Files sync to Mac computers, but not to a Windows one

[Iliana1]

Has anyone experienced this.
I have 5 devices on which I share my Dropbox. 4 are Apple and sync instantaneously. My recent purchase of a windows laptop will not sync all of my folders/files/documents. I’m not getting timely support from Dropbox it’s been almost a month of back and forth emails and still they offer no solution and will not call me to troubleshoot.
I’m open to ideas or another provider to move my business to that provides support.

Thank you for any advise on this
Iliana1

[Hannah · Accepted solution]

Hey @Iliana1, thanks for reaching out to us.

What's the sync status and version of the Dropbox app on the Windows computer? You can hover over the Dropbox icon for this info.

Do the files sync to your account online as well?

If they sync to your Mac computers and online, but not your Windows one, can you check if the names of the files have any incompatible characters?

Let me know what you find.

[RJWriter]

This is an ongoing issue. I have two phones (Pixel 7 Pro and Samsung), two laptops (Lenovo PCs) and a Mac desktop. I thought Dropbox would give me a way to see ALL files from ALL devices. Nope. The files are not in sync across all devices. In fact, the files I see on each device all seem to be different depending on the device I am using. I've had to resort to emailing myself and labeling files with dates and times to ensure I am using the latest documents. As you can imagine, this is very frustrating considering this is an issue Dropbox is supposed to solve. (And yes, I know it's probably me. :-/)

Two questions.

1. How do I get the files to sync across all devices?

2. How do I get current files all into one place?

Thanks, in advance, for your assistance. 

Ron Jette

[Mark]

Hi @RJWriter 

First thing to check is that Dropbox is running on all devices and not reporting any errors - mouse over its icon on the status bar to see what it says.

Next thing is that they are ALL using the exact same email and log on. A good way to test that is to add a file (a photo say) and see where it appears. 

In terms of syncing it should just do it as long as Dropbox is running without errors, on the same account AND its worth noting that files will ONLY sync to the Dropbox folder on the machine. So, if you work on a file elsewhere even if you copied/pasted it in to the Dropbox folder once that file wont update. The only way to update and sync is to work on files INSIDE of the \Dropbox directory. 

[RJWriter]

Hey, Mark.

Thanks for all this. I suspect that one of those things is out of whack due to an error on my part. Somehow, that doesn't surprise me. 🙂 Good to know, though, so I have something to check.

I'm not at home right now so I will have to try all of this later. But thank you, in advance. I'll let you know.

Ron

[Iliana1]

Hello Mark. I'm having a similar problem as RJWriter. I have 3 MAC products (iPad,iphone and iMac) and recently added a windows laptop (HP). All of my devices update instantly with the exception of the laptop, window/HP. I worked with Dropbox Support and aside from the very very very slow replies, nothing they suggest works. I've uninstalled, reinstalled, cleaned the program in DOS. Corrected Permission settings, performed Advanced Reinstall, and I can just go on and on.  I personally tried creating a new folder to see if it showed up on the laptop and it did, I began to drag and drop files into it and it seemed to be working when I was almost done transferring the files in one of my main folders, the new folder with all of the file transfers disappeared from the laptop but remained on all of the other devices.

I can not determine which file or document may be causing this to happen and when I looked inside at the folders that to show across all of the devices, I found some folders and/or documents are missing on the laptop device. All other devices are perfectly synced.

Have you encountered this before, can you provide any assistance or suggestions?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Walter]

Hey @Iliana1, sorry to hear about your syncing issue.

Could you send us a screenshot of the app's exact status and version as shown in your system tray at the moment?

While we're at it, since you've already contacted our support team, could you share your ticket ID so that we can look it up in our system?

[Iliana1]

Ticket #22473103: Dropbox Support Chat

I hope you can help with this.  I can't find answers and I would hate to have to change provider just because of a syncing issue.  I've used Dropbox for several years and have been very happy with it.

I'm not computer savvy, so I hope this is what you are looking for.  You are welcomed to contact me by phone to walk through any possible options. [removed per the Community's Guidelines]

Again, thank you very much.

Iliana

 In case it is too dark, the number it shows is 180.4.4912 and says Up to date under the number.

[Iliana1]

Thank you for the response. I just re[lied to Walters request and hadn't seen your response.  That's a new take on the issue.  

I will go through the folders and see if I can locate one example of an incorrect file name  and see if I correct it if it shows up across all devices.

I wonder through, would a folder be omitted due to having one or more files within the subfolders with an incorrect file name?

Iliana

[Walter]

Thanks for the screenshot @Iliana1 - much appreciated!

The version of the desktop app is a bit outdated; could you update to the latest version from this page directly and let me know if the issue persists? 

As for your ticket, I took a look at our system and it seems that you didn't reply to the last email you received from the expert who's handling your request - you can reply to them there if you'd like to continue troubleshooting this more in-depth with account sensitive information.

Also, if you managed to find some examples of problematic folders, please send them on as well.