Getting your account set up
Dropbox team accounts make it easy for teams to safely share and collaborate, no matter where you are, no matter your device.
13 minute read
Set yourself up for success
Now that you’ve been invited to your company’s Dropbox team account, you’re one step away from accessing its collaborative and organizational powers.
You're invited
When your company joins Dropbox, your Dropbox team account admin can and may send you an invite to join the team.
Dropbox team accounts have one or more admins in their organization who manage the security, integration, and sharing settings for their team.
All you need to do is accept the invitation via email to join. Then, you reach your first fork in the road: are you joining Dropbox as a new or existing user?
Are you new around here?
As you work through setting up your Dropbox team account, you’ll be asked if you’re setting it up as a new or existing user. Depending on which one applies to you, you’ll follow different steps to complete account set up.
Existing user
As an existing user, you just need to sign in and then decide what to do with the existing files in your Dropbox. You can either keep them in your current account, or move them into a new personal Dropbox that your company won’t have access to. If you choose to move them, you’ll need to use a different email address for your new personal Dropbox and create a password for that account.
Heads up: If you’re using your work email for Dropbox and your company’s admin has certain settings in place, you may get a web or desktop notification asking you to choose if you want to move your files. Your account will pause syncing until you make that choice.
Access your files from anywhere, anytime
Dropbox offers several different ways to conveniently access your files: the Dropbox mobile app, the Dropbox folder on your computer, and the Dropbox website. While you can always access your files from any internet connected device using dropbox.com, installing and using the apps on your devices will help you get the most from Dropbox.
Watch our helpful video tutorial to help with uploading and downloading files.
You can also securely back up your files and folders, watch our to use Dropbox Backup video guide.
The mobile app
The free Dropbox mobile app helps you keep projects moving from anywhere, so you can stay focused on what matters. Access work, collaborate with colleagues or friends, and quickly take care of tasks—all from your phone or tablet.
Dropbox apps are free and let you:
- Access your entire Dropbox on-the-go
- Browse and view files directly from your Dropbox
- Use third-party apps to open and edit files
- Take photos and videos using your built-in camera and save them directly to your Dropbox
- Make important files available for offline access—we'll upload any changes once you’re back online
- Share your files via links in an email, text messaging, or another app
Dropbox apps are available for Android, iPhone, iPad, and Windows mobile.
Dropbox with File Explorer or Finder
We like to make things easy. That’s why you can access Dropbox straight through a folder on your hard drive. It runs using File Explorer for Windows or Finder for Mac.
Using Dropbox on your computer is just like using any other folder on your hard drive, except the files you drag into your Dropbox folder automatically sync online and to any other computers or mobile devices linked to your account. It's like having the same folder on all of your computers and mobile devices at the same time.
Dropbox even works when you're offline. The next time you're online, Dropbox will sync changes just where it left off.
The desktop app
If it isn’t broke… make it better anyway. The desktop app not only lets you see folders and files in a clear tree structure, but also lets you see when people share them, keeping you up-to-date with version control, notifications and much, much more.
Should I link my personal account?
Though it’s not required, connecting your two accounts makes accessing all your stuff convenient. You can easily get to your work or personal files from all your linked devices, and you don’t need to worry about logging out and logging in multiple times.
Connecting both accounts keeps your personal stuff private. Your Dropbox admin won’t have access to it.
How to link a personal Dropbox account after installing the desktop app
Once your Dropbox team account is set up, connecting a personal Dropbox doesn’t take too much time. All you have to do is click your name in the upper right corner of the screen, then choose Add personal account. From there, just sign in with an existing account or sign up for a brand new personal Dropbox.
If you’re using the latest desktop app, you can toggle between your two accounts in the lower left corner of the app.
How to log in on a new computer as a new user
If you’re installing Dropbox on a new computer and you’re a new user, you need to log in to both accounts to link them together. Choose either to log in to your personal or team account to start, then add the other.
How to link a personal Dropbox to an existing computer
If you’re already using a Dropbox account on your computer, you just need to sign in to your second Dropbox from the Dropbox icon in your computer’s system tray. Click on your profile, then navigate to Preferences. From there, select the Account tab. Depending on which account you’re signed into, choose the tab of the account you’re not in: Personal or the one with your team name.
Then click Link and enter the corresponding password.
Shout out to SSO
If your admin enables SSO, or single sign-on, you can access Dropbox in the same way you access other applications at work: by entering your SSO password on your company’s sign-in page.
When you need to sign in to dropbox.com, type in your email address and click Continue. You’ll arrive at your company’s sign-in page where you can enter your SSO password for work.
On your computer, you only need to sign in to Dropbox once. Once you sign in with SSO on desktop, you're good to go.
Make your Dropbox account your own
Now that you’ve got your Dropbox team account set up, make it your own by personalizing your settings.
Perfect your profile
Your profile is where you can find your email address, username, and optional profile photo. If you want to change any of that information, sign into dropbox.com, click your avatar at the top of any page, and then click Settings.
Once you’re on the Settings page, you can change your username or profile photo and link a personal account under the General tab. To change your password, select the Security tab.
Update notification settings
Dropbox sends you email notifications to let you know what’s changing in your account, which can be really helpful. But sometimes, you just don’t want so many emails in your inbox, which is understandable.
You can review your email notification settings by signing in to dropbox.com. Click your avatar at the top of any page, select Settings, and then choose Notifications.
From there, uncheck boxes next to the notifications you don’t want to receive anymore.
Link or unlink devices
We all use different devices for work, and managing those devices with your Dropbox team account can be done in one place.
To connect a device, just download the Dropbox app to that device and log in. Everything will start syncing.
When you unlink a device to your account, files and folders won’t be synced. It’s as if you simply turn off Dropbox for that device.
If you want to unlink a device, sign in to dropbox.com, click your name at the top of the page, and select Settings. Then go to the security tab and choose devices. From there, click the X next to the device you want to unlink.
Enable two-step verification
Two-step verification is an optional but recommended security feature that your Dropbox admin may have enabled. If your team isn’t using SSO, the admin may enable two-step verification which requires you to enter a six-digit security code along with your password.
Common questions
Got a question about setting up your account? We’ve likely got an answer. If you have a question that’s not listed here, check out help.dropbox.com for more answers.
Can my admin see my personal Dropbox?
If you're a Dropbox team account member, and you have connected your personal and work Dropbox accounts, the “sign in as user” admin feature won’t allow team admins to access your personal account. Only your work account is accessible to admins.
Do I need to use the desktop app?
No, you don’t need to use the desktop app, but there are benefits to it! The desktop app watches your Dropbox folder and keeps any changes you make in sync. Any changes you do make while offline will sync once you’re connected to the internet.
Should I just copy files from My Documents into my Dropbox?
There’s no need to copy files from one folder to your Dropbox, which would create duplicate copies. Your Dropbox folder works like any other folder, so working on files directly from your Dropbox folder allows you to store that file both on your computer and on the Dropbox website without duplicating it. That saves you hard drive space, and you can never have enough hard drive space, right?