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"This file does not have an app associated with it for performing this action."
Dropbox Desktop App installs fine on my Win 11 PC. Unfortunately, I'm unable to sign in to it. The error message reads:
"This file does not have an app associated with it for performing this action. Please install an app or, if one is already installed, create an association in the Default Apps Settings page"
and the 'link' appears to point to something that includes
dropbox-client://o-auth2/?code=........
I've tried several 'clean installs' as detailed on the Dropbox site, but without success. Dunno if I'm doing something wrong, or need to install/modify an app.
Any advice much appreciated...;-)
This error usually means Windows isn’t handling the dropbox-client:// URL protocol correctly, so the OAuth sign-in can’t complete. It’s a known issue on some Windows 11 setups after clean installs or updates. A common fix is to fully uninstall Dropbox, reboot, then reinstall using the offline installer as administrator, which often re-registers the protocol properly. Also check Settings → Apps → Default apps → Choose defaults by link type and confirm the dropbox-client protocol is associated with Dropbox. If it still fails, temporarily disabling browser extensions or trying a different default browser for the sign-in step can also help.
8 Replies
- Mark
Super User II
Have you done an Advanced Reinstall?
Thanks for the swift response - much appreciated
Yes, I used the term 'clean' but I should have said 'Advanced' Reinstall including checking Registry etc
Did this three times but no joy so far. I'd have to sy that the error message is less than helpful and I'm afraid I have no idea what 'app' it might be referring to 🙄
- Nancy
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hi from me too, john b.230! Do you mind sharing a screenshot of the error message you’re getting and of the next thing you see after clicking on the link?
If you haven’t already, you can also attempt to install the desktop app via our offline installer instead. Does that seem to help?
Hi, I have tried the offline installed before but it had the same result .. ie no joy. I've just tried it again (64-bit) but still the same error message. I've attched a screenshot.
This all stems from a PC failure which meant that I had to use a clone of the system drive to get back to a working PC. As far as I can tell, everything else seems to be just fine ... apart from DB Desktop. Whether that has any relevance at all to the issue, I really don't know but thought I'd mention it.
- Nancy
Thanks for giving that a go. I also checked this with our team in the meantime, and there’s a chance that the issue is related to your Windows OS and not Dropbox (based on the error message that you’re receiving).
So, I’d suggest reaching out to Microsoft support as the next step (and also make sure that there aren’t any pending system updates on your computer).
This error usually means Windows isn’t handling the dropbox-client:// URL protocol correctly, so the OAuth sign-in can’t complete. It’s a known issue on some Windows 11 setups after clean installs or updates. A common fix is to fully uninstall Dropbox, reboot, then reinstall using the offline installer as administrator, which often re-registers the protocol properly. Also check Settings → Apps → Default apps → Choose defaults by link type and confirm the dropbox-client protocol is associated with Dropbox. If it still fails, temporarily disabling browser extensions or trying a different default browser for the sign-in step can also help.
Well I'm delighted to report success. Not quite sure how and I have no idea why but we're back up and running now.
I think it was a nudge from etan_brok who suggested trying a different browser. My default is Firefox but I keep a plain copy of Chrome as well. After a reboot, DB asks for a sign-in. I just copied the link and pasted it into Chrome. Much to my surprise, the process went through with no errors and the desktop client is fine.
So thanks very much one and all for your help and we now have a seriously happy bunny 😊
- Megan
Hi john b.230!
Happy to see that your issue is now resolved!
If you need anything else, just give us a shout! 😊
