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jj14x
Android Expert
drive = google drive (cloud storage)? If so, I'll ask the obvious - is it possible that your internet connection speed is slow? (have you tried over WiFi?)
JBentleyR
Android Enthusiast
Thanks JJ.
I thought I had saved the files to my phone. How can I tell whether that or saved to cloud?
It is connected to Wi-Fi. My router is in the same room as I was in, and the symbol on the phone was showing all the semicircles/arcs/or whatever you'd call them.
I wonder whether this could be related to the Wi-Fi (and cellular reception) buttons in 'Settings' now showing as orange instead of white. That happened some time ago, but I've never discovered why.
JBentleyR
Android Enthusiast
Yes, I read that earlier (after asking a separate question on this forum), but I still don't understand what it means!
The slow loading problem, I think, has happened since the 'orange' problem.
EDIT: Another strange thing I've just noticed is that the self-same files will open instantly from Dropbox, yet take absolutely ages to open from Drive.
Even if Drive is taking a long time to download the files, surely downloading them from Dropbox, which I assume is a form of cloud storage, should be the same.
Could this be a fault with Drive? If so, would uninstalling and reinstalling sort the problem?
jj14x
Android Expert
There are several things to consider.
drive/dropbox etc will cache the data when you first access the file. But the amount of cache that is available may vary. (You can go into settings of the drive app to see how much storage is available for caching).
Even if your app's cache was full, it should just flush old stuff and cache new files, so I don't think that is the cause.
To check if the file is on your device, look for a pushpin icon just below the filename in the drive app. If the pushpin is not there, it is not on your device (note that this storage is different than the cache that you have set for the app). You can longpress on the filename and select the "keep file on device" to make it available offline.
You could try to clear the app cache (settings/apps) and see if that helps.
drive/dropbox etc will cache the data when you first access the file. But the amount of cache that is available may vary. (You can go into settings of the drive app to see how much storage is available for caching).
Even if your app's cache was full, it should just flush old stuff and cache new files, so I don't think that is the cause.
To check if the file is on your device, look for a pushpin icon just below the filename in the drive app. If the pushpin is not there, it is not on your device (note that this storage is different than the cache that you have set for the app). You can longpress on the filename and select the "keep file on device" to make it available offline.
You could try to clear the app cache (settings/apps) and see if that helps.
JBentleyR
Android Enthusiast
Thanks JJ.
I've cleared the cache and then increased the cache size to maximum (250MB), but the problems persists.
I've been trying to upload three files (the largest being 25MB, the others much smaller) for an hour now without success.
I've reluctantly decided to ditch Drive and rely on Dropbox, which works perfectly.
That's THREE built-in apps that I have disabled now:
- HP print service plugin
- YouTube
- Drive
I have nothing but praise for the excellent Google Nexus 5, but I'm afraid I can't say the same for some of their apps.
I've cleared the cache and then increased the cache size to maximum (250MB), but the problems persists.
I've been trying to upload three files (the largest being 25MB, the others much smaller) for an hour now without success.
I've reluctantly decided to ditch Drive and rely on Dropbox, which works perfectly.
That's THREE built-in apps that I have disabled now:
- HP print service plugin
- YouTube
- Drive
I have nothing but praise for the excellent Google Nexus 5, but I'm afraid I can't say the same for some of their apps.
jj14x
Android Expert
Gotta use what works, and avoid what doesn't. I agree 
It is strange to hear about this because I rely rather heavily on drive, and it works pretty good. Dropbox is awesome, but free storage on dropbox is rather limited (last I checked). I use a combination of box (50GB for life), skydrive/onedrive (28 GB for life, plus 100GB for 2 years) and of course drive. Also have a copy.com account for redundancy - just remember to encrypt everything before backing up on cloud.
I suspect it has to be something other than the drive app itself, because it works fine for me (and other folks). But can't figure out what that is... sorry.
(just out of curiosity, do you use Google plus for photo backup? And if so, that that backup work quickly?)
But as long as an alternative works, use it
It is strange to hear about this because I rely rather heavily on drive, and it works pretty good. Dropbox is awesome, but free storage on dropbox is rather limited (last I checked). I use a combination of box (50GB for life), skydrive/onedrive (28 GB for life, plus 100GB for 2 years) and of course drive. Also have a copy.com account for redundancy - just remember to encrypt everything before backing up on cloud.
I suspect it has to be something other than the drive app itself, because it works fine for me (and other folks). But can't figure out what that is... sorry.
(just out of curiosity, do you use Google plus for photo backup? And if so, that that backup work quickly?)
But as long as an alternative works, use it
JBentleyR
Android Enthusiast
I have all my photos (not that many, though) visible when I open Google+, so I assume that it does back up my photos.
Then again, I am looking at it now and it has been saying 'Updating Library' for several minutes, but then I get a brief message 'Can't refresh photos'. Also, eight of the photos have a picture of a cloud on them, whilst the other 23 don't.
I wonder whether this could be a similar problem, although all the pictures load instantly when I open the app.
As you say, it could be some other third party app that's causing all the problems, although I have only downloaded apps from Google Play. I have noticed that when I have disabled an app, a warning comes up that disabling a pre-installed app can cause others to misbehave!
So thanks for your help. Perhaps someone else may have some ideas.
Then again, I am looking at it now and it has been saying 'Updating Library' for several minutes, but then I get a brief message 'Can't refresh photos'. Also, eight of the photos have a picture of a cloud on them, whilst the other 23 don't.
I wonder whether this could be a similar problem, although all the pictures load instantly when I open the app.
As you say, it could be some other third party app that's causing all the problems, although I have only downloaded apps from Google Play. I have noticed that when I have disabled an app, a warning comes up that disabling a pre-installed app can cause others to misbehave!
So thanks for your help. Perhaps someone else may have some ideas.
Omar Days
Android Expert
At my home i have no problem, but where im staying at the moment, it has a very bad internet connection. Very slow etc, and it's usually orange when i first wake my phone. I just toggle wifi off and then back on and the wifi icon goes back to being white again how it should be.
Not the best solution i know, but give that a try before you use google drive.
Not the best solution i know, but give that a try before you use google drive.
JBentleyR
Android Enthusiast
I've been trying to figure it out, but I can't.
Another message I get in Google+ is 'Can't load data. Check your connection'.
But I have a very good connection at home.
So why?
JBentleyR
Android Enthusiast
No, that didn't work. Thanks anyway.
jj14x
Android Expert
Given that your access to Google services seems to be slow, what are the DNS settings that you are using on your phone (when on Wifi)? Is it using your gateway's router settings? If so, what are those set to?
Just for a test, when on WiFi, can you use a static IP along with google's DNS servers (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4) and see if the problem persists?
Just for a test, when on WiFi, can you use a static IP along with google's DNS servers (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4) and see if the problem persists?
JBentleyR
Android Enthusiast
I'm sorry. I'm going to sound incredibly stupid now, but what are DNS settings and where do I find them?
I'd certainly try this 'static IP', but I have no idea what to do.
I'm grateful for your help, but I'm afraid I'm going to need a lot more here!
jj14x
Android Expert
DNS is what your computer uses to determine the IP address of the server(website URL) your device is trying to connect to. It helps route your traffic to the destination, in an efficient manner.
On WiFi, by default, if you are using DHCP addressing (instead of static IPs), your device is most likely using your gateway's IP address (192.168.1.1 or something like that) as the DNS server, and your gateway (router) will be providing the DNS server addresses.
Again, unless you have modified your router's DNS server addresses, it is most likely using your ISP's DNS servers, which MAY not be the most efficient.
You can of course override the DNS settings - either on your router (so all devices connecting to that router will use that DNS), or on each device individually.
If you want to do this on your Nexus 5, you would want to first "forget" the WiFi network, and then, connect to it again. This time, when you enter the password, don't hit OK right after that. Instead, select the advanced options checkbox. That will allow you to specify a static IP (you would need to see what IP addresses are available for Static IP range on your router settings page - see what the DHCP range is - usually, it will be 192.168.1.100 - 192.168.1.256. If so, that means that 192.168.1.2 thru' 192.168.1.99 are available for use as Static IPs).
Pick any IP in the static IP range, and use that as the static IP address on your Nexus 5. The fields below that will ask for gateway address (192.168.1.1 - your router's IP address), and the two fields for the DNS servers. Try google's DNS servers that I provided above.
Then, hit OK.
It should now connect and hopefully, this will improve the problem with drive.
If you want to revert back, just forget the network, and re-add it (and don't select the advanced options).
(I believe you can avoid the forget/re-add if you long press on the network name, and select the option to modify network)
Assumptions:
1. You only have one router on your network
2. Your router uses the 192.168.1.x range of addresses (if different, use that range instead - like 192.168.0.x etc).
On WiFi, by default, if you are using DHCP addressing (instead of static IPs), your device is most likely using your gateway's IP address (192.168.1.1 or something like that) as the DNS server, and your gateway (router) will be providing the DNS server addresses.
Again, unless you have modified your router's DNS server addresses, it is most likely using your ISP's DNS servers, which MAY not be the most efficient.
You can of course override the DNS settings - either on your router (so all devices connecting to that router will use that DNS), or on each device individually.
If you want to do this on your Nexus 5, you would want to first "forget" the WiFi network, and then, connect to it again. This time, when you enter the password, don't hit OK right after that. Instead, select the advanced options checkbox. That will allow you to specify a static IP (you would need to see what IP addresses are available for Static IP range on your router settings page - see what the DHCP range is - usually, it will be 192.168.1.100 - 192.168.1.256. If so, that means that 192.168.1.2 thru' 192.168.1.99 are available for use as Static IPs).
Pick any IP in the static IP range, and use that as the static IP address on your Nexus 5. The fields below that will ask for gateway address (192.168.1.1 - your router's IP address), and the two fields for the DNS servers. Try google's DNS servers that I provided above.
Then, hit OK.
It should now connect and hopefully, this will improve the problem with drive.
If you want to revert back, just forget the network, and re-add it (and don't select the advanced options).
(I believe you can avoid the forget/re-add if you long press on the network name, and select the option to modify network)
Assumptions:
1. You only have one router on your network
2. Your router uses the 192.168.1.x range of addresses (if different, use that range instead - like 192.168.0.x etc).
JBentleyR
Android Enthusiast
Thanks JJ for your very comprehensive advice.
OK, I tried that. The original address was 192.168.0.8. I reset that to 192.168.1.128 (the only one available).
The Gateway, as you said, turned out to be 192.168.1.1 and the Google servers were 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4, again as you said.
Just looking in Photos (in Google+) I see that it says 'Updating library' with a scrolling bar, and has been doing this for several minutes. No additional messages (as above) though, so I assume it may be working. However, the eight photos which had a cloud symbol no longer have the symbol, and one now has an exclamation mark on it (although I don't know what these mean!).
Assuming this procedure has worked, I could try to re-enable the Drive and YouTube apps and see if they work properly now.
In any event, thank you. Your help is really appreciated.
OK, I tried that. The original address was 192.168.0.8. I reset that to 192.168.1.128 (the only one available).
The Gateway, as you said, turned out to be 192.168.1.1 and the Google servers were 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4, again as you said.
Just looking in Photos (in Google+) I see that it says 'Updating library' with a scrolling bar, and has been doing this for several minutes. No additional messages (as above) though, so I assume it may be working. However, the eight photos which had a cloud symbol no longer have the symbol, and one now has an exclamation mark on it (although I don't know what these mean!).
Assuming this procedure has worked, I could try to re-enable the Drive and YouTube apps and see if they work properly now.
In any event, thank you. Your help is really appreciated.
jj14x
Android Expert
Confused about a few things you wrote (maybe I misunderstood)
- I assume you meant that the original address of the N5 was 192.168.1.8 - it has to be on the same subnet as the gateway, else your nexus wouldn't have any WiFi connectivity at all.
- Were the DNS servers already set to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 on the Nexus? or on the router? Or did you set them as those now? If the DNS was already set to these addresses, I guess there is nothing to change.
- Was 192.168.1.128 really the only IP address available?? (that would mean that you have 255 internet connected devices on that network - uncommon at most homes). You should really check the DHCP range set on your router's settings page, and make sure you pick an IP address outside of that range. Else, you may end up with an IP conflict (if the router assigns 192.168.1.128 to another device - again, unlikely unless you have a lot of devices on your network)
JBentleyR
Android Enthusiast
No, I'm pretty sure it was 192.168.0.8. I wrote it down. The Gateway address of 192.168.1.1 was what appeared after I set the static IP.
Yes, 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 were already set on the phone.
192.168.1.128 was the only option I saw, although I may not have understood exactly how to find the available addresses. No, we have only three or four connected devices.
I don't understand about the 'router's settings page'. We have a wireless router supplied by our ISP (Virgin Media) and I know of no settings that I can apply to the router itself.
I apologise for my lack of understanding. Please bear with me!
Hook
Ever since DU... ;-)
If you go to http://192.168.1.1 in the web browser on your computer? It should take you to settings page that is hosted on the router. If it doesn't, probably Virgin Media has it locked down.
JBentleyR
Android Enthusiast
Hi. That address didn't work, I'm afraid, but I did find one that did: http://192.168.0.1
That site permits a number of changes to the router but does not, I'm afraid, state what IP addresses are available for Static IP range, as suggested by JJ earlier.
Nevertheless, I have now re-enabled the three apps I disabled earlier (Drive, YouTube and the HP print service plugin) and find that they now seem to work properly. I don't know why, as the Wi-Fi network settings on my phone are now what they were set to originally. Although I don't understand what happened to get things working again, I'm happy that they are of course.
I'd like to thank you both for your help over the past few days. Really appreciated.
jj14x
Android Expert
Something doesn't really add up - unless you have multiple routers/switches, and have VLANs set up with different subnets, your gateway address of 192.168.1.1 with router's address of 192.168.0.1 (and devices with 192.168.0.x) don't add up.
Regardless, what matters is that somehow, things cleared up, and it is working ok. (doesn't make sense, given you didn't end up changing anything).
Regardless, what matters is that somehow, things cleared up, and it is working ok. (doesn't make sense, given you didn't end up changing anything).
JBentleyR
Android Enthusiast
No, it doesn't make sense to me either! We have only the one wireless router, and I can confirm the address numbers are all exactly as I wrote them. However, as you say, so long as it is all working it doesn't matter.
I'm not complaining, of course, but I wish I understood how these things work!
Thanks again for your help.
I'm not complaining, of course, but I wish I understood how these things work!
Thanks again for your help.