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Forum Discussion
Slow Sync Speed (<1MB) on MacBook Pro (M1)
Currently, my MacBook Pro with the M1 chip, purchased in October 2022, is syncing my files to Dropbox at less than 1mb/sec, but I've seen that I can send up to 100mb/sec to Dropbox. My initial sy...
Yes, Dropbox is functioning, and the file count is decreasing.
I can see new files being uploaded live.
I still feel that the issue is what you told me before:
The Dropbox client will batch upload smaller files into batches of 800 files. If you have 800 * 1 kB files the effective batch that's sent to Dropbox will be 800 kB in size. You may commonly see this behavior when Dropbox first starts syncing as the client starts with smallest files first and then progresses to larger files.
There must be too many of those smaller files that it is taking forever. I assume that, eventually, it'll get to the bigger files, and the speed will increase.
Edit (5/15): Maybe I need to mention you (@Megan) for you to get a notification for my reply...
Megan
Dropbox Staff
Dropbox StaffHi djbkwon, welcome to our Community!
Great job following the second thread, the first isn't entirely related to what you're experiencing. Let's see what we can find together.
Keep in mind that the Dropbox servers do not set caps on the upload or download speeds from the Desktop client, but file sync is a complicated process that includes more than just the transfer of the data.
The Dropbox client will batch upload smaller files into batches of 800 files. If you have 800 * 1 kB files the effective batch that's sent to Dropbox will be 800 kB in size. You may commonly see this behavior when Dropbox first starts syncing as the client starts with smallest files first and then progresses to larger files.
I can also see based on your screenshot that the amount of data is rather large. Now, we would need to check two things: one being the version of the app that you're using, just to exclude that you're not using a beta version.
You can hover your mouse over your little, Dropbox icon on your menu bar, next to your WiFi in order to check this. And two, that you've adjusted the bandwidth limit accordingly, to not limit content as shown here.
Let me know more, and we'll take it from there!
Thank you @Megan, that's super interesting to know. I believe what you said is exactly what is happening. I'm happy that I guessed correctly.
To answer your follow-up questions:
1. It looks like I am using a Beta version of the app. I'm not sure why.
2. There are no limits on my upload/download rates. As mentioned, I've seen Dropbox send 100MB/sec of data before on my device.
- Megan
Hi djbkwon, thanks for the speedy reply!
You mentioned in your first response, that these are changes that you made yesterday. What is the progress that the app has made ever since?
Has the number of files that are seen on the first screenshot decreased?
Yes, Dropbox is functioning, and the file count is decreasing.
I can see new files being uploaded live.
I still feel that the issue is what you told me before:
The Dropbox client will batch upload smaller files into batches of 800 files. If you have 800 * 1 kB files the effective batch that's sent to Dropbox will be 800 kB in size. You may commonly see this behavior when Dropbox first starts syncing as the client starts with smallest files first and then progresses to larger files.
There must be too many of those smaller files that it is taking forever. I assume that, eventually, it'll get to the bigger files, and the speed will increase.
Edit (5/15): Maybe I need to mention you (@Megan) for you to get a notification for my reply...
I'm having this issue too. I hope Dropbox fixes this 800 * 1kb = 800 kb limit. I'm uploading a lot of very small files, 100.000 small files each a few kb (this is normal when working with Unity game projects, at least on macOS).
Edit: the folder it self weighs 3-4 GB, but because of the amount of small files it takes several hours to sync. Even though I have 250 mb/s upload rate.
