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Re: Really Slow Upload...only Dropbox
spapai I have had some follow up from the specialist, and went through the steps of creating a new admin account on the Mac, and testing via browser and Dropbox app on that new account. Same slow results.
I created the new user profile, installed Dropbox, un-checked everything in Selective Sync (to save time), then tested an upload using a 6.83 GB folder with 18 video files in it. The upload speed ranged between 800 kbps and about 1500 kbps. It’s roughly the same performance I am getting on my primary user account.
That same folder uploaded to Box.net in less than 6 minutes. It uploaded to Google Drive in 2 min 54 sec (I was impressed by that one).
My Speedtest results just prior to testing uploads were: ping time 4ms, download 704 Mbps, upload 879 Mbps.
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Searching outside of the forums here, I found one user who turned on his VPN service, and his upload speeds went back to normal. I figured it was worth a test. After enabling ExpressVPN, my upload speeds jumped from today's dismal 400-500 kpbs up to 12,000 kbps or faster. That wins a WTF award. Time to figure out why that's happening.
Sanity check here - really slow uploads for us as well. DropBox only.
Hahnium, try using simple VPN software for a test to see if you have the same positive results. If it works, please tell us which ISP you use. It's really bizarre. I have no idea why enabling ExpressVPN returned the uploads to normal speeds.- Lusil
Dropbox Staff
Add me to the list of slow uploads. Uploading a single file (not sync) using the latest Pale Moon browser. Under Personal Account there is no preference setting that caps speed. I'm getting between 1mbps & 6mbps upload on a 250mbps syncronous fiber connection with less than 25mbps in use by other applications. Pathetically slow. Just started using DB Plus a couple weeks ago. If this is not fixed soon I'll simply use another service and let the subscription run out in a week.
- Lusil
Hi, has anyone found a solution to this yet? 800kb upload speed here
- Rich
Super User II
Remember to do the math before you compare the reported speeds in Dropbox to your speed tests.
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 800KB/s transfer speed is approximately 6.4Mb/s.
Also, each file that you upload is hashed and compressed, then transferred, encrypted, and stored on the Dropbox servers. That entire process is included in the aggregate KB/s speed that's displayed in the Dropbox sync status. In other words, it's not just a transfer speed and can't be directly compared to the upload and download speeds provided by your ISP.
