Pause and resume syncing

If you use the Dropbox desktop app, you can stop or start sync (we call this Pause or Resume) at any time. To do so:

1. Click the Dropbox menu in the system tray or menu bar of your computer.
2. Click the gear icon (this looks like a small cog).
3. Click Pause syncing or Resume syncing.

The Dropbox icon in the system tray or menu bar will change if the app is paused.  

When syncing is active, Dropbox will try to be smart about the amount of bandwidth it uses:

• For downloads, Dropbox will use any remaining bandwidth available
• For uploads, Dropbox will use 75% of available bandwidth

You can also adjust your bandwidth usage in the Dropbox desktop application.

If you'd like to stop Dropbox entirely:

1. Click the Dropbox menu in the system tray or menu bar of your computer.
2. Click the gear icon (this looks like a small cog).
3. Click Quit Dropbox.

What happens when I pause the Dropbox desktop app?

When Dropbox is paused, two important things happen:

• If you make changes to the files on your computer, these changes aren't synced to Dropbox (even if the files are in the "Dropbox" folder)
• If you make changes to the files in your Dropbox account (on dropbox.com, the mobile app, or another computer), those changes aren't synced back to your computer

When Dropbox is paused you may still see notifications about updates made to your files from other devices. This is true even though sync is paused on the files themselves.