Try these steps in order:

1. Update the Sync Client. Install the latest version.
2. Check your connection. Are you online and signed in with the right account?
3. Restart the Sync Client. Click the cloud icon and choose Quit. Then start the program again.
4. Wait a little. Sometimes it takes a while before syncing starts.
5. 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.
6. Still stuck? Write to drive-support@switch.ch. Describe the problem in detail and attach a screenshot of any error message.

Check the list of files that were not synced:

1. Open the Switch Drive settings.
2. Click Activity.
3. Click Not synced.

If the list is empty, everything is fine. Often the list only holds ignored files that don't need to be synced.

Use the Filter button to choose what you want to see. We recommend showing only Error and Conflict. Reset filters shows everything again.

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:

1. 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.
2. Double-click the entry. The folder with the file opens. You see the original file and the "conflicted" copy next to each other.
3. Find out which one is newer. The date and size often show this.
4. 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.
5. 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.

1. Open the Switch Drive settings and click Account. Choose Log out.
2. Click Account again and choose Remove.
3. Confirm with Remove connection.
4. Start the Sync Client again, if it isn't running, and sign in.
5. Click Authorize so the client may access your account.
6. 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.
7. 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:

1. Ask the owner for the Delete permission (easiest). Wait a little. The Sync Client then updates and the errors go away.
2. Undo your move. Right-click the error message to show the file in Finder or File Explorer. 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.
3. Decline and accept the share again. Use this when you moved many files, or you want to keep them in your own folder. In the browser, click the three dots next to the shared folder and choose Decline share. The shared folder disappears from your computer, but the files you moved into your own folders stay. When syncing is complete, open Shared with you and click Accept share. You get a fresh copy of the shared folder with all files in their original places.

This message is rare. It means the time stamps of some local files look wrong, for example after a folder was restored on your computer or after a restore in a Switch Drive data centre.

Don't worry. Your latest files are still on your computer.

If you continue normally, some files could be replaced by older versions. So always choose the recommended option: Keep local files as conflict.

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:

1. Open the Start menu, search for Notepad, right-click it and choose Run as administrator.
2. Choose File > Open and open C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts. Select "All files" so you can see it.
3. Add the two lines, then save.

macOS and Linux:

1. Open a terminal.
2. Type sudo nano /etc/hosts and enter your computer password.
3. Add the two lines, press Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter to save.