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I invited a friend using a referral, but it shows as ineligible.

Hi.

I've invited friend with an invitation link from my account.
My friend used that link, logged in in website, and then logged in on computer.
And yet, her account is listed on my invitation lists as "ineligible".
What is wrong?
She didn't have an account connected to that e-mail address.
She had one older Dropbox account (with different email) and decided to make a new one from my invitation link.

From website help:

Ineligible: The recipient is ineligible for the referral program.
- This may mean that the recipient already has an account with Dropbox, or that the recipient is attempting to register with the same computer as you.
- If you feel this status is inaccurate, double-check the email address of your recipient to try again.

But none of those conditions are met...

What are exact requirements for an email not to be ineligible?

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Storage space

Referrals

Comments

Mark

Tomajev wrote:
She had one older Dropbox account (with different email) and decided to make a new one from my invitation link.

This is almost certainly why - especially if she's had Dropbox on that computer before.

Referrals are for new users only, not, new users who delete an account and rejoin.

Rich

Tomajev wrote:
What are exact requirements for an email not to be ineligible?

In addition to what Mark stated, the computer you install Dropbox on needs to be one that has never had Dropbox installed on it before, by anyone.

Tomajev

Even if the old account gets "unlinked" from that PC?

The story is short:
She asked me about free cloud-like space to archive some files in the internet and I recommended Dropbox. I've sent her invitation so she would get some additional space. (Because why not. That's what invitations links are for).
The link doesn't work (i.e. creation of new account worked, but she didn't get bonus space) and when she tried to install Dropbox client system told her that Dropbox was already installed.
She created Dropbox account years ago and basically never used it. The account was slowly rotting, forgotten years ago, linked to some old, non-used email address.

Is it possible to unlink the old account from her PC and link the new account so she get the bonus space, or is her PC forever blocked from that utility?

Rich

Tomajev wrote:
Even if the old account gets "unlinked" from that PC?

Yes. Once Dropbox has been installed on a computer, that computer can not be used for another referral.

Tomajev wrote:
She created Dropbox account years ago and basically never used it. ... Is it possible to unlink the old account from her PC and link the new account so she get the bonus space, or is her PC forever blocked from that utility?

No, that won't work. That computer will no longer be eligible for a referral because it previously had Dropbox installed. The idea behind referral programs is that they bring in new users that have never used the service before.

Tomajev

Ok, one last question: If she will use a new pc to register, will it work, or is her email address (that received invitation) also cooked forever?
Because it's her email marked at my invitations list as "ineligible".

Btw, that also means that when someone buy a used second-hand notebook (that someone else used for Dropbox), and try to install Dropbox on it, invitation won't work too? What king of logic is that?
Is this verified by MAC address?

Walter

Hey @Tomajev - sorry to jump in here, but may we reach out via email to have a further look internally with account specific information at this point?

Also, as Rich mentioned once Dropbox has been installed on a computer, that computer can't be used for another referral (even for an account associated with a different email address).

Tomajev

Sure, you can reach me, I can explain entire situation. (At this point I'm asking rather out of curiosity how that system works, than for that one referral bonus)

Hannah

Thanks, @Tomajev!

I just reached out to you, so we'll continue investigating there.

Grizzicle

Hannah, I have the same issue. I recently invited colleagues that have never used Dropbox before, and they showed up as "Ineligible" after signing in from their apps.

Please award us the extra space, as promised in the share screen!

Hannah

Hi there, @Grizzicle, sorry to see that you're having this issue.

Can you please check this FAQ article, specifically the "Why did I not get my referral reward from Dropbox?" section, to see what might have caused this?

You'll also find possible fixes, so let me know if you're still having this issue after checking everything.

Grizzicle

Of course I read the article. I always try everything on my end before posting.

THis isn't on me -- this is on Dropbox.

Grizzicle

I would appreciate it if your staff didn't point me to FAQs and pre-written articles. Assume your users are intelligent, resourceful people who have already tried everything on their end. If we are reaching out to you, it means the problem isn't on our end and can't be debugged with available resources. Don't waste valuable time and reply back-and-forth pointing to various articles and docs. Step in and address the issue -- adding the space, since you know the accounts in question -- or provide a way to get in touch!

Lalia

Sometimes Dropbox flags new accounts as ineligible if there was an older account linked to the same person/device before — it can be a bit confusing when trying to claim referral credits.

Grizzicle

There's not an older account linked to the same person/device. This is verifiably a new person. I know because I saw this person unbox a sealed machine and install Dropbox fresh. There were no previous accounts, no previous invite, no reused email address.

I don't want to hypothesize. @Hannah or someone from the team should post the proper solution, or reach out directly, but I admit it's shady that so many people have this problem and don't receive a public followup solution. Why is this so hush-hush? If so many people are experiencing this false positive, then something on Dropbox's end is not working properly. Why not solve it? Play fairly and do what the "Refer a Friend" site promises! 😡

Grizzicle

Hey -- Why are you reaching out to people via email instead of solving this problem for everyone in public? If the cause differs from case to case, can you at least loop back and summarize the reasoning for other people, so we have better visibility and transparency into why this is happening?

Don't point us to articles. Share the specifics regarding actual cases, based on real data.

I've also been waiting days to be contacted. Can you handle this with more urgency please? Some of the people I've been referring are considering moving to paid plans, but if we can't trust Dropbox to do as their marketing says ("Refer a friend and get 500 MB!"), we have to reconsider.

Grizzicle

Hey @Jay!

Please don't point us to articles. Share the specifics regarding actual cases, based on real data, and provide transparent reasoning behind that real data, like "This person was ineligible because _______." Every case is different, but this kind of response is more proactive than reading FAQ articles. Assume your users are intelligent, resourceful people who have already read these static pages. Because we are.

Grizzicle

Hey @Neal ,

I just wanted to chime in to say that I've had the same issues, and I've read all the FAQs, but still haven't been able to get the space. (The FAQs are mostly useless.)

How about reaching out to proactively solve this issue instead of continuing to harp on FAQs that just restate the obvious? If people are coming here looking for help, they want to actually be helped, not given the runaround to docs.

Rich

Grizzicle wrote:
Why are you reaching out to people via email instead of solving this problem for everyone in public?

They often do this when account information is required to look into a matter. And since account information is needed, they often won't loop back to the forums because the issue may be specific for that account.

The most common issues and how to resolve them are described in the FAQ.

Grizzicle wrote:
I've also been waiting days to be contacted.

Neither Dropbox Support nor the community managers are available on weekends. If you contacted Support through the link on the FAQ that you were directed to, then reply here with your ticket number and @Hannah may be able to check the status for you.

Lalia

It sounds like the system flagged the new account as ineligible for the referral program, even though your friend signed up using your link. Since she previously had another Dropbox account under a different email, the system may have recognized that and applied the rules automatically.

Hannah

Hey @Grizzicle, thanks for your feedback on this.

I do understand where you're coming from, however, like Rich mentioned, issues such as this one along with their causes are usually unique to each user.

That's why access to account specific info is required, which can only be accomplished internally, due to security reasons.

That said, I'd love to help you, but wasn't able to locate a ticket linked to your account.

You mentioned that you're waiting to be contacted; can you share your ticket number so I can investigate this further?

If you don't have a ticket, let me know and I can personally reach out to you.

Hannah

Hey @Grizzicle, thanks for your comments once again.

I just replied to you on the other thread you posted in.

You can see my reply here and I'll be waiting for yours on that thread.

Neal

Hi @Grizzicle,

I understand the frustration. Pleas keep in mind that while many people have the same issue, that doesn't mean it's for the same reason.

We share the FAQ's just in case they can explain why some users are experiencing these issues. For those that it does not help, like you, then it's just as Rich explained.

We try and help these users on support tickets as we need to discuss account specific information that can not be shared on a public forum like this.

I'd recommend responding to Hannah and going through the support process so our team can can look into your specific issue as best they can.