mp4 files are not downloaded by the Dropbox app

[40OIL]

My mp4 files are not downloaded by the Dropbox App. (All other file types load normally.)

The download icon is just spinning, it can spin for several days, restarting the application and the computer does not help.
But if you download the same mp4 file through your Dropbox account with a browser and put it in the folder where it should be downloaded, then the application agrees that the synchronization is complete and the download icon disappears.
This behavior began sometime in December 2020.

Win7 x64, Dropbox App 112.4.321.

Disk space and Dropbox space are sufficient.

[Walter]

Hey @40OIL; thanks for posting on our Community and sorry to hear about your syncing issue. 

Can you please update your app's version to the latest stable one and let us know if syncing gets stuck again?

While at it, since it's been a while since you first noticed this, you may want to try fixing your hardlinks and permissions as outlined here. 

Let us know of any updates!

[40OIL]

Did not help. I have now updated the program to 113.4.507 (although it was always updated itself before), corrected the permissions and links - no effect.

[40OIL]

on this version of the application - forcibly placing a file in a folder or deleting it from Dropbox - does not stop syncing; you have to interrupt it with your hands and then resume it.

[Jay]

Hi @40OIL, could you try renaming the file to see if this helps, just in case this could be preventing the sync?

There is a possibility that a proxy, VPN, firewall, security software, or even ISP/router issues that could be restricting traffic to the following Dropbox domains.

Could you check those to see if they are causing this?

[40OIL]

Yes, synchronization depends on the content of the file. I renamed the mp4 file to 22.jpg, and the jpg file to 11.mp4 - the first of them, named 22.jpg and which contains mp4 video, also refused to download.

avi and flv files are downloaded normally ...

Should I somehow check the availability of all your domains, or will you, based on this information, tell you which one I don't have access to?

I am using the HOSTS file from winhelp2002.mvps.org and dnscrypt - can they interfere with the download? Although I have been using both for three years now, and everything was fine ...

But not all mp4 files refuse to sync. here are two screenshots of file properties. the one where the bitrate is 2088 kbps, downloaded normally. the one where the bitrate is 14291 kbps is not downloaded.

[40OIL]

[Removed as per Community Guidelines] is successfully downloaded

[Removed as per Community Guidelines] is not downloaded

[Jay]

The type of mp4 file wouldn't make a difference when trying to sync.

However, a custom HOSTS file could prevent connections to the Dropbox site. Could you try making a copy of the HOSTS file, save it elsewhere, and then delete the original copy.

This will create a blank HOSTS file, so it will help to test if it works. Afterwards you can copy your version of the HOSTS file back.

[40OIL]

clearing the HOSTS file to one line "127.0.0.1 localhost" and rebooting didn't help.
tell me how best to check the availability of your domains? which domains respond to which validation tool?

[40OIL]

after all, whether or not an mp4 file is downloaded to a PC via the Dropbox App depends on its content, no matter how you disagree with it.
now I converted the file that was not downloaded through FormatFactory to avi and then back to mp4 - the file started downloading normally.

it is the mp4 files created with the Xiaomi camera that are not downloaded - namely, the Redmi 4 Pro and Redmi Note 8 Pro, which we have in our family.

here is the information about the files obtained via ffmpeg-2021-01-20-git:

1) the file that downloaded normally

==================

Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from 'VID-20210119-WA0003.mp4':
Metadata:
major_brand : isom
minor_version : 512
compatible_brands: isomiso2avc1mp41
encoder : Lavf56.1.100
Duration: 00:00:27.93, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 973 kb/s
Stream #0:0(und): Audio: aac (LC) (mp4a / 0x6134706D), 44100 Hz, stereo, fltp, 128 kb/s (default)
Metadata:
handler_name : SoundHandler
vendor_id : [0][0][0][0]
Stream #0:1(eng): Video: h264 (Baseline) (avc1 / 0x31637661), yuv420p, 560x1024, 845 kb/s, 25.11 fps, 1000k tbr, 1000k tbn, 2000k tbc (default)
Metadata:
handler_name : VideoHandler
vendor_id : [0][0][0][0]

==================

2) a file that was not downloaded

==================

Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from 'VID_20190216_133748.mp4':
Metadata:
major_brand : mp42
minor_version : 0
compatible_brands: isommp42
creation_time : 2019-02-16T10:37:50.000000Z
location : +58.4861+049.9485/
location-eng : +58.4861+049.9485/
com.android.version: 6.0.1
Duration: 00:00:01.71, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 15438 kb/s
Stream #0:0(eng): Video: h264 (Baseline) (avc1 / 0x31637661), yuv420p, 1280x720, 13940 kb/s, SAR 1:1 DAR 16:9, 29.77 fps, 29.75 tbr, 90k tbn, 180k tbc (default)
Metadata:
rotate : 90
creation_time : 2019-02-16T10:37:50.000000Z
handler_name : VideoHandle
vendor_id : [0][0][0][0]
Side data:
displaymatrix: rotation of -90.00 degrees
Stream #0:1(eng): Audio: aac (LC) (mp4a / 0x6134706D), 48000 Hz, stereo, fltp, 96 kb/s (default)
Metadata:
creation_time : 2019-02-16T10:37:50.000000Z
handler_name : SoundHandle
vendor_id : [0][0][0][0]
==================

3) file (2) after converting to avi and back to mp4, downloading normally

==================

Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from 'VID_20190216_133748-1.mp4':
Metadata:
major_brand : isom
minor_version : 512
compatible_brands: isomiso2avc1mp41
encoder : Lavf58.29.100
Duration: 00:00:01.77, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 2083 kb/s
Stream #0:0(und): Video: h264 (High) (avc1 / 0x31637661), yuv420p, 608x1080[SAR 2295:2299 DAR 68:121], 2031 kb/s, 29.77 fps, 29.77 tbr, 14883 tbn, 59.53 tbc (default)
Metadata:
handler_name : VideoHandler
vendor_id : [0][0][0][0]
Stream #0:1(und): Audio: aac (LC) (mp4a / 0x6134706D), 44100 Hz, stereo, fltp, 145 kb/s (default)
Metadata:
handler_name : SoundHandler
vendor_id : [0][0][0][0]
==================