Dropbox desktop app disconnects randomly during file upload

I randomly began having the exact same issue on Thursday afternoon (6/27/2024). It simply crashes/drops off with no error. No internet connectivity issues. At the same time, I began noticing a serious lagtime in thumbnails populating fully in File Explorer. I've run all sorts of scans, checks, etc. I'm trying to hold off on uninstalling/reinstalling DropBox. I've searched everywhere online. Wondering if there is a bug with latest update?

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

I just wanted to check in with you and see if you're still facing the same behavior.

If so, would you mind clarifying the OS you're using, along with the Dropbox version installed on your device?

Let me know more, and we'll take it from there!

Hi Megan,

I thought I had the issue resolved, but it resurfaced again just now.

I am running Windows 11 with DropBox vs 202.4.5551. There is a very strange related issue within File Explorer, there is a significant lagtime for thumbnails and even icons to populate in a folder. In addition, if I right-click on a thumbnail/icon, there is a severe lagtime for some of the options in the dialog box to show up in the right-click menu (this issue goes away if I quit DB).

If I restart my computer or quit and restart DropBox, I can temporarily fix the issue. However, as soon as I start working with any files, the issue reappears. However, what's even stranger is that it appears my DropBox is disconnected because there are no green check marks and I can't right-click and access the DB menu options like share a link etc. But if I open my laptop (which is linked to the same DB account) or go to DB online portal, it will often show a file change I've made. Makes zero sense.

I thought I had resolved the issue on Friday somehow by getting everything updated on my laptop and I don't know what else (at that point I had run so many error and computer health checks and nothing had worked). It seemed like everything was working. I was working in Photoshop on multiple files this morning with no issue. Then I opened up an Adobe InDesign file and it triggered it. Later on I was able to trigger it within Photoshop when working with multiple files/importing graphics.

It seems like it COULD be a memory issue, but task manager, memory check and machine speed ( Alienware Desktop 32 GB RAM) says otherwise. DropBox files are actually stored separately on a SSD so the machine runs even more efficiently. Plenty of storage available (edited to add: also nowhere near DB's supposed 300K file limit where things start getting wonky). WiFi speed test very fast. Zero viruses.

I feel like some sort of glitch popped up between Windows and DB last week. Please advise, as this is my livelihood. Thanks.

Or could this possibly be an Adobe/DropBox issue? If it would be better to open a ticket, please let me know.

I'm having this same issue on Dropbox Desktop: v202.4.5551 on Windows 10.
It's getting worse and I work with this. What's going on?

Nancy

Sorry for jumping in, @shastings and @phafa. Before investigating further, I’d suggest reinstalling the Dropbox app on your devices.

If the issue persists after that, let me know and we can take a closer look into this.

Hi-- I am willing to do this, but with close to 100K files that I am often sharing with clients, doing a reinstall is highly disruptive to my workflow, as everything will need to repopulate back in my DB folder. In addition, I currently have many folders set as online-only by having gone through File Explorer, right-clicked and selected Online Only. I am guessing that I will lose ALL of those location preferences/settings regarding online only files once I uninstall. Is this correct?

Jay

Hi @shastings, if you reinstall the app, not uninstall it, then your settings should remain the same as they are now.

Ok-- I did download and install the latest update on Friday afternoon. Is this what you mean?

Jay

That's correct, have you noticed any similar behavior since reinstalling the Dropbox desktop application?

Yes. There has been no improvement at all in any of these issues since reinstalling. Thanks.

Hey @shastings, if you temporarily quit our app, do you then notice the same behavior with your thumbnails?

SR910

I have just started getting the same thing. I will randomly notice files are not uploading, all the icons are gone from windows explorer and also cant create a dropbox link. If i restart the computer or restart the drop box application it works again for short period of time, say 1 or 2 hours, then happens again.

I only made an account and found this because I was searching how to resolve this issue.

also on version v202.4.5551

Hey @SR910, I hope you're doing well!

If you hover your mouse over the little Dropbox icon on your task bar, would you be able to share the version of the app that you're using with me?

Have you tried uninstalling, and then re-installing the app at all, even since you noticed it?

Let me know more, and we'll take it from there!

SR910

It is version v202.4.5551, no have not tried, haven't had to do that in years so I was going to wait for someone else to fix it because i highly doubt it will be the solution.

Hey @SR910, I'd definitely appreciate it if you could give it a go, for troubleshooting purposes.

Plus, if you're worried about syncing your content from scratch, I'm here to assure you that this won't be the case.

Seems like many users are having the same issue and keep having it despite your suggestion. Is there anything else anyone at Dropbox can do to ensure a fix? This is getting tedious pretty quick, I need a solution.

Quitting the app and then restarting it makes the green checkmarks and DB functionality reappear briefly. But when I start working with files again, the issue comes back.

Hannah

Hey @phafa and @shastings, can you try a more advanced reinstall of the Dropbox app and let us know if it helps?

If I’m understanding correctly, this will require uninstalling and doing a complex reinstall where I will need to manually apply the online-only settings to folders in my current massive directory. Is this right? If so, as I mentioned yesterday, I would prefer to avoid this as I believe (as someone as has stated already here), the issue is completely on DB’s end considering multiple users are experiencing this issue right now. Just having to re-sync my entire folder of nearly 100k files is highly disruptive, but having to hunt and peck and figure out which are only online and redo those settings is a science experiment I’m not willing to undertake right now considering I’ve wasted nearly 12 hours of my life in the last few days trying to resolve this problem with nothing but troubleshooting tips from customer support that I’ve already tried. Sorry if this is harsh but I pay hundreds of dollars every year for a business account bc file storage and sharing is crucial to my business. Not even being able to see my thumbnails and icons is ridiculous.

Etfo

I have multiple Windows users who are experiencing this issue right now. It is only our Windows users. The issues are exactly as described: Dropbox works for a few minutes, then breaks and stops syncing. InDesign seems to be a trigger for this, with all the links that it tries to access through Dropbox. They have a mix of Windows 10 and Windows 11, but are all on the 202.4.5551 update. Is there any movement from Dropbox on this request? We are mostly dead in the water with files otherwise.

Sorry Hannah, but I'm not here to be your testing subject. Uninstalling and reinstalling during a work week could turn pretty negative for me. It's pretty evident that the problem comes from Dropbox's side, so please I'd suggest someone from your side looks into that instead.

Not trying to be difficult, but can anyone from DB please reply if this issue is being addressed/looked into by DB IT team? It is not being mentioned at all on the DB outage status page. Thank you.

Jay

Hi @shastings, as you're still experiencing this issue, I'd recommend contacting the support team directly for them to investigate this in more detail on their end.

@Jay ... just lol.
Anyway, I just sent a ticket to the support team I'll come back to this thread if they bother responding with anything else other than REINSTALL.
This is pissing me off.

Submitted. This has all been super helpful.

cs28

Can confirm my team is having this issue as well. We are all on Windows running v202.4.5551. Dropbox works for the first few minutes after restarting the PC, but freezes up quickly. Pausing sync shows an infinite "Pausing sync..." loading screen, but doesn't actually pause until I restart the PC. @shastings and @phafa thank you for pushing this issue with the support team. Let me know if you find a fix, but I think you are correct in assuming it's on DB's end with the amount of people experiencing this issue.