Navigating within the Dropbox folder in File Explorer in Windows 11 is very slow

I got the exact same issue since yesterday. Everything was working fine on the 9th, and suddenly on the 10th Windows explorer got really slow when trying to navigate through my Dropbox folders

TAGGConsulting

Hi, I have the same issue, everything was fine on 9th, on 11th everything is painfully slow. The issue also impacts my OneDrive shares.

My entire organisation is having this issue and we are now thinking of switching all of our accounts to another cloud storage service.

There are multiple posts about that same exact issue in this forum and none of them is bringing solutions.

Does Dropbox have a fix for that? Are you at least working on it?

I think you will lose a lot of subscriptions if nothing is done fast enough.

Hi Jay, thanks for getting back so quickly, wish I'd noticed this sooner.

I did try quitting the Dropbox desktop application, still slow. I also tried ending all Dropbox tasks via Task Manager, pausing Dropbox sync, and restarting after that. It's still slow when opening folders within the Dropbox folder itself.

I keep my 2TB Dropbox account on a pretty much dedicated 4TB SSD so that everything can be available offline on my PC.

I'm seeing some other people have the same issue at the moment. Hopefully, this can be resolved soon.

Hey, just following up on this, seeing if there's any news on this issue. The bug is still present on my PC. Thanks.

Walter

Hey @pentagramwookie & @mlefebvre & @TAGGConsulting - thanks for letting us know about this.

Can you please confirm your computer's exact OS version, and the version/status of the Dropbox desktop app as shown in your taskbar/menu bar? Is it 'up to date' or still syncing?

If it's up to date, can you try rebooting your computer and your internet router and let us know if you notice any difference?

If not, let us know if this affects any specific folders and if they're available offline or online-only.

Thank you!

Hi Walter,

This is my exact OS Windows version:

Edition Windows 11 Home
Version 24H2
Installed on ‎12/‎11/‎2024
OS build 26100.4652
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.128.0

My Dropbox version is: 228.4.5567

Syncing is up to date. The Dropbox taskbar menu says 'Your files are up to date'

This issue affects all folders/files within the Dropbox directory, and no other files or folders on that internal SSD.

I just now tried rebooting my computer and my internet router. It didn't seem to help in any way, the issue persists.

TAGGConsulting

Hi Walter,

This is my exact OS Windows version:

Edition Windows 11 Home
Version 10.0.26100
OS build 26100

My Dropbox version is: 228.4.5567

Syncing is up to date. The Dropbox taskbar menu says 'Your files are up to date'

This issue affects all folders/files within the Dropbox directory and my OneDrive, and no other files or folders on that internal SSD.

I have operated on 3 different networks over the past week and the issue exists in every case.

I have turned off virus checking and this made no difference.

Nancy

Hi from me as well, @pentagramwookie and @TAGGConsulting! I've gone ahead and logged two separate tickets for each one of you; this way, we can investigate this further.

Please go to the inbox of your Community email address and reply back to me, when you get the chance.

Thanks!

Alexed66

I have the same error since 10th of July on my Windows 11 Pro 64 bit PC at home. In the windows explorer on the main panel any files or folder needs around 30-40 sec to open it. On the left side navigation panel I can see everything. If I use any software to open any files, like Excel, PS, etc. I can open it very fast without any issue. In my main Dropbox folder I see a grey lock icon(!), which was not there before. I send you this screenshot as well. I already tried reinstall dropbox, windows, but northing changed. I can also open any files in my Dropbox folder with Total Commanfder without any problem.

Evergreener

I am having the same problem. Is anyone getting a response from Dropbox? Clearly, something changed in July.

Jay

Hi @Alexed66, @Evergreener, in order to look into this matter in more detail, could you contact the support team directly for them to investigate further.

Evergreener

Hey Alexed66, I will submit to support as Jay suggested, but if you find a solution, could you reply to my post and let me know? I will do the same.

Alexed66

Hi Jay,

I sent this matter to support team right now.

whereismcgee

Also experiencing the exact issue as Alexd66 - I'll keep tabs on this thread for solution(s).

Ashlington

Same issue. I had it when my computer installed update KB5062554 which I had to roll back and that fixed the issue. My computer has since automatically updated and reinstalled it again and the same issue has appeared. I found this thread from a google search. It would be most helpful if Dropbox would post solutions or workarounds here for others to find.

Same Issue, urgent solution needed from Dropbox or my company will move to other cloud storage.

Hi, what solution can you provide ?

Hi, same very anoying issue. Did you find a solution ?

Final Update (Workaround Only – Issue NOT Solved)

After a lot of testing, I’ve confirmed that this is a Windows 11 incompatibility with both iCloud and OneDrive, which causes severe delays (30+ seconds) when opening folders in Dropbox.

Notably, Google Drive folders are completely unaffected by this issue.

Temporary Workaround:

Log out of the iCloud and OneDrive apps on Windows.
Go to Start > Add or Remove Programs and uninstall both apps.
Restart your PC.

After removing iCloud and OneDrive, Dropbox folder navigation returned to normal speed.

Important: This is not a solved issue—just a workaround. Many users rely on multiple cloud services, and having to uninstall iCloud and OneDrive should not be the “fix.” This needs to be addressed properly by Dropbox, Microsoft, and/or Apple.

Posting this here in hopes it helps others experiencing the same bug and gets more visibility for a permanent fix.

mlrosenbloom

I began experiencing this same issue yesterday and it is very unfortunate as I use Dropbox daily to store commonly used files. I have also found that right-click->open in new tab works as a workaround, but have found that the start menu's search feature experiences the exact same delay as attempting to navigate via clicking through folders directly.

I am on Windows 11 Home, 24H2. I do have both OneDrive (multiple instances) and iCloud installed. Would appreciate a solution or more specific information from Dropbox!

Thanks, hard to believe Dropbox has not fixed yet this problem. They might lose a lot of users.

snel01

Hello Dropbox, can you confirm that you are working on this issue with highest prio?

Evergreener

I have been working with the tech support folks and I have no solution. I found that OneDrive has the same issues. Upon telling support that, they seemed to latch onto that as a way to get out of solving the problem. Here is what I was told.

Since the issue also occurs with other sync providers like One Drive, then the issue appears to be related to Microsoft's Cloud Files sync API and further investigation would be required on their end.

The Dropbox for Windows 10 update is focused on the changes introduced with this new sync API . To properly integrate with Windows, we’ve been revamping our sync engine to make use of the Cloud Files API.

Since any issues with that API would also be inherited by any sync service installed that is using it, what I would suggest is to opt out from that version of the Dropbox desktop application and see if the issue gets resolved.

For instructions, please review the below article:
https://help.dropbox.com/installs/dropbox-for-windows#How-to-get-the-Dropbox-for-Windows-update:~:text=existing%20Dropbox%20experience.-,How%20to%20opt%20out%20of%20the%20Dropbox%20for%20Windows%20update,-If%20you%20don%E2%80%99t

MarkDawes

There seems to now be multiple threads on this issue, as I'm on a different one and have spotted other also.

How do we join them together so that all the experiences are captured together?

snel01

Tip: try using FreeCommander XE or another alternative of windows explorer. For me this works fine for now

Unfortunately nobody seems to be able to fix the problem. There's another similar post that I'm following on this platform, but there's no solution that works there either.

I also opened a support ticket with the Dropbox technical team, and after various endless attempts, there's still no solution. The ticket has been closed.

So I still have the same problem and no solutions.

Dropbox doesn't seem to be able to help either.

I'm using a different file explorer than Windows while waiting for a solution, and I'm considering switching to another cloud service provider.

Thanks mlefebvre, it is unbelievable Dropbox has not been able to help. They will loose a huge numbre of clients !
What file explorer are you using ?