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+--- Thread: Dropbox always asks for login when MS tries to sync and does not sync libraries (/thread-13591.html)
Dropbox always asks for login when MS tries to sync and does not sync libraries - Miguel G - 07-21-2025
This is a new problem for me, and I haven't figured out what the motive is yet.
I have MS 3.9.17 running on one machine with Windows 11 and on another machine with Android 14, and have always synced them using cloud sync through Dropbox. I am a long-time user of Dropbox, which I use on a daily basis for professional and personal purposes. I do most of my editing in the MS running on Windows, but use the MS running on Android to read scores while playing. And so far (to date) I have never had a problem syncing MS in both machines.
Today, however, the following is happening:
- On the Windows machine, syncing MS with the Dropbox folder runs without any problems.
- However, on the Android device, syncing MS with the Dropbox folder does not work. Here are the steps I am taking to try to do this sync:
- Select “Sync Library” from the three-dot menu.
- Select “Synchronize to a cloud folder” from the “Choose Type of Synchronization” menu .
- Press the “Start” button (note that the folder is already, and correctly, selected from previous (and successful) syncs).
- A browser opens a page at an address that starts with “dropbox.com/1/ connect…”. On this page there is a box with the text “MobileSheetsPro would like access to the files and folders in your Dropbox.” And with two buttons, one for “Cancel” and another for “Allow”.
- I press the “Allow” button and the screen returns to the “Folder Sync Activity” page of MS. But the synchronization does not start, and nothing happens. I can leave this screen by selecting “Close” in the top right corner, which takes me to the MS main screen.
Does anyone know what might be happening here?
Thank you.
RE: Dropbox always asks for login when MS tries to sync and does not sync libraries - Swiss1000 - 07-21-2025
99% password wrong...
Did you tryed Android client directly ? (Opening files)
RE: Dropbox always asks for login when MS tries to sync and does not sync libraries - Zubersoft - 07-21-2025
Can you please install the Dropbox app on that Android device, log in with your account, then try the sync again? MobileSheets will then use the Dropbox app for authentication instead of a browser which usually works much more seamlessly. I just want to know if this helps.
Mike
RE: Dropbox always asks for login when MS tries to sync and does not sync libraries - Miguel G - 07-21-2025
Thanks, Swiss1000, for your help.
I seem to have missed a step in my description: my Dropbox credentials (including two-step validation) were requested before the "Allow" and "Cancel" buttons were displayed, so I guess I didn't fail my login.
Also, I don't have the Dropbox client installed on the Android device because I don't need it, so I couldn't try to open files in a Dropbox shared folder.
But what really puzzles me is that this (syncing libraries via the Dropbox cloud) worked fine until recently.
Yes, Mike, I will try that as soon as I can. But, as I mentioned to Swiss1000, what really puzzles me is that this (syncing libraries via the Dropbox cloud) worked fine until recently. And I never had the Dropbox app installed on the Android device.
Yes, Mike, I will try that as soon as I can. And thanks for you suggestion. But, as I mentioned to Swiss1000, what really puzzles me is that this (syncing libraries via the Dropbox cloud) worked fine until recently. And I never had the Dropbox app installed on the Android device.
RE: Dropbox always asks for login when MS tries to sync and does not sync libraries - Miguel G - 07-22-2025
Okay. So I installed the Dropbox app, configured it on the Android device, made sure I could access my Dropbox files, and tried to sync the MS libraries again. And the same thing happened: the sync just wouldn’t start. So it seems that it is not app related.
In desperation (and by some good inspiration), I tapped the folder icon on the “Folder Sync Activity” screen and selected the exact same folder as it was already selected. And I mean the exact same folder (which has never moved anywhere, is exactly the same as it was when I originally installed MS, both on the Android machine and on the Windows 11 machine). And guess what: it restarted to work! So yes, now I can (once again) sync libraries as I used to do until very recently.
This is one (more) of those experiences (in life) where no one learns anything, because despite the time lost, I still have no idea what caused the problem and what actually solved it. Anyway, this post might help someone in the future, that’s why I wrote it (and also to give feedback to Mike and Swiss1000, of course).
Best regards.
RE: Dropbox always asks for login when MS tries to sync and does not sync libraries - Zubersoft - 07-22-2025
If I had to guess, there was some cached information that was updated by you reselecting the folder. Perhaps the oauth2 token had expired and Dropbox was requiring another one, but just starting the sync wasn't sufficient for this. I'll have to investigate that to see if I can better detect that scenario. The first thing the code does when you start a sync to a cloud folder is go through the cloud service initialization which does a quick API call to make sure the token is valid. The question is why that didn't trigger reauthentication for you if the token was expired. If it's not a token issue, then I have no idea why reselecting the folder would have had an impact unless the original saved folder path was incorrect.
Mike