Work through these in order — the first one is by far the most common.
The file is too large
Every firm has a maximum file size, and uploads over it are rejected. Large files are usually one of three things: a video, a very high-resolution scan, or a long document photographed at full camera resolution.
What helps:
- Scan in black and white instead of colour, or at a lower quality setting.
- Split a long document and upload it in parts. Two uploads are fine.
- If you're photographing pages, take them one page at a time rather than as one enormous file.
The item takes a different kind of file
Some items only accept one kind of file, and the upload box says which — for example PDF only. If you choose or drag in a file of another kind, a red line under the box names it and it isn't uploaded. Upload the right kind instead; if the item takes PDFs and you have a photo or a paper document, Scan with Camera turns camera shots into a PDF.
The connection dropped
Large uploads fail on unstable connections. If you're on mobile data or patchy wifi, try again somewhere with a stronger signal, and keep the page open while it uploads.
The page is stale
If the page has been sitting open for a long time, reload it and try again.
The link no longer works
If the firm has sent you a newer request, the older link may have stopped working. Check for a more recent email or text from them, and if in doubt ask them to resend — see I didn't get my upload link.
A link also stops working if the firm has closed or archived the request on their side. If you believe they still need something from you, contact them directly and they can reopen it.
Try a different device
If a phone upload keeps failing, try a computer, or the other way around. This resolves a surprising number of cases and costs nothing to test.
Still stuck
Use the message box in your portal to tell the firm what's happening — including the file name and roughly how large it is. They can see your request from their side and often spot the problem immediately, or they can accept the document another way.