Shared folder and Dropbox files not syncing on my device. Why?

[MarthaP]

Dropbox suggested a few days ago that I needed to update it to the most recent version compatible for my macOS Monterey 12.5.1 (also needs to be upgraded to macOS Ventura). I am working with my business partner on a basic plan account on Dropbox and she had created a couple of files to be added to one of the shared folders we have and the documents are nowhere to be seen on my laptop/Dropbox account. I tried all the suggested tricks like right-clicking on the entire folder and making the folder available ""online-only" or "offline only" etc. In both cases, the entire folder seemed to be syncing, but the new files were still missing. It appears that my dropbox is not syncing properly at all. I tried quitting the app, restarting my laptop, still nothing. In the end, she emailed the new files as I cannot see them anywhere in Dropbox! I have plenty of space in Dropbox and they were very small files...What could be the problem?

Does anyone have any suggestions why this is happening?

Thanks a lot!

[Megan]

Hey @MarthaP, welcome to our Community! 

Are you able to see the content when visiting your account on the web? If you can, this is indeed a syncing issue, that I can help you tackle. Don't worry. If not, I'd suggest that you unshare, and re-share the folder with your business partner. 

In case you're not the owner, you can ask her to remove you and then add you back. One last thing, does she use the website to update the files, or her desktop app? 

Let me know more, and we'll take it from there! 

[MarthaP]

Hi Megan!

Thank you for the reply! No, the content is missing in the web folders too. In fact, when I check the "activity" tab in the desktop app, under "shared", it seems to not be in sync at all...it shows really old activity from like a month ago or so...In the "you" tab, it shows the recent files I have viewed, but that's about it. 

My business partner uses the app to update folders and files and I am actually the owner of the folder. The trouble is not just with this specific folder, but as I said above, the syncing seems like it's not working at all. It seems to have stopped syncing a while now....:(

Thanks a lot for your time!

Any suggestions are more than welcome!

[Megan]

Hey @MarthaP, thanks for clarifying! 

Could it be that your partner's app isn't up to date? It could be logged out too. Can you ask her to check?

Since you're the owner, have you tried removing her, and then adding her back, as I suggested initially?

[MarthaP]

Hi Megan, 

Yes, we have tried all of these and nothing works. Like I said, the problem seems to be with my app/folders, not hers. They are not syncing in general...my app is not showing the most recent activity, it shows activity from like a month or two ago when I look at the "activity" tab and then "shared", even with files I have added or viewed/updated more recently. So it seems that my dropbox is not syncing properly at all, I don't think it has anything to do with my partner's app. I can see what she added to our shared folders 1 or 2 months ago but not recently, so it is obviously not syncing...it's very frustrating!

Thanks so much for trying to help!

[Jay]

Hi @MarthaP, if the files aren't appearing on the Dropbox site, then it means they haven't synced to the site from their machine. 

Are you using shared folders or are you sharing the same account credentials to login to the site?

[MarthaP]

Hi Jay!

You are right, the files are not syncing. I checked with my colleague and she was actually out of space on her folder, so the files were not even being added to her folders. Such a simple solution in the end. For some reason, she had less space than me in her folders, even though we both have a basic plan and we share the same documents (?). So this never crossed our minds as a possible issue. I am so sorry for all the inconvenience I caused, in the end it was just a simple "out of space" problem and now all files are syncing again. Phew! Sorry about that! Many thanks to you and everyone who tried to help!!

[Rich]

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@MarthaP wrote:

For some reason, she had less space than me in her folders, even though we both have a basic plan and we share the same documents (?).

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The Basic plan starts at 2GB, but there are ways to earn additional space (referrals, device promotions, etc.). You may both be on the Basic plan, but you may not have the same amount of storage available to you.

As an example, before I upgraded to a paid plan, my Basic account had 70GB of storage from all the referrals and promotions that I took part in.