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I wish they would return to their "a folder that syncs" model. I feel like Dropbox has not improved in any point in the last 5 years. Their core sync engine is

I wish they would return to their "a folder that syncs" model. I feel like Dropbox has not improved in any point in the last 5 years. Their core sync engine is truly amazing, but everything else is a mess. They killed that one Mail app, they have this thing called "Paper" they try to shove onto me on every occasion, their desktop app is cluttered with information I don't care about and is now a web app, now they have this limit of 3 maximum number of devices (which they didn't have the first 5 years I've used the service)... the list goes on. I just want a folder. A folder that syncs.

aNoob7000 6y ago
They should also focus on better pricing/storage tiers. I see 2TB and 3TB as too much for your average consumer.
- zihotki 6y ago
  From consumer perspective - yes, that'd probably bring in more customers who're currently using free tier. But on the other hand a plenty of customers will switch over from more expensive subscription to a cheaper one. They may win some but they'll lose some too and it's hard from outside to say what would be the final numbers.
- slantyyz 6y ago
  2TB is a lot. I have a lot of stuff backed up into my 2TB account, and I'm still floating at only around 1TB of used storage. But I don't take a lot of videos. I can see people with families who record a lot of HD video use up a lot of space more quickly than me.
DanCarvajal 6y ago
I remember really liking Mailbox and I never understood why the acquired it only to shut it down. Sure there are acqui-hires but Mailbox actually seemed like it would be a good component to have in the Dropbox suite.
javagram 6y ago
I think the limit of 3 is because you’re on the free tier. They are trying to transition to a model where they can make money. I don’t blame them for it, but I did switch to using iCloud Drive instead of Dropbox because I am already paying for iCloud for photos, and the space is so much cheaper for the small amount I need.
- aNoob7000 6y ago
  They need better storage/pricing tiers. I think very few people need 2TB and 3TB for personal use.
  - slantyyz 6y ago
    Back in the day, I needed less than their minimum tier offered, and sent support an e-mail, because I heard they would give you an exception if you asked. They were able to give me a cheaper plan with a smaller capacity. A little later, my storage tier was less than the amount they were offering for free, and they stopped billing me. I don't know if they're still willing to do that, but that gesture earned a lot of goodwill from me.
whatever_dude 6y ago
I agree with the sentiment but > Their core sync engine is truly amazing Compared to current competitors (e.g. pCloud) their syncing has been a mess. It tends to take forever to sync even the smallest files. I have no idea what's going on there anymore.
- StavrosK 6y ago
  I've never heard of pCloud before, is it really better than Dropbox?
moviuro 6y ago
A folder that syncs, period: https://syncthing.net https://syncthing.net . No web app, no mail, no nothing; just a folder that syncs.
- Spivak 6y ago
  And the ability to hop on the public relay and discovery servers (and/or provide your own) is really the community spirit at work. I don't use my full xfer allowance on my VPC all by myself so I flip on my relay every month to use it up.
- samdixon 6y ago
  I would use syncthing and totally drop dropbox if they had an iphone app.
slantyyz 6y ago
My initial experience with Paper when it came out wasn't super positive. I revisited it late last year, and I now use it heavily. Their markdown shortcuts are what hooked me. It's not perfect, but I do a lot of my notes in it now. Can you elaborate on this limit of devices that you're talking about? Are you on a free account?
1123581321 6y ago
Your comment about the three device limit on the free tier suggests you won’t pay for just a folder that syncs. And that is the issue. Dropbox basically saturated the market of professionals and agencies willing to pay for just a folder. New features attract additional customers, and they can do this while keeping basic sync solid. I support their growth because their biggest competitors are Apple, Google and Microsoft. I want there to exist a relatively independent competitor with decent market share.
mmargerum 6y ago
The fact that the sync "just works" is why I pay for DropBox. I've had bad experiences with Google drive and One Drive (or whatever its called now). I don't mind DB adding new features, but I hope they never take their eye off the ball and lost focus. A password manager and as task manager sound like good ideas for them to implement though.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
infinitezest 6y ago
I felt the same. When they started imposing a 3 device limit, I decided to move to Seattle and haven't looked back. Granted, a self-hosted solution has its drawbacks but I enjoyed setting it up and haven't had any sync problems with it. I will say that the quality of certain clients is hit-or-miss but overall it gets me exactly what I need: a folder that syncs across devices and platforms.
discreditable 6y ago
Couldn't agree more. I uninstalled their app from my systems recently. The client just keeps getting fatter. It now has a full UI for browsing your files in addition to just opening Windows explorer.
wad3g 6y ago
This. 5 years may be generous too. I've been using Dropbox since it's beta days around 2007 or 2008. I'm still a paying customer, but at this point I'm not exactly sure why. Back in the day it's sync was far superior than any of their competitor's, but now it's largely a bunch of half baked features and products. Until they recently made Smart Sync available to non-business customers nothing they had released was of any use to me. Mailbox was okay, but Inbox by Google was far superior. I tried using Paper for ~5 minutes. Once I realized I couldn't import my existing .txt or .md files it was of no use to me. It would be great if I were able to sync any/all of my got repos, but without a Dropbox version of .gitignore this simply just isn't an option. Who wants to sync the node_modules directory? Not me.
fardelian 6y ago
Then use sync.com
- drcongo 6y ago
  We switched to sync.com at work when Dropbox first started with all their expansion nonsense. It's been pretty much nothing but trouble.

aNoob7000 6y ago

They should also focus on better pricing/storage tiers. I see 2TB and 3TB as too much for your average consumer.

zihotki 6y ago
From consumer perspective - yes, that'd probably bring in more customers who're currently using free tier. But on the other hand a plenty of customers will switch over from more expensive subscription to a cheaper one. They may win some but they'll lose some too and it's hard from outside to say what would be the final numbers.
slantyyz 6y ago
2TB is a lot. I have a lot of stuff backed up into my 2TB account, and I'm still floating at only around 1TB of used storage. But I don't take a lot of videos. I can see people with families who record a lot of HD video use up a lot of space more quickly than me.

DanCarvajal 6y ago

I remember really liking Mailbox and I never understood why the acquired it only to shut it down. Sure there are acqui-hires but Mailbox actually seemed like it would be a good component to have in the Dropbox suite.

javagram 6y ago

I think the limit of 3 is because you’re on the free tier. They are trying to transition to a model where they can make money. I don’t blame them for it, but I did switch to using iCloud Drive instead of Dropbox because I am already paying for iCloud for photos, and the space is so much cheaper for the small amount I need.

aNoob7000 6y ago
They need better storage/pricing tiers. I think very few people need 2TB and 3TB for personal use.
- slantyyz 6y ago
  Back in the day, I needed less than their minimum tier offered, and sent support an e-mail, because I heard they would give you an exception if you asked. They were able to give me a cheaper plan with a smaller capacity. A little later, my storage tier was less than the amount they were offering for free, and they stopped billing me. I don't know if they're still willing to do that, but that gesture earned a lot of goodwill from me.

whatever_dude 6y ago

I agree with the sentiment but > Their core sync engine is truly amazing Compared to current competitors (e.g. pCloud) their syncing has been a mess. It tends to take forever to sync even the smallest files. I have no idea what's going on there anymore.

StavrosK 6y ago
I've never heard of pCloud before, is it really better than Dropbox?

moviuro 6y ago

A folder that syncs, period: https://syncthing.net https://syncthing.net . No web app, no mail, no nothing; just a folder that syncs.

Spivak 6y ago
And the ability to hop on the public relay and discovery servers (and/or provide your own) is really the community spirit at work. I don't use my full xfer allowance on my VPC all by myself so I flip on my relay every month to use it up.
samdixon 6y ago
I would use syncthing and totally drop dropbox if they had an iphone app.

slantyyz 6y ago

My initial experience with Paper when it came out wasn't super positive. I revisited it late last year, and I now use it heavily. Their markdown shortcuts are what hooked me. It's not perfect, but I do a lot of my notes in it now. Can you elaborate on this limit of devices that you're talking about? Are you on a free account?

1123581321 6y ago

Your comment about the three device limit on the free tier suggests you won’t pay for just a folder that syncs. And that is the issue. Dropbox basically saturated the market of professionals and agencies willing to pay for just a folder. New features attract additional customers, and they can do this while keeping basic sync solid. I support their growth because their biggest competitors are Apple, Google and Microsoft. I want there to exist a relatively independent competitor with decent market share.

mmargerum 6y ago

The fact that the sync "just works" is why I pay for DropBox. I've had bad experiences with Google drive and One Drive (or whatever its called now). I don't mind DB adding new features, but I hope they never take their eye off the ball and lost focus. A password manager and as task manager sound like good ideas for them to implement though.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

infinitezest 6y ago

I felt the same. When they started imposing a 3 device limit, I decided to move to Seattle and haven't looked back. Granted, a self-hosted solution has its drawbacks but I enjoyed setting it up and haven't had any sync problems with it. I will say that the quality of certain clients is hit-or-miss but overall it gets me exactly what I need: a folder that syncs across devices and platforms.

discreditable 6y ago

Couldn't agree more. I uninstalled their app from my systems recently. The client just keeps getting fatter. It now has a full UI for browsing your files in addition to just opening Windows explorer.

wad3g 6y ago

This. 5 years may be generous too. I've been using Dropbox since it's beta days around 2007 or 2008. I'm still a paying customer, but at this point I'm not exactly sure why. Back in the day it's sync was far superior than any of their competitor's, but now it's largely a bunch of half baked features and products. Until they recently made Smart Sync available to non-business customers nothing they had released was of any use to me. Mailbox was okay, but Inbox by Google was far superior. I tried using Paper for ~5 minutes. Once I realized I couldn't import my existing .txt or .md files it was of no use to me. It would be great if I were able to sync any/all of my got repos, but without a Dropbox version of .gitignore this simply just isn't an option. Who wants to sync the node_modules directory? Not me.

fardelian 6y ago

Then use sync.com

drcongo 6y ago
We switched to sync.com at work when Dropbox first started with all their expansion nonsense. It's been pretty much nothing but trouble.