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Dropbox removing external disk support for Mac users
In case anyone's unaware... if you're a Mac user storing your Dropbox on an external drive, you'll shortly lose that ability.
https://help.dropbox.com/installs/macos-support-for-expected-changes
Just confirmed this with DB support (see below). Gutted - been with Dropbox for years and our entire video team flow is based around it 😕
>Hi there, I read today that you are scrapping the ability to store the Dropbox folder on external disks, on OSX. I'd like to ask more about this please.
> Hello Jon, and thank you for contacting Dropbox Support. My name is Joseph, and I will be more than happy to look into your request, right away.
That is correct Jon, as part of the Dropbox for macOS update, the Dropbox folder must be located in ~/Library/CloudStorage.
>This is a showstopper for us, and will mean we have to move to another service. We have a large distributed team using DB for video work, no way it'll fit within internal drives.
Is there a workaround?
> I totally understand and I apologize for the inconvenience. Unfortunately, there is no workaround on this as changing the location of your Dropbox folder is no longer supported by macOS.
>This change doesn't seem to have hit us yet - we're running a variety of machines inc Ventura
What will trigger its enforcement? Can we stay on an earlier OS or Dropbox version?
>The updates happening automatically every time the Dropbox app is restarting, for example if your device never restarts it should maintain the older version but we can't guarantee full functionality on older versions of the application.
>So what will happen - if we have a Dropbox folder on an 8TB drive and a tiny internal drive - will it try to clone stuff across and eat up the space? What's the mechanism?
>That's right, it will try to move the content on your internal drive until it has no space and gives you an error.
>Is Smartsync still supported? I.e. will it move stuff to being online only if it won't fit?
>It is, however it is now known as online-only.
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Hi Jay, Am I reading your response correctly to mean that, notwithstanding the support article, it is NOT possible to use File Provider with a Dropbox on an external encrypted APFS drive if the user's home folder is not on the boot drive? That's a strange limitation if so (and I'd go so far as to call it a bug).
yes my entire home folder is on external SSD as mentioned at the very beginning and as shown in the previous attachment. I am surprised Dropbox does not support that configuration with the new Apple API since OneDrive and Box do. No big issue, just strange that DB is lagging on adoption.
- Jay
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hi dompom, just for clarification, is your entire Home folder on your Mac located on the external drive, as you mentioned?
If so, then this wouldn't be supported by the Dropbox desktop application, since it would expect the Home folder to be located on the internal drive.
If this was the case, then you would be eligible for the Dropbox folder to be stored on the external drive.
Hello Walter, thanks for confirming. I have now encrypted my external SSD, deleted Dropbox app and related files in the library (that I could find), and reinstalled it. However DB Sync prefs still show folder location not supported. What solution can you suggest ?
Hello, I have been using Dropbox with 2 Macs under macOS on File Provider for a few weeks. No issue.
But then I set up a new Mac mini M4 with an external home folder on SSD. My Dropbox does not want to go to CloudStorage any longer; Dropbox preferences on that computer says I am NOT eligible to macOS on File Provider because my DB folder location is not supported. I am on APFS but not encrypted. The only thing that seems missing is encrypted.
Any body has experience of that ?
- Is it possible for me to read/learn the gist of how you pulled that off? Maybe keeping a super low res version in apple’s user/Library/CloudStorage and copying the high res version via your servers to my ext drive?
- Thank god!!!
BenDBXCommunity Manager
My client currently runs this way, but ultimately it's still really slow 10GB and very expensive to upgrade all the Macs to a higher bandwidth. Local storage (externally) is much faster. Plus NAS is giving issues for many adobe programs etc. files disappearing and adobe not really supporting this solution either.
