My laptop doesn't show up in my connected devices list, even though it's syncing files

Hi Nancy - yes, I had to relaunch the dropbox to get it back to the system tray - and yes it's there now.

I might have fixed it using the link with the overlay info - but I don't want to speak too soon. I'm letting things sync (I think!) so I'll come back after double checking some things.

Thanks Nancy!

All comments

Hey @annml, thanks for reaching out to us.

This is a quite strange issue indeed, but let's see what we can find.

Just to confirm, is the Dropbox app linked to the same Dropbox account as your browser?

You'll find the email address of the linked account in the "account" tab in your Dropbox preferences.

Also, if you go to the "backups" tab in the preferences, do you see an option to enable backup?

If not, what do you see instead?

Let me know and we'll go from there.

Hi Hannah - thanks so much for replying!

-- Yes same account on browser vs app

-- When I look at preferences, I see "This PC" and then to the far right I see "manage backups". If I click on that, I eventually get to a "get started" button -- clicking that brings me to a window where I can "choose files" and I can select "more". When I go to select the files, it lists the name of my old desktop. I don't have an option to select files from the new laptop I'm on.

-- I don't see "enable backup" anywhere.

-- And just checked again on browser -- if I click Security and scroll down, it sees only my phone and my old PC

-- Also tried a suggestion from my phone's dropbox app - it said go to dropbox.com/connect. I tried that using the laptop that I want to connect to but it was still not listed in devices after I tried that

Thanks!

Thanks for the update, @annml, can you test something for me?

Add a test file to your Dropbox folder, allow it to sync and then go to your account online and check the version history.

It should show you the name of the device the file was added from, so let me know what you see there.

It was the same result as my prior test -- it uploads from new laptop and I can immediately see it online and on my phone, so I know it's working. The version history said "desktop" and when I hovered over that it said "annml" which is the name of my laptop. It's so strange. Another oddity is that I don't see any dropbox icons next to my dropbox files on laptop. Yet, it appears to be working.

Sorry to have so many issues but here's another thing. When I click backup button, it goes to the folder selection window -- but when I expand those options there is no option for me to choose to backup Dropbox, it's not one of the selections. I'm so confused.

Also not even sure the dropbox for desktop ever really installed. I've installed it several times but nothing looks like the screenshot tutorials. The 2 things I have available are the dropbox file explorer and the icon found in the tray. Is that normal?

Today I uninstalled and re-installed dropbox and I think my desktop app seems better, but when I hit backup I still can't choose my dropbox folder to backup.

Thanks for the additional info here, @annml.

I'm glad things now seem better after reinstalling the Dropbox app, but would you mind clarifying what you mean by "choose my Dropbox folder to back up"?

Are you trying to back up your folders to Dropbox or back up the Dropbox folder itself somehow?

Hopefully I can explain this better.

-- I believe my files are syncing correctly -- although I still don't see any dropbox icons next to the folders I'm syncing -- any thoughts as to why?

-- As far as backup vs syncing: Maybe Dropbox "backup" feature isn't a true backup, maybe I'm misunderstanding this feature. When I hit "manage backups" on desktop app, it eventually brings me to a window where I can select which folders to backup (vs just sync) -- there is no option for me to select my dropbox folder as part of that backup. The only options are music, pics, documents (empty), desktop, downloads, one drive etcetera. I want to also backup my dropbox folder (not just sync).

Does that make sense? Thank you Hannah!

Thanks for clarifying, @annml.

Unfortunately, this is not really possible.

You can back things up to Dropbox with Dropbox backup, but you can't back up the Dropbox folder; whatever's in your Dropbox folder and is synced to your account online as well, is already saved to our servers, that's why you can restore files that you delete.

If you'd like to back up the Dropbox folder itself, you could make a copy, which you can save to a different location on your computer or an external drive, but it won't be a live, two-way backup, just a simple copy for safe-keeping.

I hope this helps!

Thank you Hannah that’s helpful! Just 2 final things:

— the backup does have “Documents” as a folder choice to backup. So if I move my Dropbox under Documents, is that a way to both sync and backup? If no, I understand I still have sync.

— I don’t have any Dropbox icons next to my synced files on my computer, why wouldn’t they be there and how can I fix that?

Thank you so much!

Happy to clarify, @annml!

So, I'm afraid moving the Dropbox folder to the Documents folder, won't allow you to back the Dropbox folder up.

The Dropbox folder is what you use to sync and back up files to your Dropbox account; so you can't really back that location up, unfortunately.

About your sync icons, would you mind hovering over the small Dropbox icon in your system tray and let me know the sync status and version of the app?

Hovering over the icon says - 197.4.7571

Thanks! It should also tell you the sync status of the app, e.g. "up to date", "syncing..", etc.

What is it in your case?

Apologies - I forgot to also state it says "up to date". And I've tested all formats - desktop, web, phone -- and if I make a change, the change is immediately reflected in each format.

So since all seems to be working well, maybe I should just forget about the missing icons (ie checkmarks, sync icons etc)..?

Megan

Hey @annml, I hope you don't mind me chiming in here!

It might sound trivial, but in regards to the icons of your files/folders, have you tried restarting your device at all?

Would you mind sending us over a couple of screenshots of the missing icons, in order for us to have a clear view?

I just restarted and it's the same. Also, dropbox disappeard from my tray so had to open manually - is that normal? Screenshot below - no sync icons.

Hi from me as well, @annml. When saying you had to restart manually, did you go to your Start menu and relaunched the Dropbox app from your Programs? If yes, do you see the Dropbox icon again in your system tray now?

Other than that, did you have any recent OS updates, right before the syncing icons disappeared from the Dropbox folder?

If not, I'd like you to give these steps a go and let me know if they help.

Hi Nancy - yes, I had to relaunch the dropbox to get it back to the system tray - and yes it's there now.

I might have fixed it using the link with the overlay info - but I don't want to speak too soon. I'm letting things sync (I think!) so I'll come back after double checking some things.

Thanks Nancy!

Glad to hear that! Fingers crossed the issue’s resolved now.

I think we figured it out!!

Thank you so much Hannah, Megan, and Nancy! Honestly I’m a little shocked by all the help that I received — it’s so rare these days. I have a free account and don’t need extra storage right now but I’m upgrading to a paid account anyway because DropBox deserves my business!

Thanks so much for your kind words, @annml! We’re glad we were able to help and that everything seems to be working now.

You can always give us a nudge, if you need something else.

rxiang

I've been having so much trouble with Dropbox. Dropbox used to sync my whole computer – I could see the little icons on the files in my Finder, not just files in my local Dropbox folder on Finder. It was super convenient to manage files on my computer and I loved how I could set things to "online-only" to save device storage. One day though, all the icons had disappeared, my computer suddenly filled up (because I guess they were no longer set as online only and all started taking up storage on my device), and I learned a new "Backup" feature had been introduced.

I've tried everything – I've chatted with a few agents who said if I backed up my whole computer I'd be able to get those icons back and things would be back to the way they used to be. I did back up my whole computer to Dropbox (in the app dropdown it says 'Everything is up to date' / under Backups there's a green "Done"). When I click "View backed up files" though, I see my Mac marked with "Unlinked" under its status. The chat agent asked me to send an email because I need extra help, but no one has replied for 15 days and somehow my ticket was marked as closed.

This problem is making everything a headache – I can barely use apps on my computer because of all the storage suddenly being used up. I can't seem to get any personalized support from Dropbox. This is my last resort – please help.

Jay

Hi @rxiang, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Could you try contacting the support team again for them to investigate this matter in more detail on their end?

Once you get a ticket ID from the automated response, please let me know the number here so I can locate it in our system

rxiang

Thanks Jay! Here's the ticket number: #23638400

Thanks for the ticket number, @rxiang! I was able to track it down in our system, and I just left an internal note for our team to see and reach back to you.

Hi,

I am having a very similar issue. One of my three devices is linked to Dropbox, however, it does not show up on my other devices (or even online), so I cannot access my files remotely. On Dropbox online it clearly shows that I have 3 linked devices, so I’m at a loss to understand why or how this has happened. I have no idea how to fix this and it’s causing me a lot of pain. Please help!

Megan

Hey @yasminaz, I hope you're doing well!

When you say it doesn't show up on your other devices, are you referring to the Backup feature? Would you mind clarifying?

If you try to add a file using the desktop app, and specifically adding the file to your Dropbox folder for that specific device: are you able to locate the changes and additions when you visit your account online?

If you check your account's security page here, do you see the device?

Keep me posted, and we'll take it from there!

Hi Megan,

When I go to my "Security" page, I can see 3 linked devices: 1) work computer, 2) home computer, 3) laptop. However, when I go to my dropbox folder, only two devices are saved there: 1) work computer and 2) laptop. This means that I cannot access my files on my home computer when I am at work.

Thanks for your prompt reply,
Yasmin

This is a major problem - if this happened to my work computer, if it mysteriously disappeared from dropbox, I would be in big big trouble! Many of my files are online only, so I am deeply concerned to see an entire device disappear from dropbox.