How can I make sure my Dropbox files don't take up space from my devices?

Thank you for the very clear instructions, Walter.

I followed your instructions exactly... it made no difference. I still cannot play any MP3s on Dropbox. I tried both from with Dropbox to play music files, and also third-party apps, but still no difference.  As you can see from the last (black) image, the MP3s are showing that they cannot be played back from within Dropbox as the music files are greyed out (and missing their little 'play triangles' on their left-hand side) :

stevecjames, apologies if you’ve mentioned that and I’ve missed it, but are you able to preview/play your .mp3 files properly if you go to www.dropbox.com and not the mobile app?

It's fine if I play something from Dropbox using the laptop at home, say.

But this defeats the whole purpose of why I wanted to use Dropbox when I subscribed two-weeks' ago to the 2TB version, and why I cancelled the subscription the moment that I found out that Dropbox no longer plays my music from a mobile device, like my iPhone (it used to play it, years' ago). I'd never use Dropbox at home, of course, as I have everything I need on the NAS or elsewhere.

Regards.

I've noticed that other users have had the same problem(s) with Dropbox not playing their stored music files. This is but one page of quite a few that I've found on the 'Net :

https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/View-download-and-export/My-MP3-files-are-not-playable-any-more/td-p/513742

I'm wondering how they solved the problem... or if they just gave it all up as a bad job?

Hello... has Dropbox Support abandoned me in my hour of need?

I notice how Dropbox.com score a "bad" on Trustpilot (the word "bad' is Trustpilot's description of the company - and not mine).

I certainly hope that Dropbox Support can sort out this problem, as I really don't want to have to leave a bad report about Dropbox's services... unless I am forced into that situation, of course.

https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.dropbox.com

Hey Steve, we appreciate your feedback here.

Can you also let us know how large (in size) are the MP3 files you're trying to play through the Dropbox app itself?

And are you getting the same error when you try to play all of them or with some of them?

Hello Hannah

Thank you for coming back to me.

Please do not feel as though I am criticising Dropbox unduly, here. I am now over half way through the 2TB Trial period that I originally signed up for and so would really like to get these problems sorted out quickly as it's really a service that I should love to use from now on.

I uploaded 46 MP3 trial files for playing back from both the Dropbox app and other third-party iOS apps. None of them, so far, work. I cannot play anything back from Dropbox using either Dropbox's own app or anyone else's.

I am enclosing two images here : the first one shows the larger of the 46 uploaded files; the second shows the smaller.

I hope this helps solving the problem.  Many thanks.

Thanks for the update, Steve, I completely understand where you're coming from.

Regarding the 3rd party apps, unless it's an official Dropbox integration, there's not much we can offer on our end; you might want to look into it with the 3rd party app's manufacturer.

Or perhaps another user that's using this integration may have some helpful info for you, which is why the thread will remain open.

However, if the files don't play in Dropbox itself, this is something we can definitely assist you with.

If you haven't already, can you also uninstall the Dropbox app, restart your device and then reinstall it, to see if that helps?

Hello again, Hannah

If you read the previous few messages on this thread then you can see exactly what the problem is.  I don't wish to repeat all that I've said previously, other than MP3 files are NOT playing from within Dropbox. I have sent you images in this forum to that effect.  I really don't see what else I can do at my end...

As far as reinstalling the Dropbox app, that's already been done... surely once is enough?  Any more downloading and reinstalling of the Dropbox app would suggest that there is a big problem with how the app has been coded.

It's really not that I'm using any sort of 'exotic' phone to play back my files on Dropbox.  It's a bog-standard Apple iPhone 14 that I bought from new eighteen-months' ago.  iOS 18 was installed on it only a few days' ago, when again my iPhone restarted.

I'm going to say no more other than that I shall leave it a couple more days and then shut up , and then use another Cloud company.  But as I said in my forum message to you earlier today (five hours' ago, according to your forum page), if other users were having problems in the year 2021, and these were reported to you at that time - and Dropbox did nothing about it - then my expectations in hoping that this ongoing problem will at any time be solved, is just pie in the sky.

Hey stevecjames, can I send you an email in order for us to have a closer look into this? 

We might need to escalate your case to the relevant departments too.