Is it possible to change the Dropbox account a computer is linked to?
Yes. To change the Dropbox account your computer is linked to, you will have to unlink your computer first.
Unlinking your computer from your Dropbox account means Dropbox will no longer sync files from that computer to the website and other linked computers. Your files will remain in the Dropbox folder of the unlinked computer afterwards.
To unlink your computer from your account:
On Windows 7
- Right-click on the Dropbox icon from your system tray. You may need to click on the arrow to show all system tray icons
The Dropbox icon on the system tray
- Choose Preferences… from the menu
- Click on Unlink this computer…
That’s it! Next time you start Dropbox, it will ask you if you want to link your computer to an account again. If you are linking your computer to a different account, you may want to move your Dropbox folder somewhere else first. Otherwise, Dropbox will ask if you want to merge any existing files with the new account.
For Our Advanced Users
If the Unlink this computer… button in the preferences window is not working properly, or you just like to do things the hard way, you can unlink Dropbox from an account as follows:
On Windows Vista and Windows 7
- Exit Dropbox by right-clicking the tray icon, and choose Exit from the menu
- Open any Windows Explorer window by double-clicking any folder or opening a folder through the Start menu
- In the location bar at the top of the window, type
%APPDATA% and hit Enter
- Delete the Dropbox folder
If you have trouble deleting any files or folders, you might have permissions set incorrectly. This is also a reason why Dropbox’s Unlink this computer… button may not work.
