Sync speed slower than my network speed by a long long way

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Byron wrote:

i have ran a speed test on my network and i have 50mb download and 10mb upload speed.

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Unless you specify otherwise, your speed test will be run to a local server (speed tests sites always select a local server by default). For a more accurate result pick one close to the Dropbox servers which are in San Francisco. Also remember that some ISPs have been known to give priority to speed test traffic when performing such tests.

When i look at my drop box sync speed its at 4 or 5 mb. this is utterly useless.

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While most ISPs and speed test sites display their results in bits (kilo or mega), the speeds reported by Dropbox are in bytes. Be sure to do the conversion before comparing. Your 4-5MB/s transfer speed as reported by Dropbox is approximately 32-40Mb/s, which is pretty fast for Dropbox sync speeds.

Also, each file that you upload is hashed, compressed, then transferred, encrypted, and stored on the Dropbox servers. That entire process is included in the aggregate KB/s or MB/s speed that's displayed in the Dropbox sync status. In other words, the speed reported by Dropbox is not just a transfer speed, but the speed at which the entire process is being completed.