My Linux computer won't automatically sync my files from my Windows computer

[Andrea P]

Hi, I am having troubles when using Dropbox (v102.4.431) on my desktop which runs Linux (Ubuntu 18.04.4). When I update files from some other machine (e.g., my Windows 10 laptop) the files are not automatically synced on the desktop. I have to "force" the syncing by first doing "Pause syncing" and then "Resume syncing".

This is very annoying. Is there a way to fix this problem?

Thanks. Andrea

[Lusil]

Hey @Andrea P, let's see what we can find. 

As a first step, could you clarify the following pieces of information for me?

• Does your computer meet the minimum requirements to run the app? 
• Did you install the Dropbox desktop app or did you follow a headless installation? 

Any additional details would be very helpful. Thank you!

[Andrea P]

Hi Lusil. Thanks for your reply. I've been using Dropbox on my desktop since 2012. I frankly dont remember what type of installation I had done at that time. In 2018 I switched to a "corporate" contract arranged by my university (University of Padova, Italy) where I was given 1 TB space. Very unfortunately, on april 30 2020, the university discontinued this contract and I was reverted back to my original basic contract. Since this last change I started experiencing the syncing problems I have mentioned in my initial post.

Regards, Andrea

[Lusil]

Thanks for letting me know, @Andrea P. 

In this case, could you try Daphne's steps from this post? 

Let me know how it goes, cheers!

[Andrea P]

Hi Lusil,

I havent tried yet the steps suggested in Daphne's post, but I am now experiencing the same problem both on my laptop (running Windows 10) and on my desktop (running Linux, Ubuntu 18.04.4). Also, a colleague of mine has the same problem on his Mac. On my laptop dropbox is continuously "connecting" but the only way to do the syncing is to first to "Pause syncing" and then "Resume syncing"

My problem started when I was automatically migrated from the corporate contract (University of Padova) to the basic individual contract, and I am afraid that the problem was caused by this migration.

Regards, Andrea

[Здравко]

Hi @Andrea P,

---

@Andrea P wrote:
... On my laptop dropbox is continuously "connecting" but the only way to do the syncing is to first to "Pause syncing" and then "Resume syncing"

...

---

😀😁🙂 Important clarification! In this context, where you have decided from that the problem is in your Linux install? 🤔

The comment, you just made, shows that you have to fix the Windows install! There is the problem. What can you see on web interface when you make some change on Windows and this change gets delayed on Linux? Is the web interface falling in sync with your Windows or with your Linux, in such a moment??? 😉

Hope this gives the right direction.

[Andrea P]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll now try to verify if the problem is the windows installation. Regards, Andrea

[Andrea P]

The problem does not seem specific to windows. I am experiencing the mulfunctioning with clients installed on different systems (windows, linux, maxOS). If I update a file on one machine, the update is (almost) immediately reflected on the web interface, but the other machines dont see it. In order to force the update on another machine I have to first "pause syncing" and the "resume syncing".

Again, this mulfunctioning started after I was automatically reverted from a corporate 1TB contract to a standard basic contract. I had never experienced it before.

Regards, Andrea

[Daphne]

Thanks for your updates here @Andrea P!

It does indeed seem to be isolated to the Windows installation here, can you let me know which version of the app you have installed on that device?

Also, can you try out these steps and let me know if there's any improvement there?

Keep me posted!

[Andrea P]

Hi. The Dropbox version installed on my Windows 10 laptop is 104.4.175

Regards, Andrea