User case: Dropbox app freezes in Windows 10

“When I run the Dropbox client on my Windows 10 computer, I get to click a couple of times, and then it freezes. It's very annoying. Why does this happen? Do you have any ideas to deal with the “Dropbox freezes on Windows 10” issue?”

Why Dropbox keeps freezing on Windows 10?

As a popular cloud storage service, Dropbox works well, most of the time. But it is not without problems, just like Google Drive freezing all the time, with users complaining that Dropbox keeps freezing on Windows and Dropbox crashes Windows Explorer, causing computer to freeze.

The reasons for Dropbox freezing on Windows 10/11 may vary from person to person. Below are some common ones:

• Faulty Dropbox app.
• Antivirus software issues.
• Insufficient computer storage or memory.
• Network problems.

8 tips to fix “Dropbox freezes on Windows 10/11"

To run Dropbox smoothly on your computer, you need to have good network conditions, install the correct version of Dropbox, and make sure that the operating system you are using is supported by Dropbox. Try the following methods to fix Dropbox freezing on Windows 10/11. If one method does not work, please proceed to the next one.

Fix 1. Unlink and relink your Dropbox account

If Dropbox upload freezes or Dropbox is stuck syncing, unlinking and relinking your account may be required.

Step 1. Click on your avatar (photo or initials) in the top right and choose Preferences.

Step 2. On the Account tab, click Sign out, and hit OK.

Step 3. Wait a few seconds and run the Dropbox program to sign in again.

Fix 2. Close antivirus software

If you get frozen as soon as you run the Dropbox app and don't upload any files, consider that anti-virus software is preventing it from running. You can try to temporarily disable your antivirus software to resolve the “Dropbox app keeps freezing” issue.

Fix 3. Uninstall and reinstall Dropbox

As silly as it sounds, reinstalling Dropbox can be helpful to resolve most errors caused by Dropbox clients, like Dropbox not syncing across devices, Dropbox unexpectedly quitting, Dropbox saying up to date but not, and so on. You could rest assured that uninstalling Dropbox on your computer will not delete Dropbox files from your hard drive.

Step 1. Quit the Dropbox app from Settings or end Dropbox from Task Manager forcibly.

Step 2. Open Control Panel, tap Uninstall a program under Programs, and right-click Dropbox to hit Uninstall.

Step 3. Go to the Dropbox download page and install the latest version of it on your computer. Then, launch it and see if the “Dropbox crashing on Windows 10” problem is solved.

Fix 4. Update your Windows operating system

In addition to the reasons for the Dropbox program, running on an outdated Windows 10 OS may lead to your computer is not supported on Dropbox and get into the "Dropbox freezes on Windows 10" problem as well.

Step 1. Click on the Start button in the bottom-left corner and click Settings.

Step 2. Choose Update & Security and then Windows Update.

Step 3. Tap on Check for updates to see if your computer is up-to-date.

Fix 5. Sync files to Dropbox in small batches

If Dropbox keeps crashing on Windows 11/10 when you upload a large amount of files, this may be because it is unable to handle large batches of files. And when you sync a lot of files, especially for the first time, Dropbox may use high CPU and memory, which can result in the Dropbox app and computer freezing. To fix this issue, you can sync files in small chunks.

Fix 6. Limit download rate on Dropbox

If your Dropbox is always stuck in downloading mode, you could also try not setting a Dropbox download rate limit to resolve “Dropbox not responding” on Windows 10.

Step 1. Go to Preferences on Dropbox app.

Step 2. Select the Bandwidth section and limit the download speed to a specific value like 100 kb/s. Then, press Apply.

Fix 7. Use selective sync to free up local space

The more files you keep in the Dropbox folder, the more memory that Dropbox needs to keep track of them. When there are more than 300,000 synced files in the Dropbox folder on Windows File Explorer, Dropbox's performance will start to decrease and influence the performance of computer.

To solve Dropbox causing computer to freeze on Windows 10 and Windows 11, you could use selective sync to reduce the number of files on your computer.

Step 1. Click Dropbox icon on the notification area, tap on the avatar, and select Preferences.

Step 2. On the Sync tab, tap on the Select folders button.

Step 3. Untick folders that you wish to remove from your hard drive, but have them save on the Dropbox cloud, then press Update.

Fix 8. Enable Dropbox Smart Sync

Dropbox Smart Sync is another method that helps you save space on your local hard drive, solving Dropbox freezes your Windows 10 computer due to high disk usage. But, this feature is only available for Dropbox Professional and Business users.

Step 1. Open the Dropbox folder on your computer.

Step 2. Find the folder/file you want to clear up from the local hard drive.

Step 3. Choose Smart Sync and select Online-only.

Another easy and free way to sync files to Dropbox

If Dropbox keeps freezing or crashing after trying all the foregoing solutions, you could ask the professional cloud backup service - CBackup for help. This tool allows you to sync files to Dropbox free and quickly, and it works well in all Windows systems. It has no restrictions on file upload type, size, or speed.

With this software, you can perform one-way sync from local to Dropbox, so that you can upload to Dropbox without local copy. You are allowed to sync files to Google Drive, OneDrive, and more public clouds on a single interface. Besides, it offers a Backup feature that is capable of using Dropbox and other clouds as a backup tool easily.

To sync files to Dropbox with the easy-to-use CBackup freeware, please download it first, and then follow these steps below:

Step 1. Create an account for CBackup for free. Run the CBackup desktop app and sign in.

Step 2. Click Storage, choose Dropbox, and tap Authorize Now to permit CBackup access to your cloud.

Step 3. Choose Sync > Sync PC to Public Cloud in turn.

Step 4. Rename the task for easy distinction. Choose files/folders/hard drives to upload and choose a Dropbox folder as the destination. Then, tap on Start Sync to sync files to Dropbox simply.

Conclusion

That’s all about how to solve “Dropbox freezes on Windows 10”. Hopefully, one of the solutions on this page can help you fix this problem. If you don’t want to waste time trying them one by one, you could directly switch to the free cloud backup software CBackup to upload files to Dropbox without a hitch.