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Why won't my devices sync with each other?

I have no idea if this is the right area. My tablet and phone show a 3 Month old version of files and not all of them. I've tried signing into the web app. I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling on my phone and nothing works. IT looks like syncing had been paused on the computer but even once that happened it doesn't populate to the other devices.

I'm not sure what else to do.

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Comments

Jay

Hi @WhyDoHumansNoLongerExist, thanks for posting today!

Just for clarification, is the website the only place with the updated files?

What OSes and Dropbox versions are you running on those devices?

This will help me to assist further!

WhyDoHumansNoLongerExist

Trying again, because looking for the version caused my reply to disappear. 😞 I cannot find the version on my laptop, Windows 11 OS. Tablet and phone have version 364.2.2 and are Androids. Neither they nor the web app show my current files which are only on my computer. A friend uploaded a file in the last few days to a shared folder. While it shows as "download complete" on the taskbar icon (which is black with a blue sync icon), it does not show in any of the files.

A few days ago my computer said it had just synced 500+ files but now they show again as syncing forever. 3 months ago I had to get a new computer and shift things. These are the current devices but it looks like they're not updating.

I deleted and reinstalled on the phone but it made not difference.

daviddavid

If your devices are not syncing with each other, it could be due to various reasons such as incompatible software versions, network issues, or improper settings. Ensure that all devices are connected to the same network and have the latest updates installed. Check the settings and permissions to ensure proper synchronization between devices.

WhyDoHumansNoLongerExist

They're all in the same room with the same router. Since I've uninstalled and reinstalled on the phone and it shows as the same version as the tablet, I'm not sure how else to install a different version? What permission does Dropbox require to sync as it once did?

Walter

Hey @WhyDoHumansNoLongerExist - sorry to jump in here, but I wanted to mention that it sounds like the Dropbox desktop app on your computer is not syncing.

Could you have a look at your task bar and let me know if you see the Dropbox icon there?

If you do, could you share the app's status and version?

WhyDoHumansNoLongerExist

Said above:

While it shows as "download complete" on the taskbar icon (which is black with a blue sync icon), it does not show in any of the files. I cannot find the Dropbox version on my computer. I've looked but it's not showing anywhere that I know of.

Walter

In that case, could you reinstall using the offline installer from this page directly @WhyDoHumansNoLongerExist ?

WhyDoHumansNoLongerExist

Do I need to uninstall the previous version and will it affect my files if they're not syncing to the cloud?

Walter

No need to uninstall at this time @WhyDoHumansNoLongerExist - just reinstall using the link I provided.

As for the files that aren't syncing at the moment, they should resume once the app starts working normally.

WhyDoHumansNoLongerExist

That didn't work unfortunately, and I did restart my computer.

Megan

Hi from me too @WhyDoHumansNoLongerExist!

Keep in mind that computers sync directly with the Dropbox website, not with each other.

To find where the problem lies, we need to check the device you used to update and add the content to the account.

Can you send me a screenshot of the app's syncing status on that device, and also a screenshot of your Dropbox folder, showing the files you've added on your end, please?

WhyDoHumansNoLongerExist

I'm in a very long and painful discussion with Dell. It seems the OS is corrupt and they want to reinstall it. However, since my work isn't saving to Dropbox cloud because it's only on my computer, I'm stuck in a loop. Is there anything you can suggest for backing up my files before they reinstall (which went very badly the last time they did so)?

Jay

You can try uploading the files directly to the Dropbox site without using the Dropbox desktop application.

WhyDoHumansNoLongerExist

Thank you. However, if this really is an issue of the OS causing the sync problems then can anyone explains this. I shared the folder with another person. She has been saving documents to it. However, when I go to the web app, I do not see her documents either. I can see one stuck in my synch folder that says "Download Complete" but it does not show anywhere except in her files. So, would this mean it's not just my computer but some issue with Dropbox. Downloading and running the offline installer did not help.

Walter

Does your collaborator see their changes on the shared folder if they navigate their account from a web browser @WhyDoHumansNoLongerExist ?

Also, can you clarify if the app is stuck at syncing the exact same number of files for a while now or if it's progressing at all?

WhyDoHumansNoLongerExist

I can now see some of her documents. In the graphic above the ones at the top showing download complete are the ones she's loading. I cannot see an excel file that is in the folder and she can see it. She sees this. It's blurry but the first doc is excel and I don't see it on the web but only on my computer. A few days ago it said it was process 507 files. Now it says syncing 517. The last time it looks like it uploaded one of my files was in early January.

Hannah

Hey @WhyDoHumansNoLongerExist, sorry to jump in here as well.

If this person has uploaded the Excel file to the correct folder and can see it in the folder on dropbox.com, so should you, because the website is a mirror of what's saved in our servers.

If you don't see the Excel file in the folder on your end (on dropbox.com), can you login from another browser or a private browsing/incognito window and check again?