Getting started
Connecting Cloud Storage to a BOOX (Dropbox, Drive, OneDrive, WebDAV)
BOOX has cloud storage built into the Library, so you can sync documents without installing a single app. Which services it supports, what it will and will not sync, and why the built-in route beats the Android app.
Most people connect cloud storage to a BOOX by installing the Dropbox or Google Drive app, because that is what you would do on a phone. There is a better way built into the device, and it costs nothing in battery.
The built-in route
BOOX has cloud storage integrated into the Library itself. From the home screen, open the Library and look for the cloud icon. Choose your service, sign in, and the Library links to it directly.
Supported services:
- Dropbox
- Google Drive
- OneDrive
- Baidu Cloud
- NutStore
- Any WebDAV-compatible service, which is how self-hosted options such as Nextcloud connect
You can link more than one account, including several accounts on the same service. Each one gets its own bookshelf in the Library, named after the account, so a personal Drive and a work Drive stay visibly separate rather than merging into one pile.
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Why this beats installing the app
The Android app for any of these services is a background sync client. It wakes on a schedule, checks for changes, and keeps a network connection alive, on a device whose battery is designed around the assumption that it is idle almost all of the time.
That is the single largest avoidable drain on an E Ink device, and it is why so many owners report a BOOX lasting days rather than weeks. Our battery guide covers the rest of that story.
The built-in integration does not run a persistent client. It fetches when you ask it to. For getting documents onto a reader, that is all you actually need.
The limitation worth knowing up front
The built-in cloud integration handles documents, meaning formats such as EPUB and PDF. It is not a general-purpose file sync.
Images and video will not move this way. If you need those on the device, use an app that handles sharing directly, or move them by cable. This is a deliberate scope choice rather than a bug, and it is consistent with the Library being a reading library rather than a file manager.
WebDAV, and why it matters
WebDAV support is the quietly important one. It means you are not restricted to the five named commercial services.
If you run Nextcloud, or any other WebDAV-capable server, you can point the device at it and keep your reading library entirely on infrastructure you control. For anyone whose documents are confidential, work-related or simply nobody else's business, this is the option to reach for. You will need the server address and your credentials for that service, which is a step more setup than tapping a Dropbox button, and worth it if the privacy matters to you.
When cloud is the wrong tool
Cloud sync is convenient and it is not always the right answer.
- Moving a large library for the first time: use a USB cable. Hundreds of files over a cable takes minutes; the same over a sync is a long wait for no benefit.
- Sending yourself one file, right now: BOOXDrop over local Wi-Fi is faster and involves no account at all.
- Anything sensitive you would rather not upload: BOOXDrop keeps the file on your own network and never sends it anywhere.
Our transfer guide compares all the methods side by side.
If a linked account stops working
- Files are not appearing: open the Library and trigger a refresh. The shelf does not necessarily update on its own the moment something changes upstream.
- Sign-in fails repeatedly: check the device clock. A wrong system time breaks the security handshake with cloud services, and it is a surprisingly common cause of authentication failures that look like wrong passwords.
- WebDAV will not connect: confirm the exact server address including the path, and whether your server requires an app-specific password rather than your main one.
- Nothing connects at all: the problem is probably the network rather than the account. See our Wi-Fi and sync guide.
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We will set it up with you
If you would rather not work through account linking on your own, bring the device to our Oakville showroom and we will connect it with you, or ask us before you buy which approach suits how your documents are stored. Our FAQ covers the broader support questions.
Common questions
- Which cloud services can a BOOX connect to?
- The Library's built-in cloud integration supports Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Baidu Cloud and NutStore, plus any WebDAV-compatible service, which is how self-hosted options such as Nextcloud connect. You can link several accounts at once, including more than one on the same service.
- Do I need to install the Dropbox or Google Drive app?
- No, and for syncing documents you are better off not doing so. The Library connects to these services directly. Skipping the Android app means no background sync client waking the device, which is the single biggest avoidable drain on an E Ink battery.
- Can I sync photos or videos to a BOOX through cloud storage?
- No. The built-in cloud integration handles document formats such as EPUB and PDF. Images and video need to be moved another way, through an app that handles sharing, or by cable.
- Where do cloud files appear on the device?
- The Library creates a bookshelf named after the linked account, so each connected service or account gets its own shelf. Connect two accounts and you get two shelves rather than one mixed pile.
Related guides
Still stuck?
We are a Canadian BOOX dealer with a real showroom in Oakville. If a guide did not solve it, tell us what your device is doing and we will help you work out whether it is a setting or a fault.