A web download of a large file always cuts off after an hour

Question

I received a password-protected link to a large file (125 GB) from a client.

This file won't download; the download simply stops after about an hour without any error message.

I've tried using Firefox, Chrome, Edge, and Opera on a Windows system – yes, even in incognito mode – and the result is always the same. And yes, I have plenty of storage space. I've already read quite a bit about this, and the only solution seems to be to subscribe to a paid plan to sync such files to my Dropbox (I’ve always had a free account with 8.25 GB of storage—one I’ve had since the very beginning). I read a post from a user in this forum who, through testing with the Dropbox API, discovered that it's the Dropbox server that's interrupting the connection – also exactly after an hour. Why is this happening?

Can I assume this behavior is intentional, designed to push recipients into paid subscriptions? I neither want to nor can I sign up for a premium account with every different service just to download files from others who are already paying for it. With no other provider with a similar concept I experiences this problem when downloading via the browser.

It seems Dropbox doesn't want downloads to be handled via a download manager either; in any case, the transfer of links is being blocked somehow.

Before I tell the customer to use a different service, I would like to hear some opinions on the matter.

Hannah · Answer

Could you please send me the link to the thread you're referring to, Alan?

Alan030 · Answer

Thanks for your quick reply, Hannah. At the moment, I don't have the option to test this on a different network. However, that doesn't seem like a sensible approach to me, since—as I mentioned—I don't experience this problem with other services. There is no logical explanation for why the network would be responsible for an interruption occurring always after exactly one hour—specifically only during downloads from Dropbox servers—while the internet connection itself remains completely stable. It is particularly odd that the download cuts off after exactly one hour, especially given that another user here has demonstrated that this interruption is intentionally triggered by the Dropbox server.

What is the explanation or view on this?

Hannah · Answer

Sorry to see that you're having this issue, @Alan030.

And thanks for looking into it and trying some troubleshooting as well.

Have you tried downloading the file while connected to a different network, if possible?

I just want to see if that will make a difference.

Let me know how it goes.