Locked for editing files and saves as copy. Why?

[Samsung9]

I have bought a new android phone and can not edit my files without it being "Conflict" and saved as a copy.
When I open the file for editing, it says that it is read-only.
On my computer and tablet it works without problems but not on my new phone. I see that the phone has a newer update installed so maybe it is due to that?
Its only me who have access to the files, I am the administrator and I have never locked any file.
How do I solve the problem?

[Daphne]

Hi there @Samsung9, thanks for reaching out to us here!

If a conflicted copy of a file is being saved, it could be down to a few reasons. Please have a look at the info here to see if that helps narrow down the cause.

Also, are you seeing that the file is "read only" once you open it within the app you would use to edit it on the new phone?

Can you confirm for me what app you're trying to open the file in?

Let me know and we can go from there!

[Samsung9]

I apologize if my English is bad but I hope it can be understood. I use Google Translate 🙂

It is Excel Documents (xlsx).
It is fine to open and read, but when I have to edit, the problem arises.
The document opens in Office on the phone.
When I have edited the document and want to close it, it wants to save and asks if I want to save in OneDrive Private, Dropbox, My Device, Add a location or browse. If I then select Dropbox, I see all my files and I get to put a name on the file to be saved. If I save, it says that the file already exists (of course) and asks if I want to replace it.
If I replace it, it will be a copy or I may put a new name.
Previously on my old phone, and still on the computer and tablet, I can close the dokument and the change is saved automatically without it being saved as a new document.

If I open the document on my computer, I can edit and save as usual, even if the document is also open on the phone. Then a text appears on the phone stating that the document has been changed and that I can update.
As it should be.
The same document can be open on the computer and the tablet at the same time and can be changed without any problems. It is only from the phone editing gives problems.

The text that previously came up that it was just read-only has disappeared by itself and will not come lower when I open a document to edit it.

As I wrote earlier, I am the only user and administrator.

When I compare the settings on my phone and tablet, everything looks the same, except that Dropbox app version on the tablet is 214.2.6 and on the phone 220.2.4 (on the computer it is v114.4.426)

[Jay]

Hi @Samsung9, it sounds like you're trying to open the file directly from Excel, instead of via the Dropbox mobile app.

Could you try opening it via the Dropbox mobile app? This will give you the option to open it in Excel, and then any edits you make should automatically save to your Dropbox account.

This autosave setting should be enabled in the File menu in the Excel app.

[Samsung9]

Hi Jay.
I open the files in the same way as on my tablet, and I did the same in my old phone.
I tap on the Dropbox mobile app, get my files and double tap on the one I want to open. When I want to edit the file I tap on the screen and then get a pen symbol at the bottom of the document. Tap the pen to open document in edit mode on Office / Excel.
On the computer, I can either open file through Dropbox or Open File in Excel without any problems.

[Samsung9]

It works!!! 🙂
I deleted Dropbox and reinstalled it on the phone and now it seems to work.
Now it asked if I wanted to install Excel on the phone to use it for editing.
I downloaded it and chose it to be a priority for Dropbox.
But the question now is why it was not as easy to use Office that was already installed on the phone. It is the same program (also opens in Excel)? Maybe it's completely new with Office (?) on new Android? It's a Samsung Galaxy 21 Ultra so it's a brand new phone on the market. Anyway, I'm glad it works now. I was close to abandoning Dropbox when I was going crazy 🙂

[Jay]

I'm glad to hear it's working now, @Samsung9. 

Sometimes, on new devices, the pre-installed versions of apps might not be fully updated, so updating and re-installing them would have helped!

If you need any further assistance, please let me know. Enjoy your weekend!