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"1 file is unable to sync" error on sync status but "See Issues" option shows nothing.

Hi everyone, I could use some help on this

Dropbox pushed out an update to our user environment and it broke our integration and we are slowly starting to fix it. I have a user that has a file that will not sync. When i click the option to see what file is not syncing, it is blank. I cannot locate this file anywhere. I stopped the sync for an hour to let indexing catch up and restarted the sync. No luck

We also uninstalled and reinstalled Dropbox (completely removing the folders and profile from before)

ran chkdsk

Signed out, rebooted and signed back in

verified there is no firewall or antivirus restrictions

Stopped and restarted the dropbox services

we are on version 199.4.6287

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Hannah

Thanks for bringing this to our attention, @Tjador.

If you simply hover over the Dropbox icon in the system tray, do you see the name of the file and the specific reason why this file cannot sync?

Otherwise, if you open the Dropbox folder, is it possible to locate any file that would have the blue circling icon on it, indicating that it's trying to sync?

Let me know what you find.

Kare Lindahl

Hi,

I have the same issue and one of the 2 file names, but not why it is not syncing. To review all the files and folders for a file with a blue circle next to it is not practical, would take days or weeks. Is there another way of resolving this?

Thanks,

Kåre

Megan

Hey @Kare Lindahl, thanks for posting here!

Do you simply see "2 files are unable to sync" whether you hover your mouse over the little Dropbox icon, and if you click on the same icon too?

If you could also clarify your app's version, and how long this has been happening for, I'd appreciate it.

Let me know more!

JUVE-Quan

I THINK I'VE FOUND A SOLUTION!

All I did was fix some permissions for the main Dropbox folder.

Follow these steps:

1. Navigate to whichever drive your Db folder is located

2. Right click on the Db folder and click Properties

3. Select the Security tab at the top

4. Click the Edit... button below the first list; this will open a new dialog box for Permissions

5. Select Authenticated Users from the field of "Groups or user names"

6. Select Full Control under the "Allow" column in the second field (Permissions for Authenticated Users)

7. Click the Apply button at the bottom, and just wait

It took several minutes for Db to sync the new versions of files with elevated permissions, so it may be a good time to step away for a coffee or snack break.

This just worked for me, so I hope it works for you, too!

Mickael L.

11 months later and still the same issue
@JUVE-Quan Thank for your solution but changing security measures for that is a hard "no go" for me.

@Megan when i hover i see nothing:

When i hover "Afficher les problemes" ("display issues" in english i guess) i got this:

So it just repeat the same text...
And when i click on it i got a blank windows too:

This is definitively a bug
I updated my Dropbox on 22/03/2025

Walter

Hey @Mickael L. - sorry to hear you're having issues with this.

Did you try quitting and relaunching the app or even signing out and back into your account through the app's preferences since you first noticed this?

Mickael L.

Yes, but no improvement
The "Issues form" eventually displays the issues, but after... maybe hours..
It seems once an issue is detected, the issues form is notified about it,
but it is only after dropbox tries .. and tries... and tries again, and finally gives up, the message is displayed.

Hannah

Hey @Mickael L., does this mean that the "view sync issues" option now shows you the exact issue? Can you send us a screenshot?

Also, do you see the particular files in your account on dropbox.com?

faaargo

I have same problem - I had Zoomit.exe in a folder. I deleted it since - because DropBox doesn't want to sync it.

Now I can't get the issue cleared and have a chronic Downloading "Zoomit.exe" or Unable to sync "Zoomit.exe" displayed in the task bar upon mouseover

Nancy

Hey @faaargo, can you quit the Dropbox app and relaunch it? Is it still stuck trying to download the same file?

Have you also restarted your computer?