How to Stop Dropbox from Syncing? [5 Effective Ways]

Sometimes it is frustrating when Dropbox syncs continuously without stopping. In this article, I will show step by step, how to stop Dropbox from syncing.

Sync helps us in keeping track of our files and folders on all our devices where we are logged in. Also, we can add or make changes to any file or folder, and it will be automatically updated or “synced” everywhere on the devices.

I started using Dropbox a year ago, and sometimes it keeps syncing all the time and never stops. And this makes me worry about taking up too much storage space.

Dropbox keeps on syncing the files continuously, and we can easily disable syncing options.

Read the effective ways to stop Dropbox from syncing.

Stop Dropbox from syncing on the Desktop Application
Stop Dropbox from syncing on Mac
Stop Dropbox from syncing in Browser
Stop Dropbox from syncing on Android
Stop Dropbox from syncing on iPhone
To use Selective Sync in Dropbox for Mac and Windows

Table of Contents

Stop Dropbox from Syncing on the Desktop Application

We can stop syncing Dropbox files temporarily by the below two methods:

Pause syncing in Dropbox
Resume syncing in Dropbox

Stop Syncing in the Dropbox on Windows

To temporarily stop syncing Dropbox,

Click the Dropbox icon on windows. For example, windows 7, windows 8, windows 10, and windows 11.

After clicking on it, at the bottom of the screen there will be an option that says Your files are up to date.

Click on the “Your files are up to date” option, it will ask you to pause sync.
Select the time when you want to pause syncing your file.
A message will appear, syncing paused until the time you choose.

This is how we can stop from syncing on the Desktop.

Resume Syncing in Dropbox on Windows

To use Dropbox again, we can use the Resume syncing option to continue the work.

After selecting the pause sync option, we can click the resume sync option when we want to use Dropbox again.

Once the pause time is over, syncing will resume automatically.

Quit Dropbox in Dropbox on Windows

Another option to stop syncing is to quit Dropbox.

Click the Account settings icon on the top right corner and select the Quit option.

We can use the quit option so that we will leave Dropbox to stop syncing. We can log in again whenever we want to use it.

Unlink the Dropbox Account to Stop Sync

However, we can Unlink the Dropbox account to avoid syncing rather than pause and resume options.

Click the Dropbox icon on the taskbar, go to settings, and tap on Preferences in the options.

Once we click preferences in the option, it takes us to another pop-up window.
Click the Account tab in the window and click Unlink these accounts in settings on the web. So, our account will be unlinked from the Dropbox service.

These are the ways in which we can stop Dropbox from syncing on the Desktop.

Disable Network Connection to Stop Dropbox from Syncing

A network connection is mandatory for all activities, without an internet connection sync and upload operations are not done. If we disable our cellular network connection all the processes will stop.

In case if you are connected to Wi-Fi also cut the connection or disable it. Another possibility to reduce the upload speed of the Dropbox app to “zero”.

Note: – Turn the phone/laptop into “Airplane Mode” and it will cease the network connection for a while to stop sync in Dropbox.

Shut Down the Computer to Stop from Sync

We might have tried this for all. Shutting down our computer is the fastest solution to this problem.

If the files keep on syncing and uploading and you have tried all the alternate ways to stop but still facing the issue. At that time shutting down is the standard way to stop syncing in Dropbox.

If this also doesn’t work hold the power button in the computer or laptop until its goes off.

Cut Off the Power Supply to Stop Sync

This will be the final method to stop Dropbox from syncing. To cut the power supply to the device, we can simply unplug it from the socket. In the case of a laptop get the battery away to stop it from syncing.

Stop Dropbox from Syncing on Mac

Mac users can make use of the below steps to stop Dropbox from syncing.

Click the Dropbox icon in the menu bar of your Mac.
At the bottom of the menu bar, we can see the options Your files are up to date.
When we click it, the text will change to pause file sync.
Select the time, when we want to pause syncing our file. Select how long we want to pause the syncing.
We will see a message syncing paused until the time we choose.
After selecting the pause sync option, we can click the resume sync option when we want to use Dropbox again.
Anyhow, if the above steps have not worked, we can also Unlink the account or Quit Dropbox to stop it from syncing.

Stop Dropbox from Syncing in the Browser

When we don’t install the app and still file keeps syncing with Dropbox, there are web browsers like Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari, or Firefox do the below steps to stop syncing in the browser.

We can stop syncing the Dropbox from the browser. First, go to the Dropbox website and sign in by giving the proper credentials.

Dropbox home page will appear, click Sign out in the setting option on the top right to stop Dropbox from syncing continuously.

In this Browser method, sign out is the option to stop syncing Dropbox in the Browser.

Stop Dropbox from Syncing on Android

There are two methods to stop Dropbox from syncing in android. Read below to know more.

Method – 1

To stop Dropbox from syncing in android, take your phone and open the photos or gallery option.

Go to the Google settings icon and we will see 3 dots in the top right of your page.

Click on that, and it will show us the page as Backup & sync with enable and disable options.

Disable the Backup & sync to stop Dropbox from syncing.

Method – 2

Another method to stop syncing in android is directly from the Dropbox icon.

Go to the Dropbox icon on the phone.

On the home page, at the bottom right, click the Account option.

After clicking the Account option, we will see Camera uploads under the features menu.

Click on that, and it will take us to the page Turn off the photo backup, once it is done then we can stop syncing from your android phone.

The above are the steps in android to stop from syncing Dropbox.

Stop Dropbox from Syncing on iPhone

Like in Android, we can stop syncing Dropbox on iPhones in a similar way.

Go to the Dropbox icon on the iPhone.

Enter into Dropbox, click on the Home icon in the bottom left.

After selecting the home icon, we will be able to see the option Turn off camera uploads. Tap on it to stop syncing.

For confirmation, click once again on Turn off to stop Dropbox from syncing.

By the above method, we can stop syncing Dropbox from our iPhones.

To use selective Sync in Dropbox for Mac and Windows

This feature is available for all Dropbox users from free users to premium users. If we need Dropbox to stop syncing particular files, we can enable Dropbox “selective sync”.

The best way to save space and ensure we have the required files is to use selective sync. This feature let us decide which folder to stop from syncing. It also helps us to manage one storage space as well.

To enable selective sync, click the Dropbox icon and select Preference then select the Sync option and click Selective sync and Uncheck the folders that do not need. Once done, click Update in the bottom right corner.

Conclusion

If Dropbox keeps syncing, you can choose to stop by the above alternative methods to save space.

When a Dropbox is still synced without stopping, you can go for the sign-out, quit or unlink option as per your requirement.

Here I have given many ways to sort out the things, whatever methods you are comfortable with, can go with that. Hope this article will help get rid of syncing in Dropbox.