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Forum Discussion
File syncing and the "Downloads" folder (macOS)
-- Using macOS Monterey 12.6 with Safari 16.0 and Dropbox desktop app v157.4.4808 --
Situation: I am backing up the folders in my ~/ with Dropbox backup. Among them is the "Downloads" folder. The "Downloads" folder is my default download location for web browsers. I like that the files I have downloaded are backed up to Dropbox.
Problem: While the browser is downloading a file, Dropbox is uploading that same file to its servers. Dropbox does not wait for the download task to complete. The consequence is that the download speed is negatively impacted by the upload bandwith used by Dropbox.
Possible solution: Have a script move downloaded files from folder A to folder B and sync only folder B.
Question(s): Isn't this a design flaw? Am I the only one having this problem? Don't you think the behavior of the Dropbox app doesn't make much sense in this particular case?
- Jay
Dropbox Staff
Hi fridebidehu, thanks for bringing this to our attention.
We've not heard of other users experiencing this same download speed issue. Do you have the bandwidth settings restricted in any way in the app?
Does this same behavior occur with any browser you're using to download files?
This will help me to assist further!
- No bandwith restriction.
I did not try and will not try with another browser.- Hannah
Hey fridebidehu, how are you today?
As a workaround, I would suggest that you pause syncing or quit the Dropbox application, while you're downloading files.
I hope this helps!
