Child Item

Email address already taken

My main dropbox account is linked to an old email address that I no longer use.

I have tried to change the email address to the one I use but it is already taken, by me.

I have paid for a space upgrade for Dropbox on my PC (old email address) but can't access the extra space on my lap top (new email address). I don't want to pay for another upgrade.

I think I might have to cancel both accounts completely and start again. But doing that I'll lose my upgrade?

Find more posts tagged with

Error Messages

Account Settings

AcceptAnswer

Under Consideration

Accepted answers

Hannah

Sorry to jump in here, @rlloyd and sorry to see you're having trouble.

Do you have access to your Dropbox accounts, both free and paid?

If so, a workaround for this would be to login to the free one, replace the email address with a third, placeholder address , which will free up the one you want to use.

Then, you can login to your paid account and update it with that email address.

I hope that makes sense!

All comments

Mark

That means, as it says, you already have an account with that email.

So, you need to log on to it by using a password reset at www.dropbox.com/forgot and either deleting the account OR changing the email on it to a different one

dronecrasher

i am trying to change my email address to my other email and i get a notification that my new email already exists. that is impossible. in the past (years ago) i changed my other email to the current one..

Hannah

Hey @dronecrasher, thanks for reaching out to us.

If you're getting an error that the email you're trying to use is already taken, then it definitely means that there's a Dropbox account under that address.

Have you tried logging in using that email address? You can try to reset your password, to gain access and see what kind of account it is, what files it has inside, etc.

flowace

You can change the email associated with your Dropbox account without losing your paid space upgrade by first changing the email on your old account (on your PC), inviting your new email to share a folder, and then changing the email on your old account (on your laptop). This way, both devices will use the same Dropbox account with the new email, and your paid space upgrade will remain intact. If you encounter any issues, consider contacting Dropbox support for assistance.

dronecrasher

@Hannah I tried resetting the password with the other email which is supposedly already in use but it prompted me to create a new account

Hannah

Hey @dronecrasher, thanks for the update.

Can you please send us a screenshot of the prompt you're getting to create a new account?

Also, how did you request to reset your password?

Did you do it via the https://www.dropbox.com/forgot page or via the sign-in page?

Can you try from https://www.dropbox.com/forgot to see if you're getting the password reset email?

dronecrasher

Below is the image changing my email address where it states that the email is already in use.

I requested to reset my password, screenshot below

When I try to sign in on the website with my 'already in use email' and select next

it guides me through the create new account setup... so there is no email with an account in use..

Nancy

Hey @dronecrasher, sorry to jump in.

Just to clarify, when requesting a password reset for your @me.com email address, did you actually receive one, or nothing arrived to your inbox/spam folder?

dronecrasher

I did not receive anything (also nothing in spam)

Nancy

Alright, @dronecrasher, thanks for clarifying that!

Can I log a ticket for you instead, and send it over to this email address? We’ll need to investigate this internally, to see what may be happening.

dronecrasher

Yes, what do you need from me to do that?

Nancy

@dronecrasher, I’ve sent you a message to this email address.

Please reply back to it, and we’ll look into this together.

Thanks!