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Iliana1's avatar
Iliana1
Helpful | Level 5
2 years ago

Files sync to Mac computers, but not to a Windows one

Has anyone experienced this. I have 5 devices on which I share my Dropbox. 4 are Apple and sync instantaneously. My recent purchase of a windows laptop will not sync all of my folders/files/documen...
Desktop
Mac
Sync
Windows
  • Hannah's avatar
    Hannah
    2 years ago

    Hey Iliana1, thanks for reaching out to us.

     

    What's the sync status and version of the Dropbox app on the Windows computer? You can hover over the Dropbox icon for this info.

     

    Do the files sync to your account online as well?

     

    If they sync to your Mac computers and online, but not your Windows one, can you check if the names of the files have any incompatible characters?

     

    Let me know what you find.

njet01's avatar
njet01
Explorer | Level 4

I'm having exactly the same trouble as you, the mobile phone Dropbox application that I run on an Iphone 12 and my Windows Laptop (Dell Inspiron 16) Dropbox Folder display different documents in each, things not syncing over in a timely fashion.

It's is hugely frustrating and a major inconvenience not knowing if my files will be available when I need them, so I empathise with your position OP.

Iliana1's avatar
Iliana1
Helpful | Level 5
2 years ago

njet01,

I resolved my issue.  its the character incompatibility between a MAC and Windows capability.  Windows has file name rules that do not accept the MAC file names. (Mac is more flexible)

Hannah, a Dropbox Staff member responded with the following suggestion.  I went through all of my folder and file names and made corrections. They instantly synced across to the Windows laptop. Give it a try. Hope it resolves your issue too.

 

Hannah's response:

If they sync to your Mac computers and online, but not your Windows one, can you check if the names of the files have any incompatible characters?

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