Media download and conversion troubleshooting
Most failures fall into a few categories: an unsupported or private source, an unstable transfer, insufficient storage, or a codec the destination cannot play.
Start with the link and source
Open the link in a normal browser and confirm that it is public and still available. Remove tracking parameters when they are not required. Profile, collection and story links may return multiple items, while a single-post link should identify one item. Private accounts, expired stories, age restrictions and login-only pages may not be available to a public-link tool.
If metadata appears but no quality options are shown, the source may use a delivery method that changed recently. Retry once after a short interval. Repeated attempts will not fix an expired or unauthorized link.
Slow or interrupted transfers
Measure speed over more than a few seconds; initial rates can be misleading while a source prepares the response. Wi-Fi congestion, mobile power saving, the source server and the selected quality can all limit throughput. Keep the app in the foreground for a test, disable battery restrictions for long work, and confirm that enough storage is available.
For multiple files, parallel downloading can use available bandwidth efficiently, but uploads to a destination may need pacing to respect that service's limits. A completed download and a completed delivery are separate stages, so their progress should be reported separately.
Playback problems
A file may be valid but unsupported by one player. Test it with a current media player and inspect its video and audio codecs. Missing sound can indicate an unsupported audio stream; a black screen can indicate unsupported video hardware decoding. Converting to MP4 with H.264 video and AAC audio is the most widely compatible fallback.
If audio and video drift apart, preserve the original timestamps during conversion or normalize variable frame rate material. Do not repeatedly re-encode the same file because each lossy generation can reduce quality.
Conversion and storage failures
- Keep free storage greater than both the source and expected output size.
- Use short, filesystem-safe filenames.
- Check that the selected output folder remains accessible.
- Test a short segment before a large conversion.
- Avoid closing the app or browser while a local operation is running.
- Keep the source until duration, sound and seeking have been verified.
The file inspector provides useful technical properties. If a repeatable problem remains, contact StoryDrop support with the public link type, desired output, device type and the visible error message. Never send passwords, cookies or private links.