How to Use Dropbox on Your IPhone

Interested in using the cloud-saving service Dropbox on your iPhone? Get started by following these steps!

(Note: we primarily used iOS version 6 and the latest Dropbox update [as of March 7, 2013] when building these steps, so you may experience this process differently if you are using another version of iOS on your iPhone or a different version of the Dropbox app)

1) Open the App store application from your iPhone's home-screen.

2) In the search bar, type “Dropbox”

1) Select the Dropbox that looks like the app in the image above.

2) Click “Install” on the App.

Locate the new Dropbox app after it finishes downloading and installing on your home screen, 

Tap the Dropbox app icon once. The app will open to a blue Dropbox screen.

Click the “start” button on the top right corner to begin setting up Dropbox
on your phone

If you already have a Dropbox account click “I’m already a Dropbox User”. 

If you have not created an account, click “I’m new to Dropbox.”

(Note: These instructions are based on the idea that you already have a Dropbox account. If you do not, you can either click on the "I'm New to Dropbox" option, or you can see our Mac/Windows Dropbox instructions for guidance on how to sign up through a web browser.)

Enter in your Dropbox account informaiton—the email and password tied to your account—in the boxes provided.

Click "Sign In to Dropbox.”

1) If you are interested in having your iPhone's photos automatically uploaded and saved to Dropbox, then click “Enable” on the top right corner. 

2) A box will then pop-up saying “Dropbox would like to Access Your Photos”. Click “Ok.”

Your photos will begin to upload to Dropbox.

Locate the tool bar on the bottom of the app screen. Inside the tool bar, there are four icons to choose from that perform different functions:

     A) the first one from the left is a shortcut to your dropbox folder

     B) the next is a shortcut to the photo-uploading service

     C) the third takes you to your designated favorite (starred) files

     D) the final icon on the right is a portal to the dropbox settings.

Use them to navigate between different sections of the app. 

1) To upload or create a new file in your Dropbox folder, first tap the first toolbar icon that takes you to your Dropbox folder.

2) Tap the "+" sign on the top right corner of the screen

3) Tap "Upload Here".

4) Now simply select the file you wish to upload and Dropbox will upload it for you. 

1) To create a new folder, first tap the Dropbox folder toolbar icon again.
2) Again tap the "+" button. 
3) Tap "Create Folder"
4) Enter your new folder's name in the space provided
5) Then press "Create" at the top right.

To add items into your new folder: tap your new folder, click the "+" sign, and once again choose "Upload Here".

If at any time you want to un-link your iPhone from your Dropbox account, simply follow these steps:

1) Tap the settings icon in the tool bar. 

2) At the bottom of the settings screen, tap the red banner stating "Unlink iPhone from Dropbox".


(Note: by doing this your Dropbox folder will become inaccessible to you through your iPhone. Only conduct this step if you wish to remove the Dropbox app's link to your account or if you wish to link a different Dropbox account to your iPhone Dropbox app). 

Congratulations, you now have sufficient knowledge to use Dropbox on your iPhone!