Lost space and get 2 GB instead of 10

[carlopenco]

As it happened to many others, I lost my storage space changing PC and Dropbox says I have only 2 GB as my basic plan.

Yet I still may see my Total bonus space earned with referrals (10.25 GB).

Following the previous answers about similar situations, I closed the automatic Dropbox backup.

Still, on the left of my Dropbox page online, I see "Out of space - 12.25 GB used", while in my Dropbox I use 8.76 GB only. And I still see on the top of the page:
"Please review ASAP: your Dropbox is full and has stopped syncing. You’ve used 100% of your free storage. Upgrade for 2 TB (2,000 GB) of space."

Is there any way to recover my 10.25 GB or am I compelled to use Apple Cloud?

(I really would prefer Dropbox for now, but with these sudden changes I begin to have some doubts about the efficiency of the system).

[Nancy]

Hi @carlopenco, thanks for posting on the forum!

As a first step, can you please upload a screenshot of what you see on this page?

That’ll help me assist you further.

[carlopenco]

 

I don't find the page "subscription". I probably was one of the first to use Dopbox many years ago, with a Basic plan (2GB), plus some referrals (see screenshot above). I suppose that the problem concerns the backup because I see that, notwithstanding my blocking "automatic backups" it seems backup is going on (59% online see screenshot below). On my PC I read: "4.17 GB of 7.13 backed up 58% complete" and it goes very slowly (yesterday was 56%).

I deleted some folders some time ago and I have now less than 9GB on my PC (see below). At the moment I have lost fiber connection (I should recover it after Easter).  Should I click again to activate "automatic backup" (as in the screenshot below)? Was this my error?

     

[carlopenco]

Oooops; sorry. I forgot to attach the subscription detail.

It appears that it is stuck on how was my dropbox some time ago when I realized I went over my limits.

After that, I  canceled many files (many days before now) to reach a safety amount below 9GB.

Why there is no update on the change? (from 12.3 to the actual 8.74). Why do they continue to ask me to upgrade?

[Jay · Accepted solution]

Hi @carlopenco, as your Dropbox Backup is ongoing, this means it is still taking up 4.17 GB of your quota (if it hasn't changed since), which is on top of the quota taken up by your normal files in the Dropbox folder, thus filling up your account.

If you want to free up space on your account, you can either disable the computer backup, or delete more files in your Dropbox folder.

[carlopenco]

Hi @ Jay,

thanks a lot. My quota is 12,25 GB. My Dropbox files are 8,76 GB. I understand that 8,76 + 4.17 = 12,93, which is over my quota.

I had no idea to have Dropbox Backup installed on my Mac.

MY WRONG:
First I just stopped Dropbox Backup and nothing happened. Therefore I restarted Dropbox Backup and nothing happened. 

I didn't realize that I had to *disable* Dropbox Backup.  

WHAT I DID NOW:
Now I disabled Dropbox Backup following the instructions and they say it will take some time, but already I don't see the red advice that I am over-quota.

I assume that Dropbox will continue to work with three devices without Dropbox Backup.

QUESTION:

I still wonder whether this automatic activation of Dropbox Backup depends on Dropbox or on the settings on my Mac.  Although this seems to be an academic question, it is relevant for Mac users who activated Dropbox so much time before the invention of the use of the cloud in Mac.

THANKS:
Thanks due. It seems "problem solved" 🙂 Good and precise suggestions, at least for me.

[Jay]

I'm glad to hear you were to free up your quota. 

Regarding your question, the Dropbox Backup feature has to be activated manually. So at some point, it would have been enabled in the desktop app, which can also occur during the installation of the app.