# Sync via Dropbox \[and the three device limit\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Other Software & Development\ **Tags:** sync\ **Created:** [June 28, 2025, 5:14pm UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/sync-via-dropbox-and-the-three-device-limit/148962 "2025-06-28T17:14:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![amelchi](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/ba8739/32.png) [@amelchi](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/amelchi)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2025, 5:14pm UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/sync-via-dropbox-and-the-three-device-limit/148962/1 "2025-06-28T17:14:16Z")
I have Scrivener on my main Mac, on my iPhone (Scrivener iOS), on my Mac Book Air and on my iPad; I have Dropbox installed only on iPhone and my main Mac and given the fact that free Dropbox works with only three devices and that DB is installed and working on my main Mac and iPhone I am asking myself why sync works on my main Mac, my iPhone AND my iPad (where DB is not activated…) but NOT on myMacBook Air where DB is not activated…any idea? ---
**Author:** ![AmberV](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/user_avatar/forum.literatureandlatte.com/amberv/32/13021_2.png) [@AmberV](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/AmberV)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2025, 5:39pm UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/sync-via-dropbox-and-the-three-device-limit/148962/2 "2025-06-28T17:39:49Z")
This limitation is poorly described by Dropbox, I would guess, since it seems to be a common misconception. The device limit refers to installations of their dedicated official client, _not_ whatever software you might use that integrates with it, like Scrivener (or third-party sync clients such as Maestral). ---
**Author:** ![xiamenese](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/user_avatar/forum.literatureandlatte.com/xiamenese/32/23720_2.png) [@xiamenese](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/xiamenese)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2025, 5:53pm UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/sync-via-dropbox-and-the-three-device-limit/148962/3 "2025-06-28T17:53:06Z")
I believe that technically, because the iOS/iPadOS version of Scrivener includes the Dropbox API, as long as that has access to your Dropbox account, you don’t need to have the Dropbox app running on a device for Scrivener to Sync. So, if at sometime you set up your iPad to sync via Dropbox, that may be happening and your iPad is still registered as the third device with Dropbox, thus your other Mac can’t login. N.B. Scrivener for Mac doesn’t rely on a Dropbox API; the Sync’ing is done through the operating system. Someone may come along and tell me I’m wrong. 😁 Mark ---
**Author:** ![amelchi](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/ba8739/32.png) [@amelchi](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/amelchi)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2025, 10:01pm UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/sync-via-dropbox-and-the-three-device-limit/148962/4 "2025-06-28T22:01:23Z")
Thanks but… should I do something? ---
**Author:** ![RevoTiLlor](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/user_avatar/forum.literatureandlatte.com/revotillor/32/34863_2.png) [@RevoTiLlor](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/RevoTiLlor)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2025, 10:24pm UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/sync-via-dropbox-and-the-three-device-limit/148962/5 "2025-06-28T22:24:41Z")
Yes, feel free to experiment. The worst-case scenario would be DB won’t allow a further installation. ---
**Author:** ![xiamenese](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/user_avatar/forum.literatureandlatte.com/xiamenese/32/23720_2.png) [@xiamenese](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/xiamenese)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2025, 10:52pm UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/sync-via-dropbox-and-the-three-device-limit/148962/6 "2025-06-28T22:52:19Z")
When Dropbox introduced the 3-device-limit, I had it on my iPhone, my iPad and 2 Macs. My recourse was to unlink my iPhone (I never used Scrivener on that… after a while I found I didn’t really need Scrivener on my iPad either). So I have Dropbox on my iPad and two Macs. But I also have Box and Sync running on everything as well as iCloud of course, so I have plenty of options for transferring files. You say Dropbox is “not activated” on your iPad. I presume that means it is installed and that if you tap the Dropbox icon it asks you to login (that’s what it does on my iPhone)? 🙂 Mark ---
**Author:** ![amelchi](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/ba8739/32.png) [@amelchi](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/amelchi)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2025, 7:41am UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/sync-via-dropbox-and-the-three-device-limit/148962/7 "2025-06-29T07:41:31Z")
I read that Box and iCloud are not recommended to sync Scrivener projects… ---
**Author:** ![rms](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/f6c823/32.png) [@rms](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/rms)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2025, 7:49am UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/sync-via-dropbox-and-the-three-device-limit/148962/8 "2025-06-29T07:49:37Z")
Read where what by who? There is extensive information about synching on L&L’s FAQ page on their web site. I’d start there to get an understanding of recommendations. There are subtleties. ---
**Author:** ![amelchi](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/ba8739/32.png) [@amelchi](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/amelchi)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2025, 8:00am UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/sync-via-dropbox-and-the-three-device-limit/148962/9 "2025-06-29T08:00:58Z")
exactly there… > **[Using Scrivener with Cloud-Sync Services / Cloud Syncing / Knowledge Base -...](https://scrivener.tenderapp.com/help/kb/cloud-syncing/using-scrivener-with-cloud-sync-services)** ---
**Author:** ![AmberV](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/user_avatar/forum.literatureandlatte.com/amberv/32/13021_2.png) [@AmberV](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/AmberV)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2025, 9:09am UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/sync-via-dropbox-and-the-three-device-limit/148962/10 "2025-06-29T09:09:07Z")
Where in this article are you reading that you shouldn’t use either of those services? The only thing I can think of is that maybe you’re reading the list of advisory links without clicking through—but by that logic we also would then eliminate Dropbox. The [Box.com](http://Box.com) “advisory” in particular was always a bit of a joke. They said their service couldn’t handle syncing folders of files (in essence, they said “packages” but probably this was written by someone that didn’t know that a package is just a folder) for a few years, then finally fixed it. Please carry on any further discussion of whether or not X, Y or Z is safe to use, in one of the existing threads: - [For alternatives to iOS syncing](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/alternatives-to-dropbox-sync/131360/12) - [For Mac/PC syncing](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/alternatives-to-dropbox-in-2025/146539/2) - [Checklist to help determine if an uncommon service is safe to use](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/132354/2) ---
**Author:** ![OwenKelly](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/user_avatar/forum.literatureandlatte.com/owenkelly/32/15754_2.png) [@OwenKelly](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/OwenKelly)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2025, 9:09am UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/sync-via-dropbox-and-the-three-device-limit/148962/11 "2025-06-29T09:09:11Z")
To quote from the document you pointed to: “There are many cloud-sync services available but one that works well with Scrivener is Dropbox]”. ---
**Author:** ![kewms](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/user_avatar/forum.literatureandlatte.com/kewms/32/15720_2.png) [@kewms](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/kewms)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2025, 4:36pm UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/sync-via-dropbox-and-the-three-device-limit/148962/12 "2025-06-29T16:36:18Z")
One way to interpret this is: “Dropbox works well and we use it internally, but we don’t have the resources to test every service out there. Please follow the best practices discussed in this article, and look to see if we’ve posted specific caveats for your preferred service.” ---
**Author:** ![amelchi](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/ba8739/32.png) [@amelchi](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/amelchi)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2025, 4:52pm UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/sync-via-dropbox-and-the-three-device-limit/148962/13 "2025-06-29T16:52:26Z")
Thanks, it is clear!