Mobile

Access your files from anywhere

Once the app is installed, you can use your phone or tablet as another window into your Dropbox account.

This is useful when you need to:

• Check a detail in a document while you are away from your desk.

• Show a design or photo to someone in person.

• Grab a link to a file and send it in a message.

In the Dropbox mobile app:

• Home shows recent items, starred content, and suggestions based on your activity.

• Files lets you browse your folder structure, just like on dropbox.com.

• Photos helps you quickly find images and videos.

• Account gives you access to settings, offline files, camera uploads, and other app options

You can use the search bar at the top of the screen to find items by name, and on many plans, by the contents of files.

To open a file, tap its name. For many file types, Dropbox shows a preview where you can scroll, zoom, add comments, or share. You can rotate your phone to landscape to give more space to documents and presentations.

If you need to work on a file in a in another app, you can open it from Dropbox, edit it there, and save changes back into the same folder.

Make files available offline

When you know that you’ll be away from a reliable connection, you can mark a few key files or folders so they are always ready to open. Offline access downloads a copy of selected content to your phone or tablet, while the original stays in Dropbox.

To make a file available offline in the Dropbox mobile app:

1. Open the Dropbox app on your phone or tablet.

2. Go to Files, then find the file you want to keep handy.

3. Tap more options (the ellipsis) next to the file.

4. Tap Make available offline.

The file or folder downloads in the background and is then available even when you’re offline. You can manage offline files and folders from Account > Manage offline files in the app settings.

How to keep your offline files and folders updated

By default, offline files do not stay continuously updated if you’re only connected to mobile data. To make sure they stay in sync, you need to let Dropbox refresh them from the list of offline files, and, if you choose, allow updates over cellular data.

To update offline files when you are on Wi-Fi:

1. Open the Dropbox mobile app.

2. Go to Account at the bottom of the screen.

3. Tap Manage offline files.

4. Leave this list open while you are connected to Wi-Fi so the app can refresh your offline files and folders.

To update offline files while using mobile data:

1. Open the Dropbox app.

2. Go to Account at the bottom of the screen.

3. Tap Manage offline file.

4. If you see a yellow "!" (exclamation point) next to a file, tap it to update that file, or tap the refresh icon in the top right to update all offline files.

To let offline files update whether you are on Wi-Fi or cellular data:

1. Open the Dropbox mobile app.

2. Open your app settings:

   • On Android, tap Account at the bottom, then tap Settings.

   • On iPhone or iPad, tap Account in the bottom right, then tap Settings.

3. Turn on Use data for offline files (Android) or Use Cellular Data (iPhone or iPad).

If an offline file seems out of date, open Account > Manage offline files to confirm it’s still listed, then refresh it using Wi-Fi or the steps above.

How to check storage usage for offline files and folders

Offline copies use space on your phone as well as in your Dropbox account. This matters if you work with large folders, long videos, or many photos, and want to keep some room free on your device.

In the Dropbox mobile app, you can check storage usage and manage offline data from the Account and Settings areas:

1. Open the Dropbox app on your phone or tablet.

2. Go to Account to see overall storage usage.

3. Open Settings to manage offline files, cached data, and data usage options.

From here, you can:

• See how much device storage Dropbox is using, including space for offline files.

• Tap Clear cache to remove temporary files without changing which items are available offline.

• Choose whether offline updates use cellular data or wait for Wi-Fi.

Checking this occasionally helps you balance convenience with the storage available on your device.

Troubleshooting offline access

If a file or folder marked as available offline doesn’t open, you can usually fix it with a few quick checks.

First, confirm the item is still available offline:

1. Connect to the internet.

2. Open the Dropbox app.

3. Tap Account at the bottom, then tap Manage offline files.

4. Check that the file or folder is listed.

• If it isn’t, go back to Files, tap more options (the ellipsis), and tap Make available offline again.

If the item is listed but seems out of date:

• While you are on Wi-Fi, leave the Manage offline files screen open for a moment so the app can refresh.

• To allow updates over mobile data as well, go to Account > Settings and turn on Use data for offline files (Android) or Use Cellular Data (iPhone or iPad).

• If you see a yellow "!" (exclamation point), tap it to update that file, or use the refresh icon in the top right to update all offline files.

If the item still won’t open:

• Make sure you are signed in to the correct Dropbox account.

• In Settings, tap Clear cache, then mark the file or folder as available offline again so it can re-download.

These steps usually resolve most offline access issues without affecting the originals stored safely in your Dropbox account.

Camera uploads

Your phone is often your default camera, which means important photos and videos can easily end up on a single device. Camera uploads gives you a simple way to back them up to Dropbox automatically, so they’re safer and easy to reach from your computer and other devices.

When camera uploads is on, new photos, and, if you choose, videos from your device’s camera roll are uploaded automatically to your Dropbox account.

You can choose whether uploads use mobile data or wait for Wi-Fi. By default, they go into a folder called Camera Uploads, which you can reorganize later.

Notes about performance and limits

The first time you turn on camera uploads, the app may need more time, battery, and data to upload your existing camera roll. After that initial backup, new photos and videos upload in smaller batches, and battery and data use returns closer to normal.

Scan documents

Receipts, signed forms, and paper notes can be easy to lose. The scan feature in the Dropbox mobile app turns your phone camera into a simple document scanner, so you can save paper straight into your Dropbox account.

To scan a document into Dropbox on Android or iOS:

1. Open the Dropbox mobile app.

2. Tap the + plus icon, then tap Scan document.

3. Do one of the following:

   • Point your camera at the page you want to scan and take a picture of the document.

   • On Android, you can also choose an existing image from your device instead of taking a new photo.

4. If you want to redo the scan, tap Retake if that option appears, then capture the image again.

5. On the Edit screen, make any changes you need:

   • Crop or rotate the scan.

   • Apply a filter such as automatic, black and white, or whiteboard.

   • Tap Add page to scan additional pages into the same file.

   • Use the page controls to reorder or delete pages you do not need.

6. When you’re happy with the scan, tap Next.

7. On the save screen, adjust the settings:

   • Enter a file name.

   • Choose the folder in your Dropbox where you want to save the scan.

   • Choose a file type. Single page scans can be saved as PDF or PNG, and multi page scans are saved as PDF.

8. Tap Save.

You can also turn existing images in your Dropbox into scans. Open the image, use the more options menu, and choose Save as scan. This is useful when you took a photo of a document earlier and want to store it as a cleaner scan.

On some paid plans, scans can be searched by the text they contain, which makes it easier to find a specific receipt or letter later. This works best for clear, typed documents in supported languages.

In this module, you’ve installed the mobile app, found and previewed files on the go, kept important items available offline, and used camera uploads and scans to add new content. In the next module, you’ll explore Dropbox Paper, a collaborative workspace for notes, plans, and projects that sits alongside your files.