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Forum Discussion
The right way to send large (>100GB) files via Dropbox to a client with no Dropbox subscription?
Hi,
I have Dropbox Pro myself, so uploading files should be no problem. The key question is: What is the optimum ZIP file size is so that a client who does not have a Dropbox subscription can download them? I cannot find a clear answer to this. In some places it says you can download a folder of 20GB or a single file of unlimited size. Is this actually the case? Can I upload a 215 GB file and assume that a client with no Dropbox subscription can actually successfully download it? Or do I need to break it down to 2GB, or 20GB or 50GB ZIP files for it to be downloadable at the other end? I am NOT going to ask the client to get a Dropbox subscription in order to download the files.
khkannisto wrote:
Some years back it was impossible for a client to download anything over 2GB without signing up for Dropbox.
No, that's not true. If you invited someone to a shared folder they would be required to have a Dropbox account. If they had a free account, their storage space would be 2GB to start. That means they wouldn't be able to join a shared folder containing more than 2GB of data. Sending someone a shared link never had a 2GB download limit.
I am currently generating a split ZIP file with 50GB chunks. It will take 6 hours to generate the ZIP file and maybe 20 hours to upload. I really hope that that can be downloaded at the other end.If you're using a view-only shared link, they should be able to download the files, dependent on your own bandwidth limits.
To prevent abuse, Dropbox accounts have the following limits:- Basic accounts and accounts on a trial of a Dropbox team: 20 GB of bandwidth and 100,000 downloads per day
I take that to mean that if the recipient has a basic account they will only be able to download 20 GB per day
No, that refers to the bandwidth available to shared links and files requests used by people they share with. If someone on a Basic account shares a link to a file, or they send someone a File Request to receive files, the bandwidth limit applies to their account. If they're just downloading from someone else, they don't even need an account.
The exception here is if you send a Basic user a link to a file and they try to save it to their own Dropbox account instead of downloading it. In that case, they wouldn't be able to save it because it exceeds their space limit (assuming a 2GB free account). They can still download the file to their computer.
- Rich
Super User II
khkannisto wrote:
What is the optimum ZIP file size is so that a client who does not have a Dropbox subscription can download them?
If you're using a shared link, the limit has nothing to do with the recipient and whether or not they have an account, but with the bandwidth limitations on your own account.
Some years back it was impossible for a client to download anything over 2GB without signing up for Dropbox.
Last year I couldn't transfer a file over 20GB or 50GB (I don't remember which one). The recipient couldn't download anything larger.
It had nothing to do with what I could upload, as I can upload a 2TB file. It had everything to do with what the recipient could download.
Which is why I am asking what the current limits are and how to best proceed.
- Rich
khkannisto wrote:
Some years back it was impossible for a client to download anything over 2GB without signing up for Dropbox.
No, that's not true. If you invited someone to a shared folder they would be required to have a Dropbox account. If they had a free account, their storage space would be 2GB to start. That means they wouldn't be able to join a shared folder containing more than 2GB of data. Sending someone a shared link never had a 2GB download limit.
I am currently generating a split ZIP file with 50GB chunks. It will take 6 hours to generate the ZIP file and maybe 20 hours to upload. I really hope that that can be downloaded at the other end.If you're using a view-only shared link, they should be able to download the files, dependent on your own bandwidth limits.
To prevent abuse, Dropbox accounts have the following limits:- Basic accounts and accounts on a trial of a Dropbox team: 20 GB of bandwidth and 100,000 downloads per day
I take that to mean that if the recipient has a basic account they will only be able to download 20 GB per day
No, that refers to the bandwidth available to shared links and files requests used by people they share with. If someone on a Basic account shares a link to a file, or they send someone a File Request to receive files, the bandwidth limit applies to their account. If they're just downloading from someone else, they don't even need an account.
The exception here is if you send a Basic user a link to a file and they try to save it to their own Dropbox account instead of downloading it. In that case, they wouldn't be able to save it because it exceeds their space limit (assuming a 2GB free account). They can still download the file to their computer.
