Folders made available offline were not downloaded

Hi,

This weekend I thought I'd test the Dropbox Available Offline feature by storing travel documents there. On my PC I created a new folder and populated it with some PDFs. On the Dropbox app on my Pixel (Android) phone I enabled Available Online for the folder and viewed the PDFs in it with no problem. The next day while in a theater waiting for a show to start I verified that I had no phone connectivity and was not connected to any WiFi. When I tried to view the folder containing the new folder the new folder was marked with an exclamation point in a yellow circle. When I entered the folder all the individual PDFs were similarly marked and could not be viewed. That persisted for some time. Later when I was outside and had phone coverage but not WiFi connectivity I checked the folder again again and saw that the yellow exclamation points were slowing changing to green phone icons, and that PDFs with the green icon could be viewed.

Luckily I had paper documents. If I hadn't carried backups I could have been in trouble.

I thought that folders marked as Available Online could be accessed anytime with no connectivity, but Dropbox doesn't do that. Is my understanding correct? Is phone connectivity required? If not is it common for this feature to be unreliable or malfunction? Can this feature be relied on or should I choose a different mechanism?

Thanks,

Mike

Mobile

Setting up the apps

Jane
8 years ago
Hey MikeA01730, thanks for your cooperation, I’m just updating the thread here with the latest update from our team specialists, so as to have it for future reference.

When Offlining files, you may keep in mind that a yellow icon will appear next to them if they’ve been updated in the meantime, as Norah mentioned above. Once you click on this, it will then update the file to the most recent version and make the latest version available offline. In the event that the device isn’t connected to wifi/cellular data, you’ll need to wait until you have internet connectivity to download and view these files.

I would suggest making sure that your offline files are up to date when you plan on using the offline files feature.

Once again, thanks again for checking in with us on the Dropbox Forum & don’t hesitate to post away at any time in case you have further questions or you’d like to share your thoughts in the future. Take care!

26 Replies

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Norah
Dropbox Staff
8 years ago

Hi MikeA01730, welcome to Dropbox Community!

When you see a yellow exclamation point icon it means that there is a newer version of your folder available. Tapping the refresh icon on iOS or Update all button on Android will sync these changes. This may happen sometimes when a newer version of your folder is available trying to sync. It could also mean that your folder might not have been fully downloaded.

Let me know if this helps!
MikeA01730
Explorer | Level 4
8 years ago
Noah,

I'm still confused. First, there's only been one version of any of these documents. I viewed several but not all of the documents at home. Also I was home for over 24 hours before leaving on the trip using my phone and connected to a good WiFi connection. When I left I'm sure that some of the documents were available and I'm sure that there was adequate bandwidth and time to have downloaded all of them. When I viewed some of the documents later when traveling the only reasonable explanation I can think of is that I viewed a different document than what I viewed at home and that Dropbox hadn't been trying to download the documents that I had not previously viewed.

If that thinking is correct then it appears that to ensure that this feature works reliably I need to view each document after I mark it as Available Offline. You mention tapping the Update All button on Android, which I assume would do the same thing.

I just Googled and found a description of the feature here: https://help.dropbox.com/sync/access-files-offline . Under the Android section is says:

"Specifically, making a file available offline:

...

   Saves the file to your Android device for offline viewing within Dropbox

    Attempts to keep the file as up-to-date as possible and gives you the option to update the file manually

    Ensures that any changes you make to the file while offline will be synced to your Dropbox account once you have a connection again"

So to me it seems like Dropbox isn't doing these things. Do agree that the documentation and behavior don't agree? If so maybe I'll send Dropbox a problem report, unless you tell me that I'm doing that right now.

Thanks,

Mike
Minato
Dropbox Staff
8 years ago
Hey MikeA01730,

This issue seem that requires some additional investigation.

Can you create a ticket so we can investigate and ask for information best not shared in a public enviroment?

After you create the ticket, let me know of the ticket number.

Thank you in advance!
MikeA01730
Explorer | Level 4
8 years ago
Minato,

I followed your link, clicked email, and followed the prompts to create a ticket. When I clicked on OK (or Send, or whatever) it paused a while and then returned me to the main screen with no message, no ticket number, no nothing. Also I received no email. Did I sent the ticket or do I need to do this again?

Mike
Minato
Dropbox Staff
8 years ago
Hey MikeA01730,

I have located the ticket you created and we shall investigate the issue, as soon as possible!

The reply will come the email address of your account.

Let me know how it goes!
Jane
Dropbox Staff
8 years ago
Hey MikeA01730, thanks for your cooperation, I’m just updating the thread here with the latest update from our team specialists, so as to have it for future reference.

When Offlining files, you may keep in mind that a yellow icon will appear next to them if they’ve been updated in the meantime, as Norah mentioned above. Once you click on this, it will then update the file to the most recent version and make the latest version available offline. In the event that the device isn’t connected to wifi/cellular data, you’ll need to wait until you have internet connectivity to download and view these files.

I would suggest making sure that your offline files are up to date when you plan on using the offline files feature.

Once again, thanks again for checking in with us on the Dropbox Forum & don’t hesitate to post away at any time in case you have further questions or you’d like to share your thoughts in the future. Take care!
vagelish
New member | Level 2
8 years ago
It also happened to me. I downloaded a file and marked as offline. It worked offline for a few days but then later it was not working offline anymore and I had to re-download it.
Jane
Dropbox Staff
8 years ago
Hey there (vagelish), just in order to make sure I’m following-up with you correctly, can you please clarify if you’re facing the same behavior as the one described by the OP (i.e. was your file marked with an exclamation point in a yellow circle) by any chance? Have you had a chance to see whether the pointers we’ve posted above could be relevant?

Keep me updated on the specifics in regards to your initial inquiry at your earliest convenience & I’ll do my best to check back with you. Until we talk again, I’m wishing you a fruitful & creative week ahead!
Terry P.
Collaborator | Level 10
7 years ago
I posted about 5 hours ago but it has not appeared in the thread, so I’ll try again.
I have the essentially the same problem, with two distinct questions.
Q1: Many of the hundreds of offline folders and subfolders are now displaying yellow icons, despite having changed very few. Why?
Q2: When I refresh a folder, I then have to refresh its subfolders and so on if there are lower levels. Is the refresh not recursive? It’s almost useless if not.
Terry, East Grinstead, UK
Jane
Dropbox Staff
7 years ago
Hey Terry (Terry P.), as I can see that you’ve already submitted a ticket via our Official Support channel & you're discussing that with our team specialist, I’ve made sure to include a copy of your comments on that email chain. Since they've got more advanced tools at their disposal, they could best address your concerns on that discussion.

I hope that get this squared away soon & please do let me know here in case you need further assistance in any way & I’ll check back with you asap. Thanks!