In May 2022, I moved my 60TB of important data to Dropbox, believing their promise of unlimited storage. This decision came after rumors that Google might end their unlimited storage option. Transitioning to Dropbox wasn't easy; I even had to change how files were named because of Dropbox's limitations. After some effort, I finally got all my data uploaded.
However, my relief was short-lived. By November 2023, Dropbox announced the end of their unlimited storage plans. Despite this change, I decided to stay because the service still seemed valuable. But soon, I faced a serious issue. My account showed conflicting information: one part said I was using 93TB of my 109TB limit, which was fine, but another part claimed I was using 130TB, which made no sense and blocked me from uploading more files.
This discrepancy seemed to stem from an old upload that I had canceled and deleted. When I contacted Dropbox support for help, they were initially responsive. They discovered the cause of the error but then became less helpful. Despite my repeated attempts to resolve the problem, all I received were automated responses and one particularly confusing email that claimed the issue was resolved when it clearly wasn't.
It's been two months since I first reached out for help, and I'm still stuck. I'm paying for a service I can't fully use because of a mistake on their end that they haven't fixed. My experience has shown me that Dropbox might not be a reliable place to store my data anymore. They seem unable to manage serious issues effectively.
E-mail received from Dropbox support
This story is a warning to others who rely on cloud storage: the service is only as good as the support behind it. We need to be able to trust these services not just to store our data, but also to help us when things go wrong.
Dropbox haven't fixed the issue yet. I hope this story pushes them into fixing the issue and take better care of their customers.