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Snowdrop's avatar
Snowdrop
Explorer | Level 3
3 years ago

Desktop App for Mac not working, stuck in "sync," can't access recent files

My Dropbox desktop app (for Mac) hasn't worked since a recent update - I've tried reinstalling Dropbox and no dice. The Dropbox website says I need the Dropbox Update app but I don't see how to install that anywhere. My web browser version of Dropbox is fine but missing recent files that I uploaded into my desktop folder -  I'm also running into issues when I'm trying to open files or import them into design work. I get this error message when trying to open a file from the desktop folder: 

 

And I do have Dropbox in my taskbar, but it's stuck in "syncing" - I've restarted Dropbox and my computer several times. 

 

2021 Macbook Pro, Monterey OS
My Dropbox app says it's v187.4.5691

 

Please let me know how to resolve this - thank you! 

 

 

desktop
Dropbox Pro
Error Messages
Mac

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  • Megan's avatar
    Megan
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    3 years ago

    Hi Snowdrop, let's try one more thing, which is to restart the app. 

     

    To restart the Dropbox desktop app:

     

    -Open your Dropbox desktop app if it isn’t running already.
    -Click the Dropbox icon in the menu bar at the top of your screen.
    -Click your profile picture or initials in the upper right of the window that appears.
    -Click Quit.
    -Open a new Finder window.
    -Click Applications.
    -Double-click the Dropbox icon.

  • Snowdrop's avatar
    Snowdrop
    Explorer | Level 3
    3 years ago

    Hi Megan - I have tried restarting the Desktop app many many times - this doesn't help at all. Please let me know how I can resolve this issue. Can I move the folder out of the ~/Library/CouldStorage space back to a main folder? Is this what's happening? How do I fix it? 

  • Snowdrop's avatar
    Snowdrop
    Explorer | Level 3
    3 years ago

    Ok everyone, I uninstalled the desktop app again, unlinked my account, relinked my account, and am seeing this error message: 

     

    Is this what the issue has been all along? It looks like all work I've been doing for the past couple of weeks did NOT sync into the online version and I'm missing a ton of files now. Boo!!! Any updates on this fix? Any other ways I could maybe recover the lost files? 

  • Hannah's avatar
    Hannah
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    3 years ago

    Hey Snowdrop, can you go through the app's preferences, find the 'sync' tab and let us know what the location of your Dropbox folder is now?

     

    The error message is likely related to that.

  • Walter's avatar
    Walter
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    3 years ago

    When you say your main computer folder, it's not under ~/Library/CloudStorage any more - is this correct Snowdrop? 

     

    Could you maybe send us a screenshot of the app's current status in your menu bar? 

     

    As for the missing files you mentioned earlier, could you have a look at your events page and let us know if you see any signs of them there? 

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