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How to sync to more than 3 devices without paying a subscription fee to drop box.

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vendor1

15 Mar, 2022 10:33 PM

[Edit: I have changed the title of this thread to properly reflect the fact that you CAN sync to more than 3 devices via dropbox. I have left my original post unchanged below]
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The DropBox basic plan (free) only allows 3 devices to connect. Not just concurrently, AT ALL. If you want to sync MD with a 4th device, even if it is the only device online at the moment, you are SOL. You need to go to DropBox management console and delete one of the 3 devices that have connected in the past and delete it.

Here is why this is a problem;
I have a Mac, an iPad and an iPhone. My wife has the same. 6 devices. Both our Macs have MD 2022 installed and syncing the same MD database. Both of us want to use MD while on-the-go via our iPhones. No can do. That's 4 devices. Because MD on iOS/iPadOS does not support iCloud sync, there is only one solution. MD users must pay DropBox for an upgraded account. At the moment, this starts at $9.99 / month.

DropBox's limitations are now MoneyDance's limitations.

PLEASE update the iOS and iPadOS apps to support icloud sync.

1. 1 Posted by dtd on 15 Mar, 2022 11:12 PM

   

   just a user - you should only be using 2 of the 3 allowed connections - the two on your Macs, the other devices should not be using Dropbox directly, but "sort of sideways" where they don't use a license.

   There is someone else here (Derekkent?) who has a long explanation on this and how to make it work properly without going over the 3 device limit.

   Personally, my spouse and I use MD on both our macs, three ipads, and two iphones with no issues.

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2. 2 Posted by dwg on 16 Mar, 2022 02:00 AM

   

   I'm a fellow user.

   There are two Dropbox connection methods: Dropbox Folder and Dropbox Connection.

   Desktop devices can use either, it is user selectable. However only Dropbox Folder uses a license. Dropbox Connection directly uses an API to access Dropbox it does not use a client connection license.

   Mobile devices uses Dropbox Connection in all instances, they do not use a license unless the user were to install the Dropbox client software - which Moneydance will not use in any case.

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3. 3 Posted by derekkent23 on 16 Mar, 2022 08:55 AM

   

   I am not support staff, just a user.
   Hi vendor1

   Just to enforce dtd and dwg posts.

   The Dropbox restrictions maybe not as bad as they first sound.

   The limit of 3 devices running Dropbox applications with a free account applies to the devices that can be connected to a Dropbox product itself, via official Dropbox applications, such as the official Dropbox desktop client or mobile applications.

   If your computers are using Dropbox Folder as a syncing method for Moneydance then as you have to have Dropbox Client installed, this count towards the limit. However, if you use Dropbox Connection and don’t have Dropbox Client installed, this does not count towards the limit. This limit does not apply to third party apps that connect to Dropbox via the Dropbox API. This includes the Dropbox Application Program Interface that is embedded in Moneydance mobile. Your mobile devices would only count towards the limit if you had Dropbox official app installed on your mobile devices for another reason.
   You can also mix Moneydance Dropbox sync Methods on computers, say 3 computers using Dropbox Folder and any additional computers using Dropbox Connection. You can also sync a many mobile devices as you like.

   Another approach is to set up another free Dropbox account under a different email address and set up the Moneydance folder “.moneydancesync” as a shared folder between the two accounts.

   You are not facing any real restriction, with no need for a paid Dropbox account

   So as you see the Dropbox restriction are not a reason in themselves to update the iOS and iPadOS apps to support iCloud sync. In fact iCload sync can be more restrictive, for example it has no cross platform support to Windows and Linux unlike Dropbox and it can only be used with one iCloud account at the time, again unlike Dropbox. There are more important issues for the developer to work on.

   Hope this helps.

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4. 4 Posted by vendor1 on 16 Mar, 2022 03:15 PM

   

   Thank you all. You are correct and it works. I now have 6 devices syncing MD and only burned 1 connection license.

   I have changed the title of this thread to properly reflect reality and make it easier for the next confused soul to find it.

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5. Maddy closed this discussion on 18 Mar, 2022 04:02 PM.