posting this question and going into loops with Dropbox staff, I don't think they are putting effort into actually fixing this. Really frustrating.

I’m going to give Dropbox another month to solve this.  Then I’ll pull my company’s business.  It’s only about a dozen users - but we all have iPhones and most have iPads.

There’s really no excuse for this.

hi Lori,

Please read the message strings above.  This has been raised for more than a year (or possibly longer) and I also gave up on Dropbox support (i still use it but in a very, very convoluted way, and I don't know why i honestly persevere when the other platforms search fine).  Please don't pretend that this is a new problem, if you search online forums you will see that even Dropbox has been saying persistently that they will look into it but it has been a ping pong game between dropbox and apple for as long as i know.

hi lori

sent you a message via your link at the bottom (not sure if it goes direct to you)

but why wouldn't you provide a solution right here on the forum?

Hi Lori, 

Still having problems, but something has changed. For the first time I can see that certain files appear when I start typing letters into the search box. However, I am unable to find any sort of pattern in what comes up, such as being in a shared folder or an unshared folder. 

Thanks, 

David

I have a semi-solution that I have been using if anyone is DESPERATE to keep going with Dropbox. I use pdf expert linked to Dropbox app on iPhone and iPad and in that app’s search function EVERY FILE instantly pops up, just like in dropbox app.  Then i press the file (magnifying glass icon next to file) then share that file via email that way by attachment.  You can also drag and drop files when you are in split view mode with mail app open on the side.  However, when i try to do the same thing by dragging and dropping from Dropbox in split view mode, it doesn’t work.  Dropbox will only let you attach files to mai and other apps when you click “share” and then “export file”.  So I find pdf expert way a little more streamlined when trying to share multiple files. 

All of this would be completely unnecessary, if, like in the old days, (gosh i can’t even remember when that last version of Dropbox was..) you could just long press anywhere in the mail app on iPad or iphone and it would previously let you type anything into search filed then it would pop up instanatly (i have like 5 sub folders and like 2500 files in one of those folders and it was even finding every file with the search term back then..  I can’t remember for the life of me whether this problem of search not finding files in Dropbox started when apple introduced their own files app or it was even before that…

BTW, can i ask the forum members here, if I want to move to another storage solution right now that works best with iPad/iOS, what would it be?  The BEST integrated solution - would that be apple iCloud or google/box app?  I dont’ really mind the cost, as I have been paying like 200 bucks a year..

If you are using iphone/ipad, then the best-integrated solution would have to be icloud drive I think.

And thanks for sharing the PDF Expert trick.

Yeah it’s very fine app, i actually just checked the pricing structure as i was going to recommend you just purchase the pro version (editing function).  I was gobsmacked when i saw the current pricing, there is actually no purchase outright option anymore (i remember i paid around AUD$15 few years ago to make it possible to edit the text within the pdf), and it’s all yearly or monthly subscriptions..  it’s fairly expensive now, and I’m not sure if i would’ve bought it at current price anymore..  Gosh all apps seem be heading towards this subscription model these days..