Troubleshoot issues with your Dropbox storage space limit

This article explains common storage space issues and how to resolve them.

Check whether the issue is hard drive space or Dropbox storage space

If you see one of the following messages, your computer is low on hard drive space:

• “You are running out of disk space” (Windows)
• "Your startup disk is almost full” (Mac)

Learn how to troubleshoot disk space issues.

If you see one of the following messages, your Dropbox account is out of storage space:

• “Your files have exceeded the storage on this plan”
• “Your account is full and has stopped syncing”

To check how much space you have available in your Dropbox account, learn how to check how much Dropbox storage space you have left.

What happens if my account is over my storage space quota?

When your Dropbox account is full:

• File syncing stops
• You can’t upload new files
• Some sharing, moving, and preview features may be limited

Syncing resumes after your account is no longer full.

To get your account under your storage space quota you can either upgrade your account or free up storage space.

Upgrade your account

• Get more storage space on your Dropbox account.
• Upgrade your account.
• Increase your storage quota using referrals bonuses or other promotions.

Free up storage space

• Leave any shared folders that put you over quota.
• Remove files from your Dropbox.
• If you’re an admin, use the Manage storage cleanup tool.

Will my files be deleted if my account is over my storage space quota?

If your account goes over your storage space quota, our support team may contact you and let you know that you need to remove files to get back under quota.

If you don’t bring your account under quota, your least recently modified files first may be deleted to bring your account under the limit. Only files you own will be removed. We’ll notify you before this happens to give you an opportunity to save your files. Learn more about exceeding your storage.

Why didn’t I receive more space after I upgraded?

There are a few possible reasons why you wouldn't see a Dropbox Plus or Professional upgrade applied to your account.

1. Verify that you purchased Dropbox Plus or Professional using the same email address that's associated with your Dropbox account. Here are ways you can determine your account email address:
   • If your computer is linked to Dropbox, open your Dropbox desktop app preferences and click the Account tab.
   • If your phone is linked to Dropbox, go to your Settings in the Dropbox mobile app.
   • If you shared a folder with anyone in the past, then that user can find your account email address in the shared folder invitation or settings.
2. If you did purchase space using the same email address as the one associated with your Dropbox account, but you're still not seeing your space, verify the subscription purchase and then contact our billing team.

You can verify a subscription purchase in a few ways:

If you paid with credit card

1. Go to our receipt-finder tool.
2. Enter the transaction ID (found on your payment provider's billing statement).
3. Enter the last four digits and expiration date of the card charged (if applicable).

If you can't find the transaction ID, we'll need the following information to identify the account associated with your purchase:

• The type of card (Visa, Discover, MasterCard, American Express, etc.)
• The last four digits of the card
• The first six digits of the card
• The date of the charge
• The amount charged
• The billing postal code

If you paid with PayPal

Find the PayPal transaction ID in your PayPal account history and provide it with your support request.

If you paid with Direct Debit or iDeal

Provide the mandate reference number or transaction number.

If you paid through an app store

Contact Apple or Google directly to confirm the status of your payment.

Learn more about contacting a mobile app store.

Submit a support request

After gathering the required billing information, submit a support request.

Why haven’t I received my promotional space?

To receive the bonus space for one of your devices, you first need to link the eligible device to your account and then complete five steps from our get started guide.

If you haven’t received your bonus space for a promotion, review the sections below:

Is my device eligible?

Your device must:

• Be new
• Have Dropbox pre-installed
• Be purchased through a participating network carrier

Because each device can redeem a promotion only once, pre-owned devices do not qualify.

Which account will receive the bonus space?

A common issue is that users link one of their Dropbox accounts to the new device and then log into a different account where they won’t see the bonus space. When you first log into a Dropbox account on a new device, an email will be sent to the email address you have used telling you about the bonus space.

After you receive this email, complete the five steps of the get started guide for that account to redeem the space.

I received the email but I don't see the storage space?

Verify that the email was sent to the Dropbox account you expect to receive the bonus space.

After you receive an email informing you about linking your space, complete all five steps of the get started guide on a computer.

I already redeemed a similar promotion

Multiple promotions of the same type can’t be applied to one account.

However, another person can redeem the promotional space. They can do so by logging into their account from the eligible device.
 

My promotional storage space disappeared

Each bonus space promotion is available for a limited time, usually either one or two years.