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Dropbox says another user is viewing/editing a file, but he is not.

When I open some of my company's Excel files, Dropbox's badge indicates my coworker is viewing and/or has unsaved changes. But looking at his PC, he doesn't have Excel open and the Excel lock files are not in the directory with the original files.

Any suggestions?

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RailingSystems

I stopped and restarted the sync on the other's PC, and that seemed to fix the problem. But that was a sort of desperation move, as the Dropbox app and token on the file said that all files were synced. Still curious how it could happen, but I am restored to functionality.

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Jane

Hey @RailingSystems,

Great question, I’d be glad to investigate some possible causes with you.

Just as a point of reference, could this user have got multiple devices connected to his/her account, hence accessing the files from a different location?

Secondly, I'm afraid to say that maybe some users in your team share credentials, so this might appear confusing on your end.

To clarify this, you could create an Activity audit for the file in question through the admin console, that would definitely shed some light on the case.

If you need more details, please let me know here!

Warm regards,

JaneA

RailingSystems

DenDiMarco

I have the same symptom in that Dropbox incorrectly says an unsaved version of a file exisits, but the file has been saved and closed by the person it identifies. This just started yesterday.

How does one stop and restart the sync process? (I don't have a Dropbox icon in my system tray - maybe because of a 20 GB Dell offer Dropbox Tray icon, which I didn't need since I already have a popaid 1 TB subscription to Dropbox - and which I uninstalled just now.)

If posisble, please replt yo [personal information removed by moderator for security reasons]

I've tried to attach a png of the incorrect message, but it appears to have casued "an unexpected error".

lucypartyton

We also have had this error messages starting just over a week ago. Very annoying and each time it is a false alarm. How can we avoid it please? Thanks

Jane

Hey @lucypartyton, thanks for posting your question on our Forum!

As I’d like to help you on the matter as much as possible, I’ve located your previous discussion on our system & I’ve prioritized your request internally. Since my colleague has direct access to your account-specifics, they could help you more closely, so you may include all relevant information on that email chain.

I hope that this is-even slightly- helpful to you & please do let me know here in case you need further assistance in any way & I’ll check back with you asap. Thanks again & I’m wishing you a wonderful week ahead!

ChloeBush

Hi,

We are having a similar issue which is causing some frutsrations, what do we need to do to get someone to take a look at the logs or do I get the logs and send to you guys?

Thanks

Chloe

lucypartyton

Good luck Chloe. We have reinstalled Dropbox but are no further to a solution unfortunately. If you do make progress, can you reply here, as I have been travelling so been fairly slow on following it up, but it still happening and very annoying! Many thanks, Lucy

Jane

Hey Chloe (@ChloeBush) sorry to hear that this isn’t working for you as expected. Because I’d like to expedite matters for you as much as I can, I’ve made sure to create a support ticket on our system on my end, so that we examine a specific example together.

Whenever you find some time, please check your inbox for my email & I’ll make sure to promptly get back in touch with you asap. Thanks!

When it comes to your requests on our system Lucy (@lucypartyton), I can see that your previous correspondence was automatically closed internally (which is expected & perfectly understandable, as you’ve mentioned that you’re currently travelling), though we’ve made sure to forward your newest ticket to our team specialists, in order to follow-up from where you had left off. You may expect a reply on that correspondence soon & rest assured that they’ll help you find a solution asap.

I do really hope that this gets clarified soon for you & I’m also here in case I can be of assistance in any way. Happy Friday to both!

GloriP

@Jane wrote:
Hey Chloe (@ChloeBush) sorry to hear that this isn’t working for you as expected. Because I’d like to expedite matters for you as much as I can, I’ve made sure to create a support ticket on our system on my end, so that we examine a specific example together.

Whenever you find some time, please check your inbox for my email & I’ll make sure to promptly get back in touch with you asap. Thanks!
When it comes to your requests on our system Lucy (@lucypartyton), I can see that your previous correspondence was automatically closed internally (which is expected & perfectly understandable, as you’ve mentioned that you’re currently travelling), though we’ve made sure to forward your newest ticket to our team specialists, in order to follow-up from where you had left off. You may expect a reply on that correspondence soon & rest assured that they’ll help you find a solution asap.

I do really hope that this gets clarified soon for you & I’m also here in case I can be of assistance in any way. Happy Friday to both!

I am having the same problem, is super annoying. What can I do?

Walter

Sorry to hear that @GloriP.

So, from what I understand you're working on files you share with others and you're getting a message from the Dropbox Badge that there are others editing the file - am I on the right track?

Have you checked with the other person to see if they have this file open on some device of theirs perchance?

Any additional information will be much appreciated!

GloriP

No, nobody is. Not there is not another person. I neither share the file nor have another instance or device opeb

Walter

Thanks for the additional info there @GloriP.

Could you forward me a screenshot of the exact message you get so I can have a further look into this?

emcleod

Hi there,

We are having a similar issue to this on our Dropbox for Business account and support has been less than helpful so far. I agree the issue is incredibly annoying.

Is there any solution you can suggest on this thread?

Eileen McLeod

Walter

Hi Eileen; welcome to our Community.

While I don't have a concrete solution to provide on this, as such issues tend to pertain to the team's accounts' setup, and I'd need account and device specific information to look into this, Jane's suggestions in the first page of this thread should help point you towards the right direction.

Usually in such cases, there is a computer or 3rd party app/service that's accessing/editing the file in question; thus causing the issue you've experienced.

If you've identified the person that seems to be editing (erroneously) this file, can you have them shut their computer down and try to replicate the issue?

Keep me posted on your findings and we'll take it from there @emcleod.