Dropbox keeps trying to download and sync files set to online only

Hey Rachel L. - thanks for keeping us in the loop and for all the troubleshooting you've done so far on this. 

At this point, I'd recommend having a more in-depth look into this issue with our team. 

Could you have a look at your Support options from this page? 

If you can submit a ticket, please do so and let us know its ID (eg. #1234567) so that we can pass all your comments from here along to the one who'll be reviewing this for you.

Lusil Sorry it took me so long (anxiety) but I submitted an e-mail ticket since chat is difficult for me. I wasn't sure which category to choose so I went with "The Dropbox app" and I wasn't sure how to summarize such a lengthy issue so I sent a link to this thread. The ticket number is #12049248.

The problem persists and has only gotten worse. Since last night now it seems to do it any time, any day I turn on Dropbox and navigate to my Windows Explorer folders. Last night it was just trying to download one e-book but today it's trying to download TENS OF THOUSANDS of files from numerous folders! I mark them as online only over and over and it just keeps trying to download them all! Clicking "cancel" on the occasions it brings a popup message works only temporarily, then it tries again; but now that it's doing all these files at once, there's no way to stop it. A few moments ago it wasn't trying to do this much, but now it is.

Previously I could at least predict the day and time it would do this and avoid turning on Dropbox then, but when it can just decide to do it every night when I'm manually backing up my files, how am I supposed to use this program properly?

I don't have room on my computer for all those files! How do I stop this from happening? I'm sorry to be so frustrated but this has been going on for months now and I really can't deal with all these files always trying to download. 😞 At least when it was just that one file it would always fail to download, but these ones look like they're going to download whether I try to stop them or not. I have no idea what's going to happen when I turn Dropbox on and try again but I have to, to back up my files!

Oh by the way, I very greatly changed up my file organization since I was last here, completely different folders, reorganized files, but that hasn't changed the problem any. All these folders are set NOT to index so that's not the issue. Virus scan wasn't running so that's not the issue. It happens literally when I open Windows Explorer so that's obviously related--but I need to use that program to view my files and modify them (I don't modify them through the app because I need to view the Windows properties).

I can't even figure out how to open the Dropbox app even if I wanted to, anymore. Since I have to go into Windows Explorer to make these folders online only, it's going to keep trying to download them! 😞

I've opened Dropbox in the desktop app version, Windows Explorer is closed, and am trying to tell it to make folders online only through the app but that's not working, either! So it's not just Windows Explorer causing it now, it's Dropbox! I keep clicking online only for this particular folder and it never selects it!

I'm really sorry for my hysteria but I don't know if I have the space for so many files, plus it won't back up the few files I WANT backed up until it's done doing all these. Tens of thousands of online-only files and I can't make them online only whether I use Windows Explorer or the Dropbox app. 😞

Restarting the computer & restarting Dropbox didn't help. 😞

Lusil I looked at the suggestions provided in the help ticket answer and none of them are useful. It's all advice I was already given about checking my antivirus software, any programs that may be trying to access the files (I wouldn't know what, I thought it was Windows Explorer but what's happening right now shows it isn't--all I did this time was restart the computer and Dropbox and it resumed downloading online-only files), backup services (I only use Dropbox), third-party apps that check files (I don't know of any). I was instructed to right click and make files online only...it's literally not letting me do that (I select online only over and over and over without luck), plus I have to open Windows Explorer or the Dropbox app to do so, and that makes files start downloading again. I don't have any other ideas to try. It's currently downloading tens of thousands of files and the Dropbox app itself won't let me smart sync them. I use Trend Micro antivirus but I don't know how that would affect it since I'm not running a virus scan when this happens.

I pay for this service so I wish that it would work the way it's supposed to. 😞

*deepbreath*

So all right, when Dropbox finally finished downloading/syncing those thousands of files, I realized it had NOT actually downloaded them, it just said it was. So I'm more confused than ever. When it finished, those folders were again marked as "Online only" in the Dropbox app (which it had not allowed me to change while they were "downloading"). I turned Dropbox off and viewed the problem folders in File Explorer (that's what I meant by Windows Explorer, sorry) and indeed, the files are all X'ed out in both the folders that acted up.

(Additionally, Dropbox made two folders I HAD set to be stored locally online only, so I changed the setting on those once I started the app up again. I haven't checked to see if they're actually stored locally...I'm scared to open File Explorer again.)

On a whim, I went into the Windows indexing settings to make sure all the folders I want online only are set to be ignored by indexing. And the two problem folders were NOT unselected to be indexed. I don't understand that, they WERE unselected before. I unselected them again. I don't know if this is related or not, since that single e-book file that started giving me problems yesterday is in a folder that's still unselected. (That file keeps trying to download and failing; I get a Windows notification for this one, but not for the others. That problem file DOES seem to be directly related to opening File Explorer.)

So...I don't know what's going on. Dropbox saying it's downloading and indexing thousands of online-only files...but not actually doing so? Possibly related to File Explorer and/or the Dropbox app, and/or Windows indexing...I don't know.

Unfortunately I sent off a hysterical help ticket already. In it I redirected them to this thread and my previous help ticket, so I'm not sure if they'll see this update.

I currently have the app open but am too scared to open File Explorer lest I start something happening again. I feel I'm going to have to just keep Dropbox turned off all the time except right when I back up my few files nightly, then turn it back off. Which is disappointing but I don't want to freak out the app like that again. 😕

"As of January 17, 2022, the Dropbox desktop app will only support File Explorer and the taskbar on Windows and Finder and the menu bar on Macs."

Given this news, I sure hope my issue with Dropbox weirdly attempting (but failing) to download all my online-only files every time I open up Windows File Explorer while Dropbox is running has been resolved. Never opening File Explorer while Dropbox is running is the only way I've found to avoid this problem, and I seem to be the only user who has it. 😕

I just remembered the reason that getting rid of the desktop app will be so troublesome for me. It was the only way I could safely mark folders to save to online only without everything trying to start downloading to my hard drive. If Dropbox is running while I open Windows File Explorer--the only location left where I'll be able to sync folders like this--the problem is going to recur. The only way I've found to avoid it is to turn off Dropbox while using File Explorer, and close File Explorer while using Dropbox.

Now if I want to sync certain folders online only, I have no other options. 😞

Well...after a while of working okay, it's starting this crap again, trying over and over and over and over to download files that I keep marking as ONLINE ONLY over and over and over and over! Except this time, I need to use Windows File Explorer to deal with my Dropbox files, so there's no way for me to avoid triggering this issue.

Why can't this be fixed after such a long period of time? Or at least pinpoint what's causing the conflict? I find it difficult to believe I'm the only user dealing with this. 😞

I read your whole thread with complete empathy. I have been facing this issue for years. I've even tried TWICE in the past years to contact Dropbox for help (I got tickets too!). Basically I've now given up. I've been told so many times the explanation that it's because something I do on my laptop activates some folder in Dropbox, though sometimes it really can't be possible, because I'm doing something totally unconnected to the folder that starts to sync. And mine happens any time, not just on Fridays. 

I've followed online threads on this issue (not many - this is the clearest) but no help. Or so technical the discussion that it loses me. 

Precisely!

In case you didn't see my earlier message:

I read your whole thread with complete empathy. I have been facing this issue for years. I've even tried TWICE in the past years to contact Dropbox for help (I got tickets too!). Basically I've now given up. I've been told so many times the explanation that it's because something I do on my laptop activates some folder in Dropbox, though sometimes it really can't be possible, because I'm doing something totally unconnected to the folder that starts to sync. And mine happens any time, not just on Fridays. 

I've followed online threads on this issue (not many - this is the clearest) but no help. Or so technical the discussion that it loses me. 

I've resigned myself to conclude that the Dropbox people don't know how to deal with this, or it's such an obscure issue they're not looking into it - they just repeat the same message to me about .... what you said. 

And yes, many times my laptop says that I'm running out of space. At that point, I know that Dropbox files have started downloading / syncing AGAIN, and I just have to go set them to "Online only" AGAIN, and AGAIN and AGAIN. Sometimes I just forcibly PAUSE syncing to give myself peace of mind

No, you're not the only one with this issue. In case you didn't see my earlier replies:

Precisely!

In case you didn't see my earlier message:

I read your whole thread with complete empathy. I have been facing this issue for years. I've even tried TWICE in the past years to contact Dropbox for help (I got tickets too!). Basically I've now given up. I've been told so many times the explanation that it's because something I do on my laptop activates some folder in Dropbox, though sometimes it really can't be possible, because I'm doing something totally unconnected to the folder that starts to sync. And mine happens any time, not just on Fridays. 

I've followed online threads on this issue (not many - this is the clearest) but no help. Or so technical the discussion that it loses me. 

I've resigned myself to conclude that the Dropbox people don't know how to deal with this, or it's such an obscure issue they're not looking into it - they just repeat the same message to me about .... what you said. 

And yes, many times my laptop says that I'm running out of space. At that point, I know that Dropbox files have started downloading / syncing AGAIN, and I just have to go set them to "Online only" AGAIN, and AGAIN and AGAIN. Sometimes I just forcibly PAUSE syncing to give myself peace of mind

Oh ok I just saw your comment about "don't open File Explorer" while Dropbox is being used. Wow. Maybe I shall try that. But File Explorer is like so essential to my work! But you're the first one with a different concrete doable suggestion, so I'll try that anyway. 

Yes, I was wondering how you do that - don't use File Explorer - when you have to right click and keep choosing "Online only" etc. And, oh, so now you use Dropbox only using its app. I still have been accessing Dropbox via File Explorer. So now I'm almost excited to try what you said - don't use File Explorer, which means I'll have to open the Dropbox app to navigate from there. So now have taken note of the tedious issue you just raised.

(Again, in case you didn't see my earlier replies, you're not the only one facing this! I'm so glad I finally see company. For years I've thought I'm the only one! These were my earlier replies:

Precisely!

In case you didn't see my earlier message:

I read your whole thread with complete empathy. I have been facing this issue for years. I've even tried TWICE in the past years to contact Dropbox for help (I got tickets too!). Basically I've now given up. I've been told so many times the explanation that it's because something I do on my laptop activates some folder in Dropbox, though sometimes it really can't be possible, because I'm doing something totally unconnected to the folder that starts to sync. And mine happens any time, not just on Fridays. 

I've followed online threads on this issue (not many - this is the clearest) but no help. Or so technical the discussion that it loses me. 

I've resigned myself to conclude that the Dropbox people don't know how to deal with this, or it's such an obscure issue they're not looking into it - they just repeat the same message to me about .... what you said. 

And yes, many times my laptop says that I'm running out of space. At that point, I know that Dropbox files have started downloading / syncing AGAIN, and I just have to go set them to "Online only" AGAIN, and AGAIN and AGAIN. Sometimes I just forcibly PAUSE syncing to give myself peace of mind)

I have exactly the same issue as rachel. Dropbox suddenly says it is downloading 30,000 files. Then it tells me there is not enough space on my to sync. But I can't move any files out of Dropbox for the same reason. So this gums up two PC's. Last time this eventually cleared after a couple of weeks but it is intolerable. I shouldn't need a computing degree to use Dropbox I don't think,

Hey cmag1sp, sorry to see you're having this issue.

There are some processes on your computer that could be looking at and downloading these files without you manually opening them.

This could be some kind of backup service you might have, an antivirus, recently used file lists or third party apps that monitor files in general.

Could this be the case here? And can you temporarily disable these features (if any), to see if you get a different behavior?

I wouldn't know where to begin to look into your points. At a consumer level the program should work as expected without the need for high level intervention to sort out bugs. This appears to be quite a common issue.