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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
- Megan
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hey obsidianspider, happy Monday!
Do you see the option to click a camera-like icon when replying back to me? It should look something like this:
Alternatively you can use Command-C to copy the screenshot and Command-V to paste it in this reply box.
Looking forward to your reply!
The camera icon is not there. It goes right from the "link" icon to the "emoji" icon.
When I try to paste an image into the box nothing shows up.If I try to drag the screen shot image file into the box I get a "File not allowed" message.
Anyway, that's a separate matter. Thanks though.- Megan
Hey obsidianspider, I just sent you an email, in order for us to have a closer look and investigate further.
Reply back to me, and we'll take it from there. Thanks!
The problem is back this morning after waking my iMac from sleep. This is the first time I'm noticing it after waking from sleep and not from an upgrade as the version is still 228.4.5567
Manually quitting Dropbox and restarting it resolved the error in Finder.- Megan
Hey obsidianspider!
I saw your recent reply to our active ticket. I'll get to it as soon as possible, thanks for updating the thread! 😇
Back from business trip...
- I do not remember what was the specific version when I expreienced the issue. But I always keep all applications up to date. The dropbox issue occurred the current (as of the second of July) version and the previous version. For more previous versions, I am not sure.
- The cloud icon with ! appears to those needs syncing. No icons at all for up-to-date files.
- I searched through my macbook using terminal, but I did not find any other dropbox folder other than ~\Dropbox. I also did not find any trace of the second dropbox folder.
Hope this helps. Best, ildoo
Thanks, Walter. I ended up chatting with a Dropbox person and after an hour and 15 minutes of us trying this and that (it didn't seem to be an antivirus, firewall or VPN/proxy issue on my part), he figured it out. I don't know exactly what he did. But eventually I was able to download and install the app through https://www.dropbox.com/download.
- Megan
Hi kidhkgg!
It sounds like you're referring to the icon shown here, which is linked to a "sync error".
I was wondering if you've tried any of the troubleshooting steps mentioned in this Help Center article. While we're at it, what is the app's current syncing status?
