We're making changes to the Community, so you may have received some notifications - thanks for your patience and welcome back. Learn more here.

Forum Discussion

gumdrops's avatar
gumdrops
Helpful | Level 6
5 years ago

Dropbox using high amount of RAM / memory

This is an issue for Dropbox running macOS Mojave 10.14.6. I've been using Dropbox for many years but as a really light user. I probably have around 200 data files, sizes ranging from a few bytes to ...
Desktop
Mac
Space and storage
Sync
Walter's avatar
Walter
Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

Thanks for the visual aid gumdrops; this was exactly what I was looking for!

 

If the desktop app is using so much RAM while you're not working within your Dropbox Folder and the app states 'Up to date' you might want to consider a clean, advanced re-install as it might help improve matters for you.

 

In any case, please keep me posted!

gumdrops's avatar
gumdrops
Helpful | Level 6
5 years ago

I followed the instructions of re-installing Dropbox. I'll see how it goes, and keep you posted. 

  • gumdrops's avatar
    gumdrops
    Helpful | Level 6
    5 years ago

    So, I did that advance re-install and it may have helped. It now takes up over 270 MB at startup, and creeps up over time, but at least it hovers around the 310 MB mark, provided I'm not working with a lot of files being synced with Dropbox.

     

    However, the negative side effect from that re-install..... it triggered that three-device limit for Basic plan users. So, I had to remove other devices linked to my Dropbox account for syncing..... which is really annoying as it makes my workflow and productivity complicated. ><

     

    This is not related, and a side rant; I have several devices synced to Dropbox as I use a few productivity apps daily. They only use Dropbox to sync across devices, so I don't have an option. I wouldn't mind paying for a cheaper lower tiered subscription for lower capacity. Personally, I only need less than 5 GB, and don't really want to pay US$11.99 per month for some thing I don't use.

     

    Oh well. Maybe Dropbox can offer a cheaper plan in the future. 

     

    Thank you for your help, Walter. 

  • gumdrops's avatar
    gumdrops
    Helpful | Level 6
    5 years ago

    Thanks for your reply Walter.

     

    That's all right. I wasn't aware of the changes, I didn't let you know of my devices, and that wasn't your intention. 

     

    Yeah, I'll do that. I wanna add my voice to that thread. I'm sure many would prefer a cheaper option. 

     

    Thanks for your help.

     

    Best wishes,

     

    gumdrops

  • Walter's avatar
    Walter
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    5 years ago

    Thanks so much for keeping me in the loop here gumdrops; I appreciate it. 

     

    I'm sorry I wasn't aware that you had more than 3 devices linked on your account. As you know, we changed the device limit for Dropbox Basic users back in March 2019. Unfortunately this means that if you were exceeding the maximum of 3 devices linked, you'd need to reduce the total number of devices on your account to below 3 to re-link your account through the desktop app upon re-installing. 

     

    As for your other concern, I'd suggest upvoting the relevant idea to show your interest.

     

    Feel free to come back to me with any questions you may have in the future; I'll be happy to follow up.

About Create, upload, and share

Find help to solve issues with creating, uploading, and sharing files and folders in Dropbox. Get support and advice from the Dropbox Community.

Need more support

If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X or Facebook.

For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.

If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!