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Opening the Dropbox folder enables Num Lock.
Hi, I have a weird little problem. Every time I open the Dropbox folder (double click on the icon on the task bar), there's a Windows notification popping up that Num Lock has been enabled. This only started happening after I upgraded my Windows 10 to 11. Any ideas how to fix this?
Hi, it looks like this bug has been fixed with the release of version 219.4.4463. Thanks!
- Megan
Dropbox Staff
Hey Mistic_John, let's jump right into this!
That's a very interesting case there.
Typically, the num Lock status is indicated by an LED on your keyboard, depending on its design. Could you confirm if opening the Dropbox folder actually activates it, or not?
Have you tried clicking on the actual button on your keyboard?
Also, could you hover your mouse over the little Dropbox icon in order to confirm the version that you're using, and share it with me?
Feel free to send me a screenshot of the pop-up notification you get, in order for me to have a visual too.
Keep me posted!
Hi Megan,
Thanks for the reply! This is in fact an on-screen notification, which shows up for a moment each time you enable/disable num lock (or open Dropbox 🙃).
When I open DB this notification pops up regardless what my current num lock status is - whether it's been previously set on or off by pressing the key.
The DB version is v215.4.7202
- Megan
Got it, thanks for the heads up Mistic_John!
If you quit our app, and try to open your Dropbox folder do you notice the same behavior?
Also, how long has this been happening, and do you notice this with other folders too?
Hi Megan,
I have a short video clip just to show how it looks on my end, but I'm not sure how to share it here.
I quit the app and it didn't help, but it did upgrade DB to 216.4.4420.
The problem persists ever since I upgraded my Windows from 10 to 11, which is about a month ago. Doesn't happen with any other application or function. It's just Dropbox somehow triggering the num lock.
I'd like to make a correction to my previous post - the notification shows up only if the num lock has already been previously enabled with the key. If it's been disabled, opening DB does not trigger the notification. So it's not that the num lock gets actually switched on or off by DB, it's only the notification popping up for whatever reason.
Hello Walter,
I have reinstalled Dropbox, but unfortunately the issue persists.
Creating a separate OS profile just to try to fix a bug like this seems like an overkill, to be honest
- Hannah
Hey Mistic_John, can you try these steps for an advanced reinstall of the app, to see if that makes a difference?
Hello Hannah,
Yes, I went through advanced reinstall, deleting stuff in the registry and any Dropbox-related folders (except the main file folder), all as mentioned in the instructions. Sadly, this didn't change anything and the num lock notification keeps on popping up
I have the almost the same problem!!!
Everytime i double click the dropbox icon on the task bar so as to open the dropbox folder in the explorer, the numLock UNLOCKS.
If its unlocked and do the same thing again (double click the dropbox icon), nothing odd happens.
Windows 10 Home
dropbox 216 4 4420
- Walter
Hey Dimitrios2024 - thanks for letting us know about this.
Have you tried any of the troubleshooting steps mentioned in this thread since you first noticed this, like a re-install of the app etc?
hi there and thnx for replying
i read from mystic John "I have reinstalled Dropbox, but unfortunately the issue persists"
so i didnt try it yet but i will because in my case it actually changes the num lock status and it buds me everytime i try to use the num pad.
Maybe its better to wait for a newer dropbox version or fold back to an older one if possible.
Dimitris
Windows 10 Home
dropbox 219 4 4463
fixed thank you
Having the same issue which only started AFTER the recent update, so I'm guessing it was something in the update. It happens in two sequences:
First Issue:
- I open the system tray desktop dropbox folder.
- The number lock icon pops up. It happens every time.
Second issue:
- I open the system tray desktop dropbox folder.
- I maximize my desktop dropbox folder to view files.
- When I'm finished, I close the folder.
- The next time I open the folder from dropbox desktop system tray icon, the "numlock" icon appears again, and also my maximized folder resets itself to a smaller window.
Reinstalling or logging out/back in does nothing to help.
I've also been having the same problem for at least a couple of weeks now and I just narrowed it down to Dropbox as the culprit. 216.4.4420. I closed the app and restarted, which fixed it for a couple hours, but now it's back to misbehaving.
What I do (see image below): Pressing Dropbox icon in system tray (Win 11) and then clicking folder icon in the Dropbox window to open file explorer. (Opening My Computer and indirectly opening Dropbox folder that way does not cause this issue.)
What happens: Seems that a Num Lock keypress is sent (Num Lock status is toggled from off to on or vice versa).
To clarify my post: I get the on-screen notification that num lock status has changed, but it also actually changes the LED on my keyboard and the behavior of the numpad keys is changed. i.e., this is not just an on-screen notification, but actually is changing the status of num lock.
Hey, I am having the same problem - for a few weeks now, after some DB update. Everytime I doubble click on tray icon drobox opens -> its widnow gets smaller from maximized and I get the windows "num lock on" popup and those character shortcuts appear on left top corner.
- Hannah
Hey everyone, thanks so much for reporting this.
Our team is aware of this issue and is working on a solution as we speak.
We'll let you know of any updates, when we have them!
Here to report another instance of this same problem. Has there been any progress with a fix?
I am having the same problem, the number lock key "Unlocks" when clicking once (or double click)to the folder icon. But by clicking on the world icon, the number lock key remains locked. I have DBx version 216-4-4420. More strange: the problem is only on my 2-year-old desktop HP & Win11 but not on my 1-year-old HP laptop with the same software and setup. The problem is recent on my desktop computer.
Same problem here for about a month. Every time when opening Dropbox from taskbar. Very annoying. (Win 11, DB v217.4.4417)
