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Referral sent to a friend marks as inelegible
Hi
I sent a request to a friend for them to install Dropbox. They followed all the process steps and were awarded 259mb. On my account against their referral email, it is marked as ineligible.
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- Hey Ranim Al-shakifi, thanks for joining the discussion here and happy Monday!
I just wanted to mention that when the recipient is ineligible for the referral program, there are two possible reasons:
One is that the recipient has already registered an account with Dropbox with that email address, or that the recipient is attempting to register using the same computer as you.
If you feel this status is inaccurate double-check the email address of your recipient to try again.
Hi.
I've invited friend with an invitation link from my account.
My friend used that link, logged in in website, and then logged in on computer.
And yet, her account is listed on my invitation lists as "ineligible".
What is wrong?
She didn't have an account connected to that e-mail address.
She had one older Dropbox account (with different email) and decided to make a new one from my invitation link.
From website help:
- Ineligible: The recipient is ineligible for the referral program.
- This may mean that the recipient already has an account with Dropbox, or that the recipient is attempting to register with the same computer as you.
- If you feel this status is inaccurate, double-check the email address of your recipient to try again.
But none of those conditions are met...
What are exact requirements for an email not to be ineligible?
- Mark
Super User II
She had one older Dropbox account (with different email) and decided to make a new one from my invitation link.
This is almost certainly why - especially if she's had Dropbox on that computer before.
Referrals are for new users only, not, new users who delete an account and rejoin.
- Rich
What are exact requirements for an email not to be ineligible?
In addition to what Mark stated, the computer you install Dropbox on needs to be one that has never had Dropbox installed on it before, by anyone.
Even if the old account gets "unlinked" from that PC?
The story is short:
She asked me about free cloud-like space to archive some files in the internet and I recommended Dropbox. I've sent her invitation so she would get some additional space. (Because why not. That's what invitations links are for).
The link doesn't work (i.e. creation of new account worked, but she didn't get bonus space) and when she tried to install Dropbox client system told her that Dropbox was already installed.
She created Dropbox account years ago and basically never used it. The account was slowly rotting, forgotten years ago, linked to some old, non-used email address.
Is it possible to unlink the old account from her PC and link the new account so she get the bonus space, or is her PC forever blocked from that utility?- Rich
Even if the old account gets "unlinked" from that PC?
Yes. Once Dropbox has been installed on a computer, that computer can not be used for another referral.
She created Dropbox account years ago and basically never used it. ... Is it possible to unlink the old account from her PC and link the new account so she get the bonus space, or is her PC forever blocked from that utility?
No, that won't work. That computer will no longer be eligible for a referral because it previously had Dropbox installed. The idea behind referral programs is that they bring in new users that have never used the service before.
Of course I read the article. I always try everything on my end before posting.
THis isn't on me -- this is on Dropbox.
I would appreciate it if your staff didn't point me to FAQs and pre-written articles. Assume your users are intelligent, resourceful people who have already tried everything on their end. If we are reaching out to you, it means the problem isn't on our end and can't be debugged with available resources. Don't waste valuable time and reply back-and-forth pointing to various articles and docs. Step in and address the issue -- adding the space, since you know the accounts in question -- or provide a way to get in touch!
Sometimes Dropbox flags new accounts as ineligible if there was an older account linked to the same person/device before — it can be a bit confusing when trying to claim referral credits.
There's not an older account linked to the same person/device. This is verifiably a new person. I know because I saw this person unbox a sealed machine and install Dropbox fresh. There were no previous accounts, no previous invite, no reused email address.
I don't want to hypothesize. Hannah or someone from the team should post the proper solution, or reach out directly, but I admit it's shady that so many people have this problem and don't receive a public followup solution. Why is this so hush-hush? If so many people are experiencing this false positive, then something on Dropbox's end is not working properly. Why not solve it? Play fairly and do what the "Refer a Friend" site promises! 😡
Hey Jay!
Please don't point us to articles. Share the specifics regarding actual cases, based on real data, and provide transparent reasoning behind that real data, like "This person was ineligible because _______." Every case is different, but this kind of response is more proactive than reading FAQ articles. Assume your users are intelligent, resourceful people who have already read these static pages. Because we are.I've also been waiting days to be contacted. Can you handle this with more urgency please? Some of the people I've been referring are considering moving to paid plans, but if we can't trust Dropbox to do as their marketing says ("Refer a friend and get 500 MB!"), we have to reconsider. Thanks.
Hey Neal ,
I just wanted to chime in to say that I've had the same issues, and I've read all the FAQs, but still haven't been able to get the space. (The FAQs are mostly useless.)
How about reaching out to proactively solve this issue instead of continuing to harp on FAQs that just restate the obvious? If people are coming here looking for help, they want to actually be helped, not given the runaround to docs.
- Neal
Community Manager
Hi Grizzicle,
I understand the frustration. Pleas keep in mind that while many people have the same issue, that doesn't mean it's for the same reason.
We share the FAQ's just in case they can explain why some users are experiencing these issues. For those that it does not help, like you, then it's just as Rich explained.
We try and help these users on support tickets as we need to discuss account specific information that can not be shared on a public forum like this.
I'd recommend responding to Hannah and going through the support process so our team can can look into your specific issue as best they can.
It sounds like the system flagged the new account as ineligible for the referral program, even though your friend signed up using your link. Since she previously had another Dropbox account under a different email, the system may have recognized that and applied the rules automatically.
