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Restoring previous version of a file not working
I require technical support from Dropbox.
I have three files in my Dropbox that I initially uploaded in August 2021. In July 2022, I overwrote them by uploading new files with the same names. I realized a few weeks later, and tried to restore the initial version of the files from Version history. The green success message saying that the restore was successful kept showing up, but the file never actually got restored.
After restoring, the Version history page looks the same (showing that the file is on the latest version). And every time I restore and then download the file, it downloads the new file. I even tried to go into the Version history and download the old version directly, instead of restoring and then downloading. It downloads me a a small file with the correct name, but it is a plain text file (not the zip file I had uploaded). If I open up this text file, it's a 500 error in HTML. It's the Dropbox 500 page that you see when something's wrong. So there was definitely something wrong during the file restore process. If I can't download the old version, I imagine the backend also had some trouble restoring the file, but I'm surprised that a file restore can fail and show the green success message.
I tried logging out and back in, using a different browser, using a different device, everything in the book. Anyway, I'm on the free plan and a few weeks beyond the 30-day threshold, so I can no longer try and restore the files from Version history (not that it worked when I did it). Since there's no way to file a ticket or anything with proper support, I hope someone can see this and is able to escalate my request so I can recover my data. The files should have been restored, but they were not (despite showing a success message like a successful restore), so it seems like I've permanently lost my data. Can someone from Dropbox help?
6 Replies
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- Hannah
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hey injust, thanks for taking the time to write to our Community.
Sorry to see you're having trouble with this.
Since you got the message that the version was successfully restored, can you try again, this time from a different browser or a private browsing window?
Just want to make sure this is not a browser/loading issue.
Let me know how it goes.
The file's "restore previous version" feature seems to be malfunctioning for me as well, regardless of the browser I use. I've attempted to utilize it in both Chrome and Edge, even in incognito mode. Additionally, I've tried accessing it from my phone. I have disabled my adblockers too on both browsers and both devices. Based on these attempts, it appears that the problem lies with Dropbox's functionality rather than any external factors on my end. Looking into this problem on your end would be highly appreciated. Thanks.
- Mark
Super User II
It would help if you said what the issue was and what wasn't working. Screenshots etc. would also help 🙂
It seems obvious to me the problem, but perhaps I could be mistaken. I made changes to a file, which now has a version history. I accessed the version history of said file and selected the option to restore the previous version. Although I received a message confirming the successful restoration, the file remains in its modified state. I attempted this process on different browsers and even on my mobile device to narrow down the issue, but the problem persists despite my troubleshooting efforts. Consequently, I have reached the conclusion that the issue lies with Dropbox's functionality.
- Megan
Hi MaldroidDev, let's jump right into this!
It might sound trivial, but is there a chance that the version of the file that you chose to restore, is the same as the current one? Do you see any difference in the size of the two file versions?
Keep me posted!
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