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Forum Discussion
I can't open my Excel files via the mobile app and 2FA keeps saying the code couldn't be sent.
Dropbox has been working fine on my phone (Samsung S23) but today when I tried to open an excel spreadsheet it asked me to sign in to link my Dropbox to Microsoft. I followed the steps & ticked don't ask again but Dropbox a) didn't open the file & b) when I tried again the same thing happened again.
I went > Settings > Dropbox > force stop > clear cache > clear data
When I restarted Dropbox & tried to sign in I got a message something like Unable to send 2 factor authentication?
I uninstalled Dropbox, power cycled my phone, reinstalled Dropbox & now I get the message
Sign in failed
Unknown error, please contact Dropbox customer support
I have a basic account. I signed in via my Desktop PC so I know my login & password are correct. I check linked devices & it was showing Desktop PC, Laptop PC & my phone twice???
I unlinked both instances of my phone, uninstalled Dropbox on my phone, power cycled my phone, reinstalled Dropbox & I still get the message
Sign in failed
Unknown error, please contact Dropbox customer support
Checked my account - still only two devices showing linked so tried installing on my Samsung table - same message :(
Please help
13 Replies
Phone Galaxy S23 android 15 Dropbox v 424.2.2
Tablet Galaxy S6 android 12 Dropbox v424.2.2
Bizarrely, when I opened Dropbox this morning & tried to sign in it worked but it didn't ask me for 2FA?
However when I try to open an excel spreadsheet I get asked to sign in to link Microsoft & I get a message that says 2FA text message couldn't be sent
Oh, & although my account now says three devices, my phone is listed twice again???
- Hannah
Dropbox Community Moderator
Thanks for the additional info and screenshots, Gidders.
I'm glad to see that you were able to sign in to the Dropbox app. Do you actually have 2FA enabled for your account?
If you try to login to your account online from a browser that's not already signed in, are you asked to provide your 2FA code?
Also, after you get asked to sign in to link your Microsoft account, are you able to open your Excel file and edit it as normal?
Yes 2FA is on
Just logged out from Chrome on my desktop & now can log back in again. I get the same 2FA text message couldn't be sent message. Tried with Edge - same
No can't open or edit my excel file
- Nancy
Hi from me to, Gidders! I’m curious if you’re only having this issue when opening Microsoft Excel files via your Dropbox mobile app; have you tried with Microsoft Word files, too?
As for the issue you’re having with 2FA, can you try to disable the feature, re-enable it, and let me know if the same error appears when trying to log in to Dropbox from a different browser?
I don't have an issue with Word.
I've disabled 2FA, opened an Excel file, signed in to link Excel & then I can open Excel files
When I re-enabled 2FA I still get the the same 2FA text message couldn't be sent message 😭
So I've disabled 2FA & the re-enabled it using an authenticator app which is a work around - I hope I never need to authenticate by phone / SMS
- Nancy
Thanks for testing this further! To clarify, the issue doesn’t persist when you use the authenticator app, right? It’s only when being asked for the 2FA code via SMS that you’re having this issue.
Correct
