iOS 11 Files App iPad - waiting to download

[Bobmnh]

Using the Files App on iOS 11 - on my 11.2 iPhone 7 Plus everything works perfectly. From the Files App I see thumbnail representation of Dropbox files, I tap the file (e.g. a PDF) and it downloads and opens. On my 9.7 iPad Pro also running 11.2 - same Dropbox account - same files - no thumbnails, and every file tap results in “Waiting to download” and a spinning circle forever. 

Cleared cache, no Dropbox pin, turned off 2FA, deleted and reinstalled both Dropbox and Files App and same result. Contacted Dropbox Support and got boilerplate “use our app instead of Apple’s” mindless response. Apple support says it is a Dropbox issue. I just want it to work like it does on the phone. 

Any suggestions?

[Peter S.126]

This does not only affect Files.app, but any app that integrates with the iOS 11 UIDocumentBrowserViewController.

Our app, PDF Viewer, recently switched to this new Files integration and we're seeing lots of reports of issues with the Dropbox integration.

We currently suggest to our users to use file copies in local storage to not come into a situation where data is lost.

Happy to provide more information and feedback if this will help.

To be fair, Apple's UIDocumentBrowserViewController has many bugs as well, so it's unclear who's responsible for these issues. Notably things work much more reliable via iCloud Drive.

(There are also some bugs related to file presenter update notifications being sent incorrectly from the Dropbox extension, however we were able to work around these. We've reported them separately via email.)

[Rvcssty]

Tried this, still not working.

[Theodore S.1]

Just wanted to commend y'all for embracing the Files UI even though it surely involves getting complaints about bugs that you have no control over. I hope more apps adopt your "all in" approach!

[_mnsalz91_]

Just chiming in, I’m glad to hear that dropbox is working on solving the issue but I wanted to give another instance of the bug for your trouble shooting. I first ran into this issue only a few days ago when the dropbox app automatically updated to 78.2.2. I upgraded my iPad Pro 9.7 to 11.2 after the issue to see if the error was with Apple’s Files app and it did not help. I am unable open PDF stored on dropbox in other apps and the editable files such as Numbers files won’t open in the files app, numbers app or on dropbox. 

[Jay]

We’d recommend for any users who are still experiencing issues to write in to us so we can investigate this further, as it appears that only certain users are getting this error.

https://www.dropbox.com/support/email/dropbox_app/submit

Thanks in advance!

[Peter S.126]

Most people do not realize or understand that the file capabilities and errors are coming from the Dropbox app directly, and not the app they are working for - we get a lot of blame on PDF Viewer support, I feel people will not care enough to then ping yet another vendor and see us just as dismissing blame.

[Alelascu]

I've had that problem and what it worked for me was to wait a long time to charge the picture or the video until the circle disappear, then all of the documents should work. Also use a great connection. 

Good luck

[Theodore S.1]

I wanted to follow up on this to say that, in my experience, this issue is exclusive to Dropbox and the UIDocumentBrowserViewController. Google Drive, for example, does not seem to have this issue.

[CC_JF]

Hey folks! I wanted to give a progress update on this here. 

First and foremost thank you all for your patience while we continue to debug the issue. We have identified a fix and it should be out to everyone very soon.

For those who are experiencing this issue in the meantime, the only workaround is to restart the device. We find that this bug most commonly occurs when upgrading iOS to 11.2.x from 11.1 or 11.0, or in very rare situations when upgrading from release to release. 

Once again, I personally apologize for the time it's taken to resolve this as it's been pretty tough to pin down and reproduce. I'll make sure to bump this thread again when it's on the store!

[Architetto D.]

Thank you!
Next, please, try to add iOS Files Tag feature...