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Forum Discussion
macOS Sequoia 15.5 - Getting a message that "The application couldn't be found", after an update.
I've been a Dropbox user for many years. Within the last few months, whenever Dropbox automatically updates on my Mac currently running macOS 15.5 I've noted that in Finder I will see a message above files in my Dropbox folder of "The application "Dropbox" could not be found." and nothing will sync, even though Dropbox is running.
Rebooting my Mac seems to resolve the issue as everything works properly after a reboot and the message is gone in Finder.
This seems like a recent bug as Dropbox didn't do this for many years on my Macs.
I'm not sure how to prevent the issue from happening the next time an update rolls out, or what to do to "fix" this as an end user other than a reboot. It's not the end of the world, but it's a regression and is a bit annoying.
56 Replies
- Walter
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hey 9elfer - sorry to hear about this. Could you attempt a clean, advanced reinstall and let us know how it goes?
I did reinstalling, but the problem persists. Desktop app was up-to-date before the reinstall and is up-to-date after the reinstall.
- Nancy
I see, thanks for trying that kidhkgg! Do you remember if there was a specific update of the Dropbox app/your OS around the time the issue occurred?
Are you seeing the same cloud icon with the exclamation mark for all of your files?
Finally, can you double check your Finder and let me know if there’s any sign of a second Dropbox folder, besides the one you’re looking at?
I'm having a similar problem. I can't even get to a download of the Dropbox app on my new MacBook Air. When I click on any of the supposed links on various help messages I've been scrolling through, they all just lead back to my web Dropbox page. Again and again and again. No icon in sight, other than the one in the top left corner that is identical to the home icon. No app in sight. I'm a paying Dropbox user for many years, and all my work is on Dropbox. If I can't get this to function, though, I'm going to have to migrate to another cloud service. When I pull up a Word document that I've been working on, I don't want to have to go to convolutions to get it to open up in my Word app. I don't like working on web versions; they are unwieldy and cluttered. I want to find my Dropbox documents in my Finder, click on them, and have them open in whatever software in which they were created-- just like I've been doing for the past 10 years or so.
Looking through many different help requests, it seems that there are many varieties of problems with Dropbox and this version of Sequoia.
- Walter
Hey TYR - thanks for bringing this to our attention and sorry to hear about your experience thus far.
If you've ensured that this is not caused by an antivirus, firewall or even a VPN/proxy setting on your computer, could you try the offline installer from this page directly and let me know how it goes?
I'm having problems too after updating to Sequoia 15.5 - the camera uploads folder has disappeared. It is not syncing and I can't access photos from dropbox. What is happening?
It looks like Dropbox updated today, and the problem came back.
I'm now on version 228.4.5567
The forum will not allow me to put a screenshot in this reply, but the message "The application "Dropbox" could not be found." is now showing in my Dropbox folder
I am also seeing the "Cloud with the Exclamation Point" icon next to files that are not syncing.
The Dropbox in my menu bar near the clock shows the round "syncing" icon.
The Dropbox app appears in my Applications folder.
As a test, I did not reboot my Mac. I tried the previously suggested manual quitting of Dropbox.
Manually quitting Dropbox and restarting it got rid of the message in Finder, and allowed my files to resume syncing.I am on the business trip, and I did not bring my macbook. I will update in a few days.
