How to speed up Dropbox uploads on iPhone

[ashley m.18]

Dropbox sync only happens when I have the Dropbox iPhone app actively open, and even then it takes about 5 minutes to upload a single photo. This is for camera roll sync.

[Abbe55]

I had the same issue with slow upload. I was using Dropbox Professsional on my MacBook Pro running High Sierra and uploading my 500GB of data was at least 19-days long. Like many users, the harddisk storage was limited and I needed a solution to store my documents so I could access it anywhere (I had been using external harddisk but I wanted to try out a cloud solution). So I consulted the helpdesk who were nice, helpful and all. I also tried various recommendations from the web forum but nothing worked for me. So I tried something I should have done a long time ago- upgrade my router.

Where I live, Internet speed was high and I subscribed to a high bandwidth package. Realising that the download and especially upload speed with Dropbox were significantly lower than the reported speeds using some Internet Speedtest app, I only had one thing to do. I replaced my existing router with Asus rt-ac68u. And glory! Not only did my upload complete is less than 4 hours (which is still long), my Internet speed on all my devices and Internet TV improved significantly!

In summary, you may want to consult your local Internet Service Provider and community of users to design your own strategy. Note that thes service providers, user community and Dropbox staff will tell you different things and rightfully so. You will have to discern what may work for you better. I'm just happy that my local forum provided a simple advice that did it for me. 

I didn't provide all the necessary data and information to rule out other intervening possibilities. I just wanted to get straight to point and that is to check your Internet access, especially your router capability. Hope this helps!

[Masterric]

This is ridiculous. I sit here on my iPhone and I watch the uploads of my video stop and start. Why does it trickle? Can you turn this off? This is not an ISP or settings issue. WTF. This has been going on forever. Why cant you fix this **bleep** already. Why the **bleep** should I keep paying for this **bleep**? I work in IT for 20 years. This is a Dropbox and IOS issue. Why are you not addressing this? Instead you are deflecting the problem to ISPs or wrong settings. We are not all stupid in computer land. Stop insulting our intelligence and fix the **bleep**ing issue already. Im this close to removing all my files and canceling my service. Im sick of this already.

[Shelley S.5]

No help at all... still tortuously slow.  and videos.... not a chance!

[Jane]

Hey Shelley S.5, there may be some variables that could affect your iPhone uploads, let’s have a look below! 

May I ask if you’re uploading your files manually (i.e. using the “+” button) on your iPhone or using our Camera Uploads feature? Also, as AntonioC mentioned in the first page of this thread, syncing can be slower if you have “iCloud Photo Library” enabled on your device, and have enabled “Optimize iPhone Storage” in your iCloud Photo settings. Is that the case this time? 

Also, have you turned on “Background Uploading” [Note: It should be under your Account tab 👤(bottom-right corner of the screen)> Camera Uploads> Background Uploading> Choose the Always Allow option so that the feature can work as intended.]

Let me know of these details here & I’ll do my best to check back with you. Thanks! 

[jinsworld]

Dropbox, please fix this issue. This slow upload along with failure to upload overnight with auto-lock turned off and not properly uploading photos in the background on iOS is really going to push me to use Google Drive instead.

[This thread is now closed by moderation due to inactivity. If you have a similar or new question, you could post it in the Ask a Question section here. Jane]