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Forum Discussion
Slow upload speed (but only to Dropbox). Dropbox is now unusable
I've begun to experience this recently:
1: Uploads to dropbox are (as of about one week ago) consistently around 0.14 Mbps. This happens through desktop or web interface.
For perspective, that's a 300 baud modem from 1984 kind of speed. It renders me unable to work using dropbox.
2: Speed tests of the line show consistent ~75 Mbps downstream rate / ~20 Mbps upstream rate.
3: If I try uploading the same file(s) to google Drive (or anywhere but dropbox), speeds are as-expected.
4: I have re-installed the dropbox app. Prefs for everything, including Bandwidth, are at default, so please don't suggest it as a solution.
Dropbox is the only destination exhibiting the problem. Any help appreciated!
What kind of tests can I do to narrow things down? Thanks in advance.
(UPDATE EDIT: 9 Nov) It's not a fix, but a good clue: I have seen immediate return to expected upload speeds after connecting through a VPN.
Another user below has also found respite by altering the MTU size in their router configuration. Will update with new findings.
POSSIBLY suspecting a bad hop somewhere along the route between me and dropbox. If it is, then How to remedy?
YES! - same thing happened to me. Both the desktop app AND the web page are extremely slow at uploading. First started October 21st. ISP is Fision Hotwire. Getting upload speeds only about 3,000 bytes per second. Forcing a connection through Verizon Wireless bypasses the problem. Have tried many other things. Other stuff works without a problem and internet speed is very good.
Definitely some kind of systemic problem in ISP connections or something. All of our computers started doing the same thing at the same time. Have bypassed the router and still the same thing.
DROPBOX - please investigate this and don't just say it is not your problem please?
Found a solution - I changed the MTU to my ISP in my router from automatic to 1428. There must be something along the path to Dropbox that cannot take normal sized 1500 packets. My Verizon connection was working and I thought it was because it was a different ISP path. But the Verizon cellular modem uses an MTU of 1428 so I tried that and it worked. I had already tried other MTU values but not that low.
Thanks for the idea, BW. I might try it. How did you find this post?
-and can you tell me what kind of service you have and with what ISP?
Our circumstances may differ in ways that matter.
Also, it's still not a real solution. It's a kludge; a risky band-aid to the actual problem.
If the user has to configure arcane settings in their router (potentially fouling up other services) to fix the problem, then dropbox has still not found a viable solution to a problem that only exists when accessing their service.
