How to free up space in your Dropbox account

[John W.87]

I've unshared many folders, permanently deleted lots of files but dropbox still reports that it is full.  How can I free up space?  I've already followed dropbox instructions with no results

[Tim B.4]

I ultimately left DropBox and switched to sync.com.... Spent too much energy trying to get down to the limit without seeing reductions  in space used and got tired of the constant haranging to "upgrade" 

[msher22]

Dropbox won't even let me open to delete files and open space. Only option it gives me is to start paying.

??

[Walter]

Hey there @msher22; are you still having issues with this?

In case you do, could you share a screenshot with us so that we can have a visual too?

[Kyla59]

My Dropbox was at only 60% full when a system crash required me to do a factory reset on my phone (which also has Dropbox installed). As the phone came back up after the reset, it started uploading file after file, until the Dropbox storage was totally full. Is there any way I can delete just the duplicates that were re-uploaded after the factory reset? Thanks!

[Lusil]

Hi there @Kyla59, thanks for nudging us on this thread. 

Although there's no direct way to locate and delete duplicates, you can have a look at this thread. 

There, you can upvote the idea and comment alongside other users who have expressed an interest on such a feature being implemented in the future. 

In the meantime, you can remove files using the mobile app by following these steps. 

[StevejMusicman]

I've been trying to transfer DropBox files back to my computer desktop--so I don't accidentally lose them before I delete them from DropBox. But it's not working. How can I transfer those files?

[Lusil]

Hey @StevejMusicman, thanks for posting your question here. 

Just to make sure that we're on the same page, are you trying to download these files to your device so that you have a local copy of them?

[heeeey]

Just delete the files or save them on another computer.

Sometimes you dont even have to delete them permanently

[Dougseabright]

Having the same problem on a basic account, with Dropbox showing exactly the same size (5.76gb of 5.5) as before deletions (700+ files), before clearing cache, and before signing in and out multiple times.  None of the remedies listed in this forum have made a difference.

Is there a time schedule Dropbox follows before updating its records (it's been 23 days since I started getting notices that my account was full and need to upgrade)?

The number of queries about this confirms there is a significant issue.

Thanks,

[Jay]

Hi @Dougseabright, are you certain you don't have a shared folder that has more data in it, which could be pushing your account overquota?

Have you tried calculating the size of the folders on the site to see where the majority of the quota is being used?

Deleting files from the site would immediately free up quota on your account, so you can try that if deleting via your computer isn't working.