Dropbox Not Syncing in Windows 10 - Fix or Replace It!

Dropbox is a file hosting service operated by American company Dropbox, Inc, which offers cloud storage, file synchronization, personal cloud, and so on.

When you download Dropbox from internet, it will create a special folder on your computer and the saved files (eg:photos, videos, music and office documents) in this folder will be synced to dropbox.com and other devices, such as, phone, tablets, notebook. The premise is to sign in Dropbox with the same account on all your devices.

However, as some users reported, sometimes Dropbox does not sync files. How to fix this issue and sync files again? Please keep reading below to learn more.

Need help: Dropbox not syncing in Windows 10

“I was hoping the files saved on my Windows 10 would be synced successfully, so that I check it from dropbox.com.
From my laptop, it shows that some of the files I recently saved (which has green check marks) are synced, but I couldn't see them updated in my dropbox.com.
I tried restarting Dropbox or my Windows, but somehow it doesn't work. Can anyone help me to work this out?”

From the user case, you may know that the Dropbox is not syncing in Windows 10 sometimes, but why? The reasons may be file in use, identical names, file with incompatible characters, anti-virus software, misconfigurations and bugs in settings, firewall issues, Proxy settings,etc. Thus, you could fix it by the specific reason, below are some working methods for you.

How to fix Dropbox not syncing in Windows 10 (6 methods)

From above, you may already get the reasons for Dropbox not syncing. Now, continue to see below and I’ll show you the corresponding solutions. Also, you can choose to directly sync files with an easier way in the next part. 

• Method 1. Check the files
• Method 2. Check for software causing problem
• Method 3. Check the Dropbox process
• Method 4. Delete Dropbox Caches
• Method 5. Disable selective sync
• Method 6. Reset Dropbox Settings using CMD

Method 1. Check the files

For Dropbox not working in Windows 10, 8, 7, check the files is easiest way. In this method, you need to ensure the following situations.

1. Make sure the files you need sync is not open. 

2. Check the filename of the file and make sure it doesn't contain any special characters. If there are any files with the following characters, you need to remove these characters and then sync files to Dropbox again.

: (colon)

” (double quote)

| (vertical bar or pipe)

? (question mark)

* (asterisk)

. (period) or a space at the end of file or folder name

3. Change files with identical name. If you have two files with the same name, your files will not be synced. Just rename your files at first.

4. Keep your files with only one version. If you have different versions of files, the Dropbox app will not work as usual. Just keep the latest version of files.

5. Check the shared folder. For Dropbox not updating shared folder, you need to check if you are still a member of this shared folder, the shared files have been dragged out, or the shared files have been changed by other member.

Method 2. Check for software causing problem

Anti-virus software or firewall is aimed to ensure the security of your computer by preventing malware from running. But sometimes it may mistake some software as dangerous, such as, Dropbox. Then, this software will stop working. In this case, just disable it temporarily.

1. Check the anti-virus software. If there are any anti-virus software, such as, Windows Defender, Norton, AVG, 360, you need to disable these software temporarily.

2. Shutdown your firewall. If you cannot sync files to Dropbox with firewall on, you can turn off it for a short period or grant access to firewall.

Method 3. Check the Dropbox process

The Dropbox process is not responding or has frozen up, your Dropbox app will stop working. For this situation, you just need to check the process of Dropbox, then end the task or restart app.

1. Right click the Taskbar and select Task Manager.

2. Under the Process tab, look for the Dropbox process on the list, then end this task or restart the app.

• If Dropbox is present, right-click it and select End task.

• If Dropbox is not present or you have ended the task, restart it using the desktop icon or menu item.

Method 4. Delete Dropbox Caches

The full Dropbox caches might cause Dropbox not syncing on Windows 10, you can try to clear the caches by following steps below:

1. Open the File Explorer.

2. Go to your Dropbox folder and .dropbox.cache. You can also access the folder by entering %HOMEPATH%\Dropbox\.dropbox.cache in search box.

3. Press Ctrl+A to select all and press Delete to remove everything from the folder.

Method 5. Disable selective sync

Dropbox selective sync is a new feature to sync only the selected files, leaving the rest of files offline on the computer. So, if some of your files update in dropbox.com but not all files, you can try to solve Dropbox not syncing via disabling the selective sync feature. 

1. Right click the Dropbox icon in the Windows taskbar.

2. Select Preferences and then click Advanced.

3. Click Selective Sync and deselect all files and folders.

Note: Except for diable selective sync, you still can select the files or folders you want to sync through this feature, then it will start to sync the selected data.

Method 6. Reset Dropbox Settings using CMD

If you are bothered by misconfigurations and bugs in settings, you can use command prompt to fix Dropbox issue.

1. Click on the Dropbox icon, then select Settings and Exit.

2. Type cmd in the search box, right-click it and Run as administrator.

3. Copy and paste the following commands in the command prompt window and press Enter after each one.

icacls “%HOMEPATH%\Dropbox” /grant “%USERNAME%”:(F) /T

icacls "%APPDATA%\Dropbox" /grant "%USERNAME%":(F) /T

icacls "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Dropbox" /grant "%USERNAME%":F /T

icacls "%PROGRAMFILES%\Dropbox" /grant "%USERNAME%":F /T

4. Restart Dropbox and see if you can sync files as normal.

Alternative to sync Dropbox with Windows 10 files properly

Occasionally, Dropbox may throw out error messages, such as Dropbox not syncing, Dropbox is not connecting, Dropbox icon is missing Windows 10, etc. If you want to fix these issues once for all, you can turn to a powerful alternative for file sync, such as AOMEI Backupper Standard.

It is one of the best free file sync software for Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, XP, Vista, which can help you sync files without any obstacle. And it supports many storage devices, including Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, external hard drive, USB drive, SSD, etc.

Besides the basic requirement, this software also offers you some useful features:

• Daily, weekly, monthly sync: If you want to update your files and folders at a fixed interval, you can use schedule sync settings, such as, daily.

• Email Notification: This feature is for users who don’t want to wait until the process end, for example, you have an emergency. After the synchronization, this feature will tell you the final result and all error messages.

• Wake the computer to run scheduled task: This feature is very useful when you want to schedule sync files during the off-peak hours. It will wake your computer 2 minutes before the schedule task starts.

Then, follow the steps below and sync Windows 10 to Dropbox in simple steps.

1. Download AOMEI Backupper and open it. Click Sync and choose Basic Sync.

2. Click Add Folder and Browse to select the files and folders you need to sync. Then click where the arrow point and select another location as destination path.

3. Click Options, Schedule to set auto sync and then click Start Sync.

Note: In the following, I’ll introduce you some advanced features in AOMEI Backupper you may need. However, they are not available on the free version. So, if needed, please upgrade to AOMEI Backupper Professional or other versions.

System Shutdown: This feature belongs to Event triggers and it does not take up computer memory when working. If you use this feature, this software will sync files during shutdown and not slow down your computer.

USB Plug in: If your target drive is USB, you could consider syncing files to flash drive with USB Plus in feature. This software will automatically sync files at the next time when you plug in your USB drive. The premise is to create an automatic sync with this feature.

Real-time Sync: If you need to change files very frequently, syncing files in real-time is suitable for you. Only in this way, you can keep all your files up-to-date.

✨ Bonus tip: backup files to AOMEI Cloud

As cloud storage is becoming more and more popular, AOMEI offers users its own cloud - AOMEI Cloud. After you sign up for an AOMEI account, you can use 1TB storage for free within 15 days. Just click Backup > Cloud Backup to backup files to AOMEI Cloud.

Conclusion

Reading here, you may already know how to fix “Dropbox not syncing” in Windows 10/11. Here are various ways you can use. Among them, using an alternative file sync software is the method that can be done once and for all.

Because it can not only help you get rid of Dropbox not syncing in Windows 10 easily and quickly, but also offers you more useful features, such as, fast synchronization, event triggers, real-time sync, etc. Any of them can bring you convenience while syncing files, for example, save disk space, keep files up-to-date, and so on.

If you don’t have a copy of critical files, you can download this software and use it to sync your files as you like. Besides, this software is also backup and restore software. You can use it to make a system image backup if you want to protect your computer from virus infection, system crash, hard disk failure.