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Troubleshooting Common BackWPup Dropbox Connection and Upload Errors

41 threads Sep 21, 2025 Plugin → Backwpup – wordpress backup & restore plugin

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Why Do BackWPup Dropbox Backups Fail?

If your WordPress backups to Dropbox have suddenly stopped working, you're not alone. Based on community reports, issues often arise after a plugin update, a change in Dropbox's API, or due to server configuration problems. The errors can range from authentication failures and cryptic PHP compatibility warnings to upload timeouts and incorrect offset errors.

Common Dropbox Backup Errors and Their Solutions

1. PHP Compatibility Errors (e.g., GuzzleHttp/RequestInterface)

Error Example: ERROR: Declaration of GuzzleHttpPsr7Request::getRequestTarget() must be compatible with PsrHttpMessageRequestInterface::getRequestTarget(): string

Why it happens: This is typically caused by a conflict between the version of the Guzzle HTTP library bundled with BackWPup and another version loaded by your theme or another plugin. It's a PHP fatal error that can prevent backups from starting or even break the plugin's settings page.

How to fix it:

  1. Identify the conflicting plugin by temporarily disabling all other plugins and switching to a default WordPress theme (like Twenty Twenty-Four). Then, reactivate them one by one until the error returns.
  2. Contact the developer of the conflicting plugin or theme and inform them of the library conflict.
  3. As a last resort, your web host may be able to adjust the PHP configuration to suppress such errors, but resolving the conflict is the preferred solution.

2. Authentication "Incorrect_Offset" Error

Error Example: Dropbox API: incorrect_offset/

Why it happens: This error occurs during the chunked upload process to Dropbox. The plugin expects to resume an upload at a specific byte offset, but Dropbox reports that this offset is incorrect. This can be caused by a temporary network glitch, a server-side issue at Dropbox, or a problem with the upload session.

How to fix it:

  1. Increase Retry Attempts: Navigate to BackWPup → Settings → Job and find the Maximum number of retries for job steps setting. Increase this value to 4 or 5 to give the plugin more attempts to complete the upload.
  2. Re-authenticate Dropbox: Disconnect and then reconnect your Dropbox account. Go to BackWPup → Settings → Cloud Storage → Dropbox, click "Disconnect," save settings, and then go through the authentication process again.
  3. Check the Folder: Note that the default backup folder changed from BackWPup to InpsydeBackWPup. Ensure your processes are looking for files in the correct location.

3. cURL Timeout and Connection Errors

Error Examples:

  • cURL error 28: Operation timed out after 5000 milliseconds
  • Failed to connect to api.dropboxapi.com port 443: Connection refused
  • cURL error 35: error:0D07209B:asn1 encoding routines:ASN1_get_object:too long

Why it happens: These are network-level errors. Error 28 means the connection to Dropbox's servers took too long. Error 35 is often related to SSL/TLS handshake issues. A connection refusal on port 443 typically indicates a firewall blocking outgoing traffic from your web server.

How to fix it:

  1. Contact Your Hosting Provider: This is the most crucial step for these errors. Provide them with the exact error message and ask:
    • If their firewall is blocking outgoing connections to api.dropboxapi.com and content.dropboxapi.com on port 443.
    • To check for and resolve any network routing issues between their server and Dropbox.
    • To verify that your server's cURL and SSL libraries are up to date.
  2. Temporarily Disable Security Software: If you have a WordPress security plugin with a firewall (like Wordfence), try disabling it temporarily to see if it is overly restrictive.

4. "Aborted by User" or "Could not look up the file session"

Error Example: WARNING: Could not look up the file session. WARNING: Job restarts due to inactivity for more than 5 minutes. ERROR: Aborted by user!

Why it happens: The backup job is stalling during the upload process. If no progress is made for over 5 minutes, the plugin assumes the job has hung and aborts it to avoid wasting server resources. This is often a symptom of the other issues listed above (timeouts, offsets) or slow server performance.

How to fix it:

  1. Follow the solutions for the specific upload errors (like incorrect_offset or cURL timeouts) that are likely causing the stall.
  2. Ensure your WordPress site and web server meet the plugin's minimum requirements, particularly for PHP execution time and memory limit.

General Troubleshooting Steps For Any Dropbox Issue

  1. Always Update: Ensure you are running the latest version of the BackWPup plugin. The 'BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin' team frequently releases updates to address compatibility issues with services like Dropbox.
  2. Re-authenticate After Updates: Major plugin updates sometimes require you to disconnect and then reconnect your Dropbox account to refresh the authentication tokens.
  3. Enable Debug Logging: For vague errors, enable detailed logs. Go to BackWPup → Settings → Logs, set the Logging Level to Debug, run the job again, and inspect the log file for more precise error information.

Persistent problems are often related to server configuration or hosting environment restrictions. Working with your hosting provider's support team is essential for resolving network and firewall-related errors.

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