This page is being updated. Switch Drive recently moved from ownCloud to Nextcloud, and we are revising this documentation to reflect the changes. Some information may be outdated or incomplete in the meantime.
Sync Problems
Try these steps in order:
- Update the Sync Client. Install the latest version.
- Check your connection. Are you online and signed in with the right account?
- Restart the Sync Client. Click the cloud icon and choose Quit. Then start the program again.
- Wait a little. Sometimes it takes a while before syncing starts.
- Check the folder size limit. The client may be set to ask before syncing large folders. Open the settings and look at the General tab. Raise the limit or switch the option off.
- Still stuck? Write to drive-support@switch.ch. Describe the problem in detail and attach a screenshot of any error message.
Check the activity on the Sync Client:
- Click on the Sync Client icon.
- Hover over your account name.
- Choose "More activity...".
Check for files with an error message or a warning.
Some possible issues could be:
|
Type |
What it means |
What to do |
|---|---|---|
|
Blacklisted |
Files that could harm the server, such as a foreign |
Nothing. This is a safety measure. |
|
Conflict |
The file on your computer and the file on the server both changed. Your local file is renamed and gets "conflict" in the name. |
See "I see a message about conflict files. What do I do?" below. |
|
Excluded |
The file type is on your list of ignored files in the General settings. You can add types yourself, for example |
Nothing, unless you want the file synced. Then remove the type from the list. |
|
File ignored |
The name is longer than 256 characters, or contains one of these characters: |
Rename the file. |
|
Message |
An important message from the Switch Drive servers. |
Read it. |
|
Forbidden |
You tried to delete or move something in a shared folder without permission. The file was put back. |
Ask the owner for the Delete permission. See "Shared folders and permissions". |
Right-click an entry to show the file in Finder or File Explorer, or in the browser.
Ignored files are usually hidden system files that only make sense on one computer, so they are not synced.
You may see many files starting with ~$. These are lock files from Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Office creates them while a document is open and removes them when you close it. If Office closes unexpectedly, they stay behind. They are safe to ignore.
A conflict happens when Switch Drive can't tell which version is newer: the one on the server or the one on your computer. This often happens when two people change the same file at the same time. Switch Drive can't solve it for you, because it doesn't want to throw away your work.
The local file gets the word conflicted in its name. It stays on your computer only. It is never uploaded and never reaches other devices.
How to solve it:
- Open the Switch Drive settings and click the yellow line that mentions the conflict. If you can't read it all, make the window larger.
- Double-click the entry. The folder with the file opens. You see the original file and the "conflicted" copy next to each other.
- Find out which one is newer. The date and size often show this.
- If you can't tell, open both files side by side and compare them. Copy any changes you need into the file you want to keep.
- Rename the conflict copy. Replace "conflicted" with "old", or remove the word. Or delete it if you don't need it.
The warning disappears once you have renamed or deleted the conflict file. When in doubt, rename it rather than delete it, so you can always go back.
This can happen if you rename or move your switchdrive folder by accident. You then see an error message that the sync folder is not connected.
No data is deleted by these steps.
- Open the Switch Drive settings and choose Log out.
- Click Remove account.
- Confirm with Remove connection.
- Start the Sync Client again, if it isn't running, and sign in.
- Click Grant Access so the client can access your account.
- Set up the new connection:
- Choose to sync everything from the server. You can leave out folders later.
- Click the folder path and select your existing switchdrive folder, or create a new one. Please keep the name switchdrive, because this makes it easier for support to help you.
- Click Connect. Syncing starts again.
This happens when you moved files inside a shared folder without the Delete permission. There are three ways to fix it:
- Ask the owner for the Delete permission (easiest). Wait a little. The Sync Client then updates and the errors go away.
- Undo your move. Delete the moved file (it usually has a red icon). The Sync Client puts it back in its old place. Do this for each affected file.
All characters work, except these: * \ / < > : " | ?
Switch Drive does not sync files or folders with these characters in the name, even if your system allows them.
Also don't end a name with a space or a dot. Mac and Linux allow this, Windows doesn't. Such files can be uploaded from a Mac, but cannot be downloaded or synced on a Windows computer.
When you sign in, the Sync Client talks to your browser inside your own computer, using the name "localhost". If your computer doesn't know this name, sign-in fails.
Test it: open a terminal and type ping localhost.
- Reply from 127.0.0.1: localhost works. The cause is elsewhere.
- "Unknown host": your "hosts" file is missing two lines.
Fix: add these lines to the hosts file:
127.0.0.1 localhost
::1 localhost
Windows:
- Open the Start menu, search for Notepad, right-click it and choose Run as administrator.
- Choose File > Open and open
C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts. Select "All files" so you can see it. - Add the two lines, then save.
macOS and Linux:
- Open a terminal.
- Type
sudo nano /etc/hostsand enter your computer password. - Add the two lines, press Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter to save.