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Navigating within the Dropbox folder in File Explorer in Windows 11 is very slow
I'm having an issue when navigating through the folders in the Dropbox directory on Windows 11. It is taking approximately 30 seconds to open any folders within the Dropbox folder. I timed one just now with a stopwatch, it took 32 seconds to open a folder. Other drives on this PC load up quickly, but also other directories in the same SSD are working fine and open instantly, so it's not a faulty drive.
I have restarted my PC several times, tried restarting Windows Explorer via task manager, doing any updates, and making sure there aren't any Sync Issues within Dropbox. I have also completely removed any files larger than 4GB from Dropbox via 'Manage Hard Drive space', in case it's a large file issue.
It wasn't happening a couple of days ago, but I did notice this issue in the past, and it seemed to be fixed by a Dropbox update some years ago. I am seeing that this same bug was reported around 2021, 4 years ago. Apparently, the same issue is back now.
For now, my workaround is Right Click > Open Folder in New Tab, or adding a folder to Quick Access. Either of these options nulls the bug, so I've narrowed it down to only happening when you open a folder by double clicking, right-clicking open, or hitting Enter to open.
System info:
Windows 11
Version 24H2 OS Build 26100.4652
HP Omen 30L
Intel Core i9-10850k CPU - 32 GB RAM
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 - 24GB VRAM
Regarding the following thread on the Microsoft community, I uninstalled the iCloud app. It resolved the problem. I have never tried to reinstall the iCloud app so far.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/4375161/windows-explorer-with-onedrive-extremely-slow?source=docs
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Final Update (Workaround Only – Issue NOT Solved)
After a lot of testing, I’ve confirmed that this is a Windows 11 incompatibility with both iCloud and OneDrive, which causes severe delays (30+ seconds) when opening folders in Dropbox.
Notably, Google Drive folders are completely unaffected by this issue.
Temporary Workaround:
Log out of the iCloud and OneDrive apps on Windows.
Go to Start > Add or Remove Programs and uninstall both apps.
Restart your PC.After removing iCloud and OneDrive, Dropbox folder navigation returned to normal speed.
Important: This is not a solved issue—just a workaround. Many users rely on multiple cloud services, and having to uninstall iCloud and OneDrive should not be the “fix.” This needs to be addressed properly by Dropbox, Microsoft, and/or Apple.
Posting this here in hopes it helps others experiencing the same bug and gets more visibility for a permanent fix.
I began experiencing this same issue yesterday and it is very unfortunate as I use Dropbox daily to store commonly used files. I have also found that right-click->open in new tab works as a workaround, but have found that the start menu's search feature experiences the exact same delay as attempting to navigate via clicking through folders directly.
I am on Windows 11 Home, 24H2. I do have both OneDrive (multiple instances) and iCloud installed. Would appreciate a solution or more specific information from Dropbox!
Thanks, hard to believe Dropbox has not fixed yet this problem. They might lose a lot of users.
Hello Dropbox, can you confirm that you are working on this issue with highest prio?
I have been working with the tech support folks and I have no solution. I found that OneDrive has the same issues. Upon telling support that, they seemed to latch onto that as a way to get out of solving the problem. Here is what I was told.
Since the issue also occurs with other sync providers like One Drive, then the issue appears to be related to Microsoft's Cloud Files sync API and further investigation would be required on their end.
The Dropbox for Windows 10 update is focused on the changes introduced with this new sync API . To properly integrate with Windows, we’ve been revamping our sync engine to make use of the Cloud Files API.
Since any issues with that API would also be inherited by any sync service installed that is using it, what I would suggest is to opt out from that version of the Dropbox desktop application and see if the issue gets resolved.
For instructions, please review the below article:
https://help.dropbox.com/installs/dropbox-for-windows#How-to-get-the-Dropbox-for-Windows-update:~:text=existing%20Dropbox%20experience.-,How%20to%20opt%20out%20of%20the%20Dropbox%20for%20Windows%20update,-If%20you%20don%E2%80%99tThere seems to now be multiple threads on this issue, as I'm on a different one and have spotted other also.
How do we join them together so that all the experiences are captured together?
Tip: try using FreeCommander XE or another alternative of windows explorer. For me this works fine for now
Unfortunately nobody seems to be able to fix the problem. There's another similar post that I'm following on this platform, but there's no solution that works there either.
I also opened a support ticket with the Dropbox technical team, and after various endless attempts, there's still no solution. The ticket has been closed.
So I still have the same problem and no solutions.
Dropbox doesn't seem to be able to help either.
I'm using a different file explorer than Windows while waiting for a solution, and I'm considering switching to another cloud service provider.
Thanks mlefebvre, it is unbelievable Dropbox has not been able to help. They will loose a huge numbre of clients !
What file explorer are you using ?For now I use Total Commander. It is not as good as Windows Explorer, but at least it works. And it's free for the first 30 days.
