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Sana5's avatar
Sana5
Helpful | Level 5
1 month ago
Solved

“Syncing with Dropbox paused” error when I access my Files app on iPad

I have an iPhone SE2 and iPad Air 5th generation. When I go to files app, under Dropbox it shows Syncing with Dropbox paused. This is only happening on my iPad and works fine on iPhone.

I have seen similar discussion here and the situation looked exactly the same. The solution there was to simply open the preview app. I’ve try using the preview app on iPad but it still hasn’t changed. What am I possibly doing wrong? I’ve tried most of other basic solutions, including removing Dropbox app and reinstalling it, signing out and in. Background app refresh is on. Files are loading, but still shows syncing paused.

*iPhone SE2: iOS 26.2, Dropbox version 454.2.2, storage left on the device around 40GB (88GB/128GB used)

*iPad Air 5th generation: iPadOS 26.2, Dropbox version 454.2.2, storage left on the device around 20GB (44GB/64GB used)

*dropbox: basic, 1.3GB/2.25GB used, above two devices connected

*region: Japan

 

iOS
sync
  • Sana5's avatar
    Sana5
    1 month ago

    HiJay​, thank you for your help. I’ve already tried these and I still had the problem.

    The good news is that the problem is now fixed (Dropbox is synced in files app and preview app)! 

    The bad news is I do not know how it happened😅 I took the extreme resort of resetting the iPad. I chose not to transfer from my old iPad and decided to use iCloud backup. That freed up some of the system data as well. 
    Even after restarting it, it continued to error but in a 30 mins or so, while I was doing something else it was fixing itself.

    So I can only assume some trash data from the old iPad was doing something wrong… anyways, now I know resetting the devices does work sometimes.

3 Replies

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

    Hi Sana5, thanks for messaging the Community!

    Could you try removing the Dropbox account from the iOS Files app in the Locations area, reboot your device, and then re-enable the Dropbox account?

    Keep me updated with any progress!

  • Sana5's avatar
    Sana5
    Helpful | Level 5
    1 month ago

    HiJay​, thank you for your help. I’ve already tried these and I still had the problem.

    The good news is that the problem is now fixed (Dropbox is synced in files app and preview app)! 

    The bad news is I do not know how it happened😅 I took the extreme resort of resetting the iPad. I chose not to transfer from my old iPad and decided to use iCloud backup. That freed up some of the system data as well. 
    Even after restarting it, it continued to error but in a 30 mins or so, while I was doing something else it was fixing itself.

    So I can only assume some trash data from the old iPad was doing something wrong… anyways, now I know resetting the devices does work sometimes.

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

    Thanks for the update and for letting us know that you were able to resolve the issue.

    If you need any further assistance in the future, please let me know!

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