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As of v35.0, Auto Upload is uploading despite "Power Save" and folder-level Auto Upload being Disabled #17828
Description
⚠️ Before posting ⚠️
- This is a bug, not a question or an enhancement.
- I've searched for similar issues and didn't find a duplicate.
- I've written a clear and descriptive title for this issue, not just "Bug" or "Crash".
- I agree to follow Nextcloud's Code of Conduct.
Steps to reproduce
- Have version 34.1.1
- Have a folder configured for Auto Upload, but only when Power Save is disabled ("Wait for Power Save to be disabled")
- Have pending files in that folder that do not currently exist on the server
- Keep "Power Save" enabled on the device
- Upgrade to 35.0 > for some reason, all pending folders get Uploaded (and, it seems, all the folder-level "Wait for Power Save to be Disabled" settings have been removed from the Auto Upload configuration)
- Realize this behavior and click the blue Cloud icon next to some folder like DCIM so Auto Upload is DISABLED
- Some time passes, you see the "Upload Files" persistent notification on the Android toolbar
- For some reason, files in the DCIM folder (DISABLED from Auto Upload) have been uploaded to the server, anyway
- Also for some reason, the DCIM folder gets RE-ENABLED for Auto Upload automatically, behind the scenes, without user intervention
Expected behaviour
- If it was intentional that the folder-level "Wait for Power Save to be Disabled" setting was removed, I would kindly request that it be restored. This setting allowed me to configure some folders as "Critical: Upload always" and other folders to be "On demand: multiple folders triggered for upload when I disable Power Save"
- Regardless of that setting, I would expect a folder with Auto Upload DISABLED (Icon = Cloud with a slash through it) should NOT Auto Upload files to the server
- Related to 2 above, I would expect folder Auto Upload settings to "stick" after a user configures them. The system should not change folder settings (or any setting, really) on its own.
Actual behaviour
Good day. I updated from 34.1.1 to 35.0 late in the evening 9/21/2026* (right before bed).
First Issue: Auto Upload EVERYTHING on v35 upgrade:
When I woke up on 9/22/2026, EVERY folder configured for Auto Upload (including those previously flagged for Wait For Power Save) had uploaded to my NextCloud. I had to go and delete all the unwanted files, clean up the metadata, etc. I intentionally DON'T upload every file instantly, because I do tasks locally on my phone first, like metadata tagging, editing dates, moving to subfolders, etc. So this just cost me hours of work.
I keep my phone on Power Save at all times. Literally the only time I pull my phone out of Power Save is A) because I'm using a GPS-sensitive app like AllTrails, or B) as a trigger for NextCloud to upload files.
I've configured my library so some folders wait for Power Save before auto-uploading, and others don't.
For example: my DCIM\Camera folder was configured to Power Save to be disabled (because I want to tag, rename, etc, certain pictures before they upload). But other folders - say, those that I manually move files into after I process them, like "Product Manuals" - I don't mind if they didn't wait for Power Save, because they're infrequent and basically a manual "on-demand" process initiated by me when I drop files in that folder.
Second Issue: "Wait for Power Save" folder-level setting is gone
Further, the "Wait for Power Save" flag/checkbox is gone from the folder > Auto Upload settings. Is this intentional? I literally hit "Update all apps" in F-Droid and went to sleep, so I never saw, nor pushed, any "Force Update" button (such as documented in #17396).
So why did I awake to NextCloud auto-uploading everything that was pending, despite Power Save being enabled, and despite not pushing a Force Update button? And why is the Power Save setting missing (replaced, apparently, with "Only upload when charging" which is very much not the same feature)? The upgrade simply triggered Auto Upload on everything (perhaps BECAUSE folder-level "Power Save" settings were removed?)
Third Issue: Despite a folder being set to "Disable Auto Upload", NextCloud uploads anyway
Secondly - it seems even the "Disable Auto Upload" button (clicking the Cloud icon next to a folder so it becomes "Cloud with slash through it") doesn't work. After realizing all of this ^^^ is happening, I toggled the Auto Upload on my DCIM folder. Yet....a few hours later, I had taken some pictures, and I saw the persistent notification on the Toolbar "NextCloud Upload Files..." and sure enough, files had been uploaded. With my phone in Power Save mode. From a folder with Auto Upload disabled.
Fourth Issue (or, related to Third):
I wrote up the rest of this post last night, reviewed it this morning before posting, and sifted through the LogCat. I noticed for my DCIM folder, the log reported:
10-14 19:08:10.424 19604 19604 D WM-WorkerWrapper: Starting work for com.nextcloud.client.jobs.autoUpload.AutoUploadWorker
10-14 19:08:10.438 19604 19637 D WM-GreedyScheduler: Constraints met: Scheduling work ID WorkGenerationalId(workSpecId=f3c5f099-1f26-4c9f-b203-990864b260e9, generation=0)
10-14 19:08:10.438 19604 19630 D 🔄📤AutoUpload: 📦 Synced Folder
...
10-14 19:08:10.438 19604 19630 D 🔄📤AutoUpload: 📂 Local: /storage/0000-0000/DCIM/Camera
10-14 19:08:10.438 19604 19630 D 🔄📤AutoUpload: ☁️ Remote: /Photos/S10E/DCIM/Camera/
10-14 19:08:10.438 19604 19630 D 🔄📤AutoUpload: 🖼️ Images
10-14 19:08:10.438 19604 19630 D 🔄📤AutoUpload: 📅 Subfolder rule: YEAR_MONTH
10-14 19:08:10.438 19604 19630 D 🔄📤AutoUpload: 🗂️ By date: false
10-14 19:08:10.438 19604 19630 D 🔄📤AutoUpload: 🙈 Exclude hidden: false
10-14 19:08:10.438 19604 19630 D 🔄📤AutoUpload: 👀 Hidden config: false
10-14 19:08:10.438 19604 19630 D 🔄📤AutoUpload: 📶 Wi-Fi only: true
10-14 19:08:10.438 19604 19630 D 🔄📤AutoUpload: 🔌 Charging only: false
10-14 19:08:10.438 19604 19630 D 🔄📤AutoUpload:
10-14 19:08:10.438 19604 19630 D 🔄📤AutoUpload: 📤 Upload existing files: true
10-14 19:08:10.438 19604 19630 D 🔄📤AutoUpload: ⚙️ Upload action: 2
10-14 19:08:10.438 19604 19630 D 🔄📤AutoUpload: 🧩 Name collision: OVERWRITE
10-14 19:08:10.438 19604 19630 D 🔄📤AutoUpload:
10-14 19:08:10.438 19604 19630 D 🔄📤AutoUpload: ✅ Enabled: true
And that last "Enabled: true" prompted me to check the app on my phone. And...the DCIM folder is currently listed as "Enabled for Auto Upload" (blue Cloud icon rather than Gray Cloud With Slash). So perhaps that's yet another issue, it's automatically enabling folders on its own? I set the Auto Upload folder property to disabled (Gray Cloud with Slash) on my DCIM folder yesterday and yet upon launching the app this morning, it's back to Blue Cloud Enabled.
Lastly, I've since installed 35.0.1, and the behavior remains the same.
And I hesitate to uninstall 35 and reinstall 34.1.1, because I don't want to trash my configuration and have to re-configure all the folder settings with respect to the auto-upload flag. Though I fear that setting may have been erased anyway...?
Thank you...
Android version
Android 12
Device brand and model
Galaxy S10E, SM-G970U
Stock or custom OS?
Stock
Nextcloud android app version
35.0.1
Nextcloud server version
Nextcloud Hub 26 Spring
Using a reverse proxy?
No
Android logs
See attached.
logcatOutput_NextCloud_2026-10-14.txt
Server error logs
Additional information
No response
Activity
daniele-verducci commentedon Oct 16, 2026
Hey @lntegrity , thanks for reporting this issue.
I tried to reproduce it, but couldn't. Please note that the option "Wait for Power Save to be disabled" did not exist in 34.1.1 (maybe you are referring to "Only upload when charging"?). I took a screenshot, maybe it can help:
I carried the tests anyway, but couldn't reproduce the issue (no disabled folders have been uploaded after upgrading the app).
So I'll need some help on your side on how to reproduce this, because otherwise I cannot study the problem.
My only hypothesis is that there was already a worker running with some files pending, so they are uploaded anyway. But this can't happen after an upgrade, as the app is killed by the sistem, and doesn't justify disabled folders enabling on their own...
lntegrity commentedon Oct 16, 2026
Hi @daniele-verducci - thank you for the prompt review.
Hmm... I thought my most recent version was 34.1.1, but there is a chance I waited on a few versions before installing 35.0.
Perhaps better questions might be:
Meaning an adjusted version of my initial STR:
What logic was used during the upgrade to "convert" folders with this Power Save setting, to the new state of NOT observing the Power Save state?
It seems the only possible result is still what I experienced:
Or maybe a one-time "pause" on auto-uploads was included in the upgrade, but the next disable of Power Save still triggered "Step 3 - upload now"?
daniele-verducci commentedon Oct 19, 2026
Hey @lntegrity , as far as I know we never had such an option. You could decide per-folder to run the auto upload only when connected to a charger, or in Wi-FI, but nothing related to the power save mode.
Anyway, I may be wrong, as I was only a user until some months ago. Maybe @alperozturk96 remembers more.
Also, can you provide the exact app version you remember having that feature, so I can check?
alperozturk96 commentedon Oct 20, 2026
@lntegrity We never had an option per folder. Between steps to reproduce 2 and 5, how much time passed (did you configured folder and upgrade immediately?) and what was the size of the folder?
lntegrity commentedon Oct 21, 2026
To your question, the folder (e.g. DCIM) would have been enabled for Auto Upload / Wait for Power Save for months, if not over a year (because I've been using this workflow for months, and thus noticed the behavior change after installing v35). I installed v35 on 9/21/2026, and I had not disabled power save on my device since 9/9/2026, so ~12 days elapsed. In that span of time, the DCIM folder grew by 35 files and 486MB. The total directory size is ~16GB.
Now, that said.... on a different device (OnePlus 6T), I just installed 33010290 (33.1.2, June 2026), 330000190 (33.0.1, March 2026), and 30350090 (3.35.0, January 2026) - all packaged APKs from the Github - and none of them had a folder setting for "Wait for Power Save Disabled". The per-folder settings screen looked the exact same as it does in v35, as you all described (only upload on charger; only upload on wifi).
The thing is, I wouldn't be here if I didn't have a clear Before/After scenario, and didn't have a very clear recollection of power save / battery optimization per folder. It used to be that every time you edited a folder's settings, NC would warn about "disabling battery optimizations", and I remember the "power save check" on that settings screen.
I did (over a year ago) initially install NextCloud from the Google Play store, before becoming a bit more privacy-aware (and preferring to install FOSS apps). I'm now wondering if a prior Google Play version could have contained such a feature? Or perhaps a build / series of builds from IzzyOnDroid? I never intentionally used any non-F-Droid repos, but I mean.... something had to have been different, in some build, that my device had at some point before v35. I also see numerous Issues related to Samsung Galaxy devices specifically, and I only found those while searching the words "power save" - so, perhaps there was a device-specific fix in prior builds?
Also, what about this:
#4815 (comment)
and this:
#4815 (comment)
and this:
#13404
and this:
#16674
Does that ("disable power save check", "disable battery saver", etc) help with researching such a historic feature? And can you confirm THAT was removed in a recent version?
Because even if there isn't/wasn't a per folder "power save check" (I'll grant my memory could be faulty), there was absolutely SOME "check for Power Save mode feature" as evidenced by these issues I linked. And that may be the feature I'm looking for, that's missing, that triggered the mass-upload in my STR.
Thank you for your time :-)
alperozturk96 commentedon Oct 22, 2026
@lntegrity
Before continuing the discussion, I'd like to clarify a few things, as Android's system-wide power-saving mode and app-specific battery optimization are two different settings.
1. Android's power-saving mode
This is a system-wide setting that affects how Android manages battery usage. Depending on the device manufacturer and Android version, it may have different names, such as Battery Saver or Power Saving Mode.
2. App-specific battery optimization
This setting controls how Android manages battery usage for an individual app. It is separate from the system-wide power-saving mode.
3. How these settings affect Nextcloud?
If Nextcloud's app battery optimization is not set to Unrestricted, you will see the following banner:
If Android's system-wide power-saving mode is also enabled, you will see also this banner:
4. How this affects auto-upload?
Auto-upload is handled by a background worker. When Android's power-saving mode or app-specific battery restrictions are enabled, the operating system may delay the execution of background tasks.
This means auto-upload may not run immediately, even though it is still scheduled to run. That's also why we provide the Sync Now option in the banner, allowing users to trigger synchronization manually rather than waiting for the background worker.
5. Clarifying issue
From what I understand, your main issue is that auto-upload does not work when Android's system-wide power-saving mode is enabled. Is that correct?
Could you also open Nextcloud's App info → Battery settings and share a screenshot showing the current battery optimization setting?
Please keep the discussion focused on the issue and share only relevant, meaningful information. Long messages with unrelated details make the discussion difficult to follow and can cause important information and the history of the issue to get lost.
I've tried my best to answer all your questions and clear up any confusion or misunderstandings that may have arisen, so we can make sure we're all on the same page about what we're discussing.
Going forward, keeping comments concise, relevant, and on topic will help everyone better understand, follow, and track the issue without losing important context.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!