Forum Discussion

obsidianspider's avatar
obsidianspider
Explorer | Level 4
6 months ago

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.

58 Replies

  • Nancy's avatar
    Nancy
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    27 days ago

    Hey dhershdb, have you also tried reinstalling the Dropbox app on your end? 

    Did you only start facing this issue after upgrading to macOS Sequoia?

  • dhershdb's avatar
    dhershdb
    Explorer | Level 3
    25 days ago

    Hi Nancy​ - I have reinstalled dropbox in the past, although I didn't do the advanced reinstall outlined in earlier replies to this thread. I tried that yesterday, so we'll see if that does the trick. Thanks

  • Megan's avatar
    Megan
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    25 days ago

    Hey dhershdb!

    I'll be waiting for your updates. Fingers crossed that this will do the trick. If not, we'll be one post away, so give us a shout. 

    Thanks!

  • Nancy's avatar
    Nancy
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    18 days ago

    Hi again, dhershdb! Did the advanced reinstall help you in the end?

  • Nancy's avatar
    Nancy
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    18 days ago

    That's great to hear! Don't hesitate to let me know if anything comes up.

  • obsidianspider's avatar
    obsidianspider
    Explorer | Level 4
    8 days ago

    For what it's worth, this problem is back again today with v238.4.6075. I had to manually quit Dropbox twice today. An Advanced Reinstall did not fix the issue.

  • dhershdb's avatar
    dhershdb
    Explorer | Level 3
    8 days ago

    Nancy​ - Same here. The advanced reinstall only appears to have been a temporary fix.

About Apps and Installations

Have a question about a Dropbox app or installation? Reach out to the Dropbox Community and get solutions, help, and advice from members.

The Dropbox Community team is active from Monday to Friday. We try to respond to you as soon as we can, usually within 2 hours.

If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X, Facebook or Instagram.

For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.

If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!