Dropbox sync icons in the desktop app for Windows

Q: What does the gray X icon mean?

In File Explorer, a gray X icon can appear on a file or folder in your Dropbox folder. This is a Windows icon and not a Dropbox icon. It means that your file or folder may not be syncing with Dropbox. <a href="/content/dropbox/www/en-us/help/sync/files-not-syncing.html">Learn how to fix files or folders that aren’t syncing with Dropbox</a>. If the issue continues, <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/contactus" target="_blank">contact Microsoft support</a>.

Q: What does the brown box icon mean?

If you see a <a href="https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/onedrive-files-suddenly-have-a-brown-box-icon-on/d2fe1b38-1bc6-424a-b800-0ec401c20073" target="_blank">brown box icon</a> in the lower left of your file, this is a Windows icon, not a Dropbox icon. It means there is a OneDrive sync error. To fix this issue, <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/sync-files-with-onedrive-in-windows-615391c4-2bd3-4aae-a42a-858262e42a49" target="_blank">sync your files in OneDrive</a>. If the issue continues, <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/turn-off-disable-or-uninstall-onedrive-f32a17ce-3336-40fe-9c38-6efb09f944b0" target="_blank">turn-off, disable, or uninstall OneDrive</a> or contact <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/onedrive" target="_blank">Microsoft support</a>.

Updated Sep 15, 2026

Where can I see the icons?

Sync icons appear in two places:

In the Dropbox folder on your computer
In the taskbar notification area

Check the sync status of a file or folder

Open the Dropbox folder in File Explorer.
Find the file or folder you want to check.
- Note: You can use the search bar in the upper right.
Look at the sync icon next to the file or folder.

Note: If you don't see a sync icon, close all non-Dropbox applications, then quit and reopen the Dropbox desktop app. If the issue continues, restart your computer.

Which sync icons appear on my computer?

The sync icons you see depend on which sync engine your Dropbox desktop app uses:

Cloud files
Dropbox legacy

How do I check if my Windows desktop app runs on cloud files or Dropbox legacy?

To check which sync engine powers your Dropbox desktop app:

Click ☑ (Dropbox) in the taskbar.
Click the round account menu. Depending on your account, this may appear as your profile photo, your initials, or a person icon.
Click Preferences.
Click ☑ (Sync).
- If you’re using cloud files, you'll see “You are using Dropbox on Cloud Files” under Dropbox folder updates.
- If you’re using legacy sync, you'll see “Dropbox folder updates. This update will ensure Dropbox continues to run smoothly on Windows.”
  - Click Update now to install the cloud files update.

Can't find Preferences on the Dropbox desktop app?

When you open the Dropbox desktop app, click the round account menu to access Preferences. Depending on your account, this may appear as your profile photo, your initials, or a person icon.

Dropbox sync icons on cloud files

Icon	Description	File icon meaning	Folder icon meaning
	A green circle with a white checkmark.	Your file is synced and available offline. Notes: Marked by user as available offline. Dropbox keeps files with this icon offline, even when hard drive space is low.	All files in the folder are downloaded and available offline.
	A white cloud with a gray or blue outline.	Your file is synced but only available online. Notes: Online-only files appear in the Dropbox folder but don’t take up hard drive space. These files only download when you open them.	There’s at least one online-only file in the folder. Note: There can also be files that are downloaded and available offline in your folder.
	A white circle with a green border and a green checkmark.	Your file is synced and available offline. Notes: Not explicitly marked by you as available offline. When hard drive space is low, some files with this icon may be automatically set to online-only to save space.	There’s at least one available offline file in the folder, but no online-only files. Note: There may also be files that are available offline in your folder.
	A pair of arrows going in a circle.	One of the following applies: Your file is uploading. Your file is downloading. There are issues or the file is waiting to be uploaded.	Your folder contains at least one syncing file. Note: This icon may appear on folders that contain symlinks, hardlinks, or other NTFS links. Since these links aren’t synced, the folder isn’t “fully synced”.
	A red circle with a white X.	Your file can’t update or sync.	Your folder can’t update or sync.
	A gray circle with a white minus sign.	Your file is ignored and won’t sync.	Your folder is ignored and won’t sync. Note: When a folder is ignored, this icon only appears on the folder, not on its individual files.
	A brown box.	OneDrive is causing a sync conflict.	OneDrive is causing a sync conflict.

Dropbox sync icons on Dropbox legacy

Icon	Description	File icon meaning	Folder icon meaning
	A green circle with a white checkmark.	Your file is synced and available offline. Note: Explicitly marked by you as available offline.	All files in the folder are downloaded and available offline.
	A white cloud with a gray or blue outline.	Your file is synced but only available online. Notes: Online-only files appear in the Dropbox folder but don’t take up hard drive space. These files only download to your device when you open them.	All files in your folder are online-only.
	A white circle with a green border and a green checkmark.	This doesn’t apply to files.	Your folder contains files that are both online-only and available offline (downloaded).
	A pair of arrows going in a circle.	One of the following applies: Your file is uploading. Your file is downloading. There are issues or the file is waiting to be uploaded.	Your folder contains at least one syncing file.
	A red circle with a white X.	Your file can’t update or sync.	Your folder can’t update or sync.
	A gray circle with a white minus sign.	Your file is ignored and won’t sync.	Your folder is ignored and won’t sync. Note: When a folder is ignored, this icon only appears on the folder—not on its individual files.
	A brown box.	OneDrive is causing a sync conflict.	OneDrive is causing a sync conflict.

Note: To manage files and see which are online only or available offline, open the desktop app, the round account menu (profile photo, initials, or a person icon), click Sync & storage, then click Manage hard drive space.

Dropbox sync icons in the notification center

You can also check your account's sync status using the Dropbox icon in the taskbar. This is visible when the Dropbox desktop app is running on your computer and it shows the status of your entire account, not just files and folders.

The icon colors may vary, but you’ll see the following icons:

Icon	Icon description	Status
	A solid black Dropbox icon with no other icon.	Fully synced The files and folders on your Dropbox desktop app are fully up to date. Any changes you made are reflected everywhere you access Dropbox.
	A solid black circle with two white arrows going in a circle.	Sync in progress The files and folders on your Dropbox desktop app are updating. Any changes you made are updating everywhere you access Dropbox.
	A solid black circle with a white pause icon.	Syncing paused Changes you make to files and folders on your Dropbox desktop app won’t update everywhere you access Dropbox until you resume syncing. Learn how to pause and resume file syncing.
	A gray Dropbox icon.	Not connected to internet Changes you make won’t update everywhere until you reconnect to the internet. Learn why Dropbox might not be connecting. Note: This icon can also mean the app is starting up or closing down.
	A gray Dropbox icon with an X next to it.	An error has occurred An error has occurred with your Dropbox account during the sync process.
	A red circle with a white number.	Unread notifications You have unread Dropbox notifications. Learn how to manage notifications.
	A gray Dropbox icon with two Zs.	Snooze notifications is on You’ve turned on Snooze notifications.
	A camera icon.	Camera uploads in progress Your camera roll is being uploaded to Dropbox. Learn more about camera uploads.

You can also see the sync status of your entire Dropbox account in the lower left of the Dropbox app window. When everything is fully synced, it says Your files are up to date.

Learn more about how to check your sync status with your desktop app window.

Note: Dropbox Backup users may see slightly different wording on some sync statuses.

Learn more about icons, symbols, and colors that appear on Dropbox files and folders.