You send a Dropbox link. The reply comes back with a screenshot: 'Link temporarily disabled'. Or a page with 'Error (429)' on it. Or 'That didn't work for some reason', a 404, a password box nobody told them about, or a folder that refuses to download.
A Dropbox link points at a file in your account. It depends on that file still being there, on the link's own settings, and on your account being allowed to share at that moment. Almost every failure comes down to one of those three. Ask the person for the exact message first, because the wording tells you where to look.
- 'Link temporarily disabled' or 'Error (429)': too much traffic on one link, or on your whole account. See the next two sections.
- An email from Dropbox saying 'We've interrupted your sharing activity': your account's sharing is paused. See the account section.
- A 404, or the link simply goes nowhere: the file or the link was deleted. See the deleted files section.
- A password box, or a link that worked yesterday and doesn't today: link settings. See the settings section.
- 'That didn't work for some reason': usually a damaged link or a browser problem. See the section on that message.
- The file opens but won't download, or a folder won't download: downloads are switched off, or the folder is over Dropbox's limit.
'Link temporarily disabled' and 'Error (429)': one link got too much traffic
Dropbox's help centre says 'Link temporarily disabled' appears when a link has been shared or downloaded too many times within a 24 hour period. This happens to links that get passed around: a file posted in a big group chat, a forum, a class or a client mailing list. Everyone opening it at once is what trips the limit.
Some people see 'Error (429)' instead. Dropbox's help pages don't explain that code, but 429 is the standard web code for too many requests, and it shows up on links paused for traffic. Treat it the same way, and check your email in case the whole account was paused (next section).
The fix Dropbox gives is simple: wait 24 hours before trying the link again. Deleting and re-sharing the file won't help if the same crowd opens the new link the same way. If many people need the file, send it to fewer people at a time, or send each group its own copy later.
'We've interrupted your sharing activity': your account hit its daily limit
This is bigger than one link. Dropbox counts bandwidth as the data transferred from your account when others view or download the files you've shared, so previews count, not only downloads. Go over your plan's daily limit and Dropbox says your sharing activity and link or file requests are paused for 24 hours. That is why every link on your account can stop at once. You'll get an email that starts 'We've interrupted your sharing activity because you've exceeded bandwidth limits', with instructions.
Dropbox's daily limits, as listed on its help centre:
- Basic, Simple and all trials: 20 GB and up to 100,000 file downloads per day.
- Plus, Family, Professional, Essentials, Standard and Business: 1 TB per day, unlimited downloads.
- Advanced, Business Plus and Enterprise: 4 TB per day, unlimited downloads.
- A first bandwidth pause lasts 24 hours. Dropbox says repeat issues may result in suspensions longer than 24 hours.
- The same 'interrupted' wording is used for other reasons: a file that may contain malware, files with a copyright complaint, or content that might be phishing or spam. For a copyright complaint, Dropbox says to follow the appeal instructions in the email. For phishing or spam, it says to contact Dropbox support.
A 404 or a dead link: the file or the link was deleted
Dropbox's troubleshooting page says a link won't work if the file or folder was deleted. The good news is that restoring the file makes the same link work again, so you don't need to send a new one. On dropbox.com, click 'Deleted files' in the left sidebar, tick the file or folder and click 'Restore'. Dropbox puts it back in the folder it was deleted from.
How far back you can go depends on the plan: 30 days on Basic, Plus and Family; 180 days on Professional, Essentials, Standard and Business; 365 days on Advanced, Business Plus, Enterprise and Education. After that the file, and its link, are gone for good.
If the file is still there but the link isn't in your list of links, the link was deleted. Create a new one: hover over the file on dropbox.com, click 'Share', then 'Copy link', and send that. If you rewound your account, Dropbox says you may need to delete the old link and create a new one.
Expired, password-protected or limited to your team
On Professional, Essentials, Standard, Advanced, Business, Business Plus and Enterprise, a link can carry a password, an expiration date and a 'Disable downloads' switch. Recipients don't see the expiration date. The link simply stops working at 11:59 pm on that day in your time zone. A password means they must enter it before they can see anything, so send it separately.
On team accounts there is one more layer. Under 'Who has access', a link can be set to 'Team members' instead of 'Anyone with link', which locks out everyone else. A shared folder's owner can limit links to team members, and a team admin can turn off sharing links with people outside the team altogether. If that is the cause, it is a question for the folder owner or admin, not a setting you can work around.
To check or change a link's settings on dropbox.com:
- Hover over the file or folder name and click 'Share'.
- Click the settings icon in the bottom right.
- Choose 'Link for viewing' or 'Link for editing'.
- Set 'Who has access' to 'Anyone with link' if outsiders need it.
- Turn 'Expiration' off or pick a later date, check 'Require password', then click 'Save'.
- Test the link in a private window where you are not signed in to Dropbox.
'That didn't work for some reason': a damaged link or the browser
Dropbox's help pages don't explain this message, so work through the likely causes. The most common is a link that isn't a real shared link at all. If you copied the address from your browser's address bar while looking at the file in your own account, that address only works for you. Create the link with 'Share' and 'Copy link' instead.
Newer Dropbox links carry an 'rlkey' part near the end, as in dropbox.com/scl/fi/.../file.jpg?rlkey=...&dl=0. If a chat app, an email line break or a hand edit cut that part off, the link won't open. Copy it again and send it as a message on its own. Changing the ending to 'dl=1' to force a download is fine, but leave the rest of the link as it is.
If the link is right and still won't open, Dropbox's advice for browser trouble is to log out of Dropbox and click the link again. A private window or a different browser does the same thing. If none of that works, Dropbox says to contact whoever created the link, or Dropbox support if you made it.
It opens but won't download, or the folder is too big
If the file previews but there's no download option, the owner may have switched on 'Disable downloads'. It is available on 'Link for viewing' on the same paid plans as passwords. Only the owner can turn it off.
Folders have hard limits. Dropbox says you can only download a folder if it's smaller than 250 GB uncompressed and contains fewer than 10,000 files in total, and files in folders inside it count toward that. Folders arrive as a .zip. Single files have no size limit, but Dropbox recommends the desktop app for large files, because browsers and networks can make big downloads fail. If a folder is over the limit, split it into smaller folders and share each one, or have the person download the files they need one at a time.
Prevent it next time
Most of these failures can be avoided before you hit send.
- Always create links with 'Share' and 'Copy link', never from the address bar.
- Open every link in a private window first. If it works there, it works for them.
- Don't post one link to a huge audience on a Basic account. 20 GB a day goes quickly when a video gets passed around.
- Keep the shared file where it is until people have it. Deleting it kills the link.
- If you set an expiration date or password, tell the recipient. They can't see either in advance.
- Keep shared folders under 250 GB and 10,000 files if people will download them from the browser.
Just need to hand over a file once?
If you only need to get a file to someone once, OneSol Send at onesol.io/send is another option: upload up to 5 GB per transfer, share one link, and the recipient downloads without an account. Files delete themselves after 24 hours, so it suits a one-off handover rather than long-term hosting, and you need a free OneSol account to send.