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Forum Discussion

Josi B.'s avatar
Josi B.
Helpful | Level 5
9 years ago

Why is my download speed slow?

Hi, I don't understand why I'm having such a big problem downloading a movie from my Dropbox file onto my MacbookPro laptop. The file is only 1.2GB, I'm connected to my router with an ethernet cable, with a fibre-optic connection of 50/50Mbps uncapped and unthrottled. I've tried many times already, but the download is either ridiculously slow or stops altogether. I'm on Dropbox Pro, I have plenty space on my laptop hard drive, and I'm not doing anything else on the laptop at the same time. Am i doing this incorrectly or what? Help help please!

  • Tom H.'s avatar
    Tom H.
    7 years ago

    Don't forget your data is transmitted encrypted and must be decrypted. That happens on the drive, along with checks to make sure the enitre file reaches you. It will take some time.

     

    Dropbox will never use the complete full download bandwidth.  It also is affected by you using other things, like mail, web etc during those times Dropbox may slow the process to allow you to continue working. It could be affected by things like you allowing the computer to sleep. 

     

    Have you checked your bandwidth settings ? https://help.dropbox.com/syncing-uploads/faster-sync

     

    Many, many, factors can contribute to each users individual experience. 

     

    ----



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  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    7 years ago
    As Tom said, whenever files are uploaded or downloaded, the computer needs to encrypt or decrypt the files, which depends on the processor. Naturally desktop devices fare better than laptops and netbooks.
     
    Other things that can affect syncing are ISP issues, router problems, or strict security or bandwidth settings in either of these, or any software that scans network data.

     

     

    [This thread is now closed. If you have a similar or new question, you can ask here.]

  • And just for completeness, remember that the speed you see reported by Dropbox is not simply the transfer speed of your data. Tom and Jay have already mentioned the encryption, but also, each file that you upload is hashed, compressed, then transferred, encrypted, and stored on the Dropbox servers. That entire process is included in the aggregate speed that's displayed in the Dropbox sync status. In other words, the speed reported by Dropbox is not just a transfer speed, but the speed at which the entire process is being completed. It can never be compared to the advertised speeds from your ISP.
  • Lance E.'s avatar
    Lance E.
    New member | Level 1

    I'm having these same issues. I believe the issue started when moving to OS X 10? I've tried reinstalling dropbox. I've taken the bandwidth limit off. I thought maybe my provider was throttling me. Now I'm convinced its something with dropbox. Any thoughts DROPBOX TEAM?

  • Rich's avatar
    Rich
    Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II

    I believe we are a vocal minority and probable beneath the notice of the DropBox support crew.

    Not at all, but you actually need to contact Dropbox Support before they can respond to you.

  • Teja B.'s avatar
    Teja B.
    New member | Level 1

    Just to be specific here: My and Markus' problem persists apart from the dropbox app and the settings on Mac os. It's about downloading single files via browser! Same is true for preview images and thumbnails in image folders. The slow speed is catastrophic!

  • FILM S.'s avatar
    FILM S.
    New member | Level 2

    We are based in the South of Germany, have DROPBOX BUSINESS, paying quite a lot and extactly the same problem. Since round about 14 days the download is incredibly slow. It doesn't matter waht system (PC, MAC), what browser or what machine (IP) is used. And the support either provides standard replies, that do not meet the problem or doesn' react at all. This is unprofessional and bad practice to not deal with a problem.

  • Felix Lars S.'s avatar
    Felix Lars S.
    New member | Level 1

    After the ridiculous speeds I've been getting on my 50/10 connection (in the ballpark of 40kbyte/s when synching files to my computer) I can only advise everyone to drop Dropbox and move to OneDrive or even a Hetzner Storagebox. 

  • Mij E.'s avatar
    Mij E.
    New member | Level 1

    I've decided not to bother with DropBox any more (way too slow), so I don't want to receive an e-mail every time somebody is dissatisfied with it.  I followed the link in the e-mail that says ....

    If you want to stop these notifications click here.

    ....and it brought me here.  I didn't see a link to stop the e-mails, so I signed in, but I still don't see the means to stop them.  I visited My Activities and My Profile, but there's nothing there either.

    Can somebody please tell me how to stop the e-mails, or preferably, how to delete my account?

  • Stefan R.19's avatar
    Stefan R.19
    New member | Level 1

    I wrote to the support - all I get in return was an generic answer and a link to their FAQs! I´m through with this sh*t! I deleted my files and moved on. Good luck to you all!

    • Laura S.44's avatar
      Laura S.44
      New member | Level 2

      I started having this problem about two years ago, and it is definitely a dropbox issue. Google Drive, when downloading exactly at the same time, on my Fios internet using Chrome, downloaded my multi gig files at lightning speed. Dropbox is, at this moment, downloading files at 62 kbps. I am only still on dropbox because I haven't weened all of my clients off of it. I am a Pro user as well. It is pretty much theivery. I respect Google much more. 

  • FILM S.'s avatar
    FILM S.
    New member | Level 2

    They are really ambitous. Tomorrow they will be better (1,0) and after tomorrow they will almost reach the top: 0,01. Then we all will congratulate.

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