How long does it take to switch a file from Local to Online-only?

[dazdagen]

I uploaded a file that was 140Go by simply copying into my Dropbox folder and waiting for it to sync. It took about 5 days as I have 100Mbs on the download but 10Mbs on the upload only with my Spectrum connection.

Now I wanted to save space on my computer and switched it to "Online-only" but it's been two days and it still says "Downloading filename"... 

How long am I supposed to wait? If I knew I would have to do the same thing twice, I would have selected "Always upload online-only" from the beginning... I thought that once it is synced on the Dropbox folder, it wouldn't take too long to switch to Online-only...

Any thoughts?

Thank you for your help.

[Hannah]

Hey @dazdagen, thanks for your post and happy Monday!

Switching a file from local to online-only shouldn't take that long.

What's the sync status on the Dropbox app now? You can see that, if you hover your mouse over the Dropbox icon in your system tray/menu bar.

Can you also try restarting your computer to see if that helps?

Let me know what you find!

[dazdagen]

Hi there, 

Thanks for your reply. It STILL says "Downloading the file"... And it's been five days nonstop!

Now this has taken more time than when I was uploading the file... At least before it said where it was at like "120 Gb left etc..." but now it doesn't say anything.

Restarting my computer?? Wouldn't that ruin the progress and start everything from scratch?

If you confirm that it won't, then I'll go ahead and try that right now!

Thanks for your help

[dazdagen]

[dazdagen]

Hi,

I tried restarting my computer but it STILL doesn't change the status. 

Still saying "Downloading the file" and it has been over 8 days now. Something is wrong I think...

I am SO over this. Dropbox has been giving me headache after headache these last couple days... I need to upload another file urgently and I can't because I don't have space on my laptop and I still can't get this file "Online-only" which would clear up 150 Go from my laptop... SO annoying!!!

[Hannah]

Thanks for the update on this, and sorry for the delay. 

The strange thing about this is that the syncing status of the application indicates that the file is getting downloaded to the computer. 

Switching a file to online-only, wouldn't appear as 'downloading'. 

Is this the computer you added the file from? Or is it a second computer you have connected to your account, which might still be trying to sync down the file?

In any case, it appears that syncing is stuck, so can you please try the steps in this thread and let me know if they help?

[dazdagen]

Thank you, I talked to somebody on the Dropbox specialized team, they seem to have fixed it because the file seems to finally have switched to online-only.

I am now uploading another 150Go file which I will also make online-only. I hope it won't take that much time.

I'll keep this thread in mind in case something similar happens.

Thanks

[Hannah]

That's wonderful to hear, thanks for letting me know!

Hopefully, everything goes as intended from now on.

If you need anything else, make sure to give us a shout!

[darcy-at work]

I am having the exact same problem described above. I made a folder online only and it has not cleared my hard drive. I have tried restarting. It says I have over 80,000 files updating. I don't understand. Why are they all updating? Even some that are in other folders that I did not change the online status.

[Nancy]

@darcy-at work, to clarify, you see there are 80k files updating when checking the syncing status of the Dropbox app, correct? 

How long has it been since you made those files online-only? Is the same number of files still updating or has it changed since you posted here?