Camera uploads should not run on metered networks

[agross]

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Steps to reproduce

1. Connect to a metered WiFi network
2. Set up auto uploads
3. Take some pictures to trigger auto upload

Expected behaviour

Uploads should be deferred until a non-metered network connection is available.

Actual behaviour

Uploads use up the metered network's data volume.

Can you reproduce this problem on https://try.nextcloud.com?

Server side does not matter.

Environment data

Android version: 9

Device model: Poco F1

Stock or customized system: Stock

Nextcloud app version: Latest

Nextcloud server version: 19.0.2

Reverse proxy: nginx

[tobiasKaminsky]

There is the option "only upload on unmetered wi-fi". Is this checked? If yes, we rely on Androids capability to inform apps if the active network is metered. Can you check if Android correctly recognizes this?

[agross]

Yes, all my synced directories have the "only unmetered" option checked and Android also displays the network as being metered.

[agross]

Thank you, @tobiasKaminsky!

[agross]

This broke again. How can the issue be reopened?

[agross]

Would someone please reopen this issue?

[nottheend]

Does it make sense to remove the milestone from this issue and re-assign it to a future one? This issue might be overlooked otherwise. Thanks

[nottheend]

Is there a possibility to implement a switch to disable all automated uploads?

If massive uploads happen on metered wifis, the connection could be rejected by the provider for the complete phone

[joshtrichards]

Is there a possibility to implement a switch to disable all automated uploads?

@nottheend There's an existing issue for that #383

[kartoffelheinz]

This is a MAJOR pita and needs to be addressed as soon as possible. The app not respecting "only upload on non-metered wifi" not only cost me frequently money (remote location with sattelite uplink), it also causes distress in a team environment, where my device sucks up all the available bandwith for uploads which should only occur on non-metered wifis.

[garrett]

I've lost network connectivity for several days at the end of the month due to this bug. And I'm currently right before my cell phone plan's limit right now too. (My cell phone billing cycle resets at the first of the month. I may run out today or tomorrow.)

The problem has even gotten worse in the past year or so, as Google changed their Pixel camera app to have both raw and JPEGs in the same directory (so now, to have photos uploaded via Nextcloud, there's no way to have cloud sync but to upload both... but I don't want to upload the raw files unless I have WIFI... so my options are to not backup at all or risk losing all my cell phone data somewhere between halfway through the month to the end of the month, depending on how much I use my phone's camera). Even without this change, it was already a problem.

Either way, until this bug is fixed, it's really far from ideal; it's either:

1. lose complete access to my cell phone's data sometime in the month
2. pay penalties for running over (by extending the data plan for money), to have data again, and hope I don't have to keep paying
3. risk losing the photos I took (without a backup, if my phone breaks or is stolen)

...due to this specific bug.

It gets worse when traveling too (which usually means more photos, and may also even be considered roaming).

[agross]

@garrett I've since switched to FolderSync which allows you to be very specific about what to upload under which conditions. The devs here will not care enough given that it's been 4 years since I reported the bug. Certainly, the feature is not a core tenet of why people chose Nextcloud in the first place.