Really Slow Upload...only Dropbox

I just started having the same issues here within the past week. Upload speeds to other services take advantage of the FiOS gigabit service I have. Dropbox has been maxing out below 1500 kb/s at best.  Based on the "It's not us" replies from DB, it seems that just about any other solution is probably the answer.  I'm disappointed with the sudden drop in upload speeds as well as the sidestepping that support is doing here.

I had hoped to find a solution in the community, but it looks like everyone else is getting the same non-answer from DB. Oh well.

Just a quick follow up. The video files that Dropbox shows will take 10-12 hours to upload (no upload speed limit) are 50% done uploading to Box.net in less than 5 minutes.  Hard to accept that it's my connection or computer on this one.

Having similar issues but for downloading. I edit videos for a partner who shoots in another city, he uploads them and I download the folders from my browser. Have never had any issues, was working fine on Friday morning. But now since last night, the download speeds are slow and inconsistent, and they keep failing. Normally I get download speeds through DB around 15-20 MB/s (internet connection with 300 mbps up/down). Even trying to download the footage in chunks by manually selecting a few clips at a time is failing. The file sizes are definitely within the max DB limits. Nothing has changed about our workflow, the only thing different from before is that DB rolled out the new standard plan with the rewind feature. Can't help but suspect it's to blame. Great how they force a $50/year "upgrade" then break their system.

I have tried on multiple browsers, other services like Drive and Creative Cloud work fine, Speedtest results are within the expected 300 mb range, this is solely an issues with Dropbox. I also don't have the option to sync directly to my desktop as I have different accounts for different purposes, and another account is already synced and has to remain that way.

---

Lusil wrote:

Hey peeps, thanks for your extensive description on the behavior you’re experiencing, much appreciated!

 

D_Milstein, I was able to locate your request and can see that it’s been reviewed by a specialized member of the team. I’ve passed your comments along so as soon as they have more info on the matter, they’ll get back to you via email. 

 

Lusil  the email I received from the specialist was the exact text posted in threads here, stating that (I'm paraphrasing) the system is complex, and takes more time than a simple transfer, along with a long list of reasons that the slow uploads are probably on my end.

 

Since the service was fast until recently, and only Dropbox is slow (I use Box.com, Google Drive, and Backblaze, and all three are still quite fast), I found the email message to be a sad excuse to not actually trouble shoot the problem.  The slowdown to an average of less than 800 kbps for Dropbox while I am able to upload 22GB of files to Box.net in 15 minutes does not indicate a network issue on my end.

---

D_Milstein Yes, I'm still experiencing the same issue (Dropbox slow, other sync services fast), and I got the exact same response from Dropbox, even after asking them to read through the thread and understand that my issue was not related to my network. Very frustrating. 

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.

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.

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.

Hi, has anyone found a solution to this yet? 800kb upload speed here

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.