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210's avatar
210
Explorer | Level 3
4 years ago
Solved

Can I upgrade to Plus to delete local files from a stolen laptop?

my laptop was recently stolen. I have a Basic account right now. is it possible for me to upgrade to Plus and remotely delete the files on the stolen device? really appreciate the help and guidance, ...
account access
desktop
security
  • Hannah's avatar
    Hannah
    4 years ago

    Hey 210, thanks for posting your question and sorry to hear about this.

     

    Have you already removed the device from your connected devices in your account settings?

     

    If you have, I'm afraid it won't work, even if you upgrade your account.

     

    But if you haven't unlinked it yet, you should be able to use remote wipe 'retroactively', if you upgrade now.

     

    Let me know how it goes.

210's avatar
210
Explorer | Level 3
4 years ago

hey Hannah, I have NOT removed the device yet. thanks for confirming I can upgrade and wipe out the files. upgrading now. 

Rich's avatar
Rich
Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II
4 years ago
210 wrote:

thanks for confirming I can upgrade and wipe out the files. upgrading now. 

Just remember that a remote wipe is not guaranteed to remove the files. Dropbox can't remote wipe the files until the computer goes online. If the device is powered up and accessed while off the Internet, they could still get to the files. Or if Dropbox is prevented from running while the computer is online, it won't be wiped.

 

It's all dependent on the computer being online with the Dropbox application running. If either of those don't happen, the remote wipe will fail.

  • 210's avatar
    210
    Explorer | Level 3
    4 years ago

    thank you, Rich. much appreciated. 

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