Need to see if your shared folder is taking up space on your dropbox 👨💻? Find out how to check here.
Forum Discussion
Solved
Won't stop indexing on Mac
I installed the mac dropbox update and the application began indexing my files. It has now been stuck for the last few days. I can only access some files. Many are now only available through dropbox....
Hi Everyone,
Thanks for your patience while we investigated. We have confirmed that the problem with resyncing has been resolved with macOS Sonoma 14.1. Users should not experience a resync when upgrading to 14.1.
Upgrading to 14.1 will prevent resyncing, but it will not resolve this issue for users who have already become 'stuck' on the resync upon upgrading to 14.0. We can help, but we're asking that users contact support for individual assistance.
Regards,
Ben
Just tried ahhyeah's trick. Unfortunately, it didn't work out for me. Perhaps I didn't stay long enough on the 2nd user account (which I simply created for this purpose and it didn't have Dropbox).
I also paused the syncing and started it again, now it shows I have 79 files (for 12 ko) in queue. I have no idea what it is. Could it be 'alias' files? Dropbox was never quite useful for handling those.
We're almost 20 days into using MacOS Sonoma.
My Dropbox has been updated to version 185.4.6054, but in reality, nothing has changed.
File indexing is still stuck.CHRISTIAN ARCOS did you try to recover them by DropBox web site? If you have a Premium account you should be able to do it. Nothing can be deleted immediately.
CHRISTIAN ARCOS this is a very serious matter. If I were you, I would have already filled the Internet with this issue. I've already done so regarding the MacOS Sonoma speech.
What is happening is unacceptable. I repeat, there are people who are paying for a service that isn't working. We work with DropBox here, this is no joke. Furthermore, DropBox shouldn't take these matters lightly. If the news gets out in the press, there's a risk of losing in the stock market, and those are real problems.
The 185.4.6054 Dropbox update in my case brought back thumbnails for most files. I'm happy this is working again. But along a few old bugs, such as receiving an alert such as "Can't bring these files online-only as some of them are still open" (they aren't) and Finder being more sluggish than it was. And I have more files which are still "Synchronising" for a couple of hours.
I RECEIVED A SOLUTION FROM DROBOX THAT WORKED!
To ensure that Dropbox is working correctly, I'd recommend that you rebuild your configuration settings by unlinking and relinking your Dropbox account to your computer. This will restore any settings which may have been changed without affecting or removing your files.
Please follow these steps to unlink and relink your computer:
1) Right-click the Dropbox icon in the system tray, or menu bar, by the clock.
2) Click on your profile picture or initials to the right of the search bar, and select "Preferences".
3) Select the Account tab.
4) Click the "Sign Out" button in the Account tab.
5) Your Dropbox will then prompt you to re-enter your account information.
Your account will then take a few moments to re-index your Dropbox folder, and sync any pending changes before returning to normal activity.
I did this. On the first attempt, my 29,000 files were re-synched but stopped at 352 files. So, I repeated the process. I signed out then signed back in and ALL THE FILES SYNCHED. I am back to where I was.
In retrospect, it seems a logical maneuver. This is what we do when our laptop or program locks up. Just sign out, give it a moment, then log back in. Good to know for the next update.
GOOD LUCK!
FrankieAnn this was a solution that has already been mentioned before, but it wasn't clear whether by doing so, the files that have been added to the Dropbox folders in the meantime, without being synchronized online, would be deleted. Can you shed some light on this?
Thank you.
Hello again fellow sufferers.
It is now over 3 weeks since I started experiencing this "Indexing" problem.
I have tried all of the troubleshooting tips mentioned here. Each multiple times.
I have done 3 clean installs on two different Mac's (M1 & M2) using both Ventura 13.6 and Sonoma 14.0. This is how desperate I have been, to undertake 3 clean installs.
I have been in contact with Dropbox support, where the most insightful advice has been to "log out and log back in" of course that didn't work so after over a week of correspondence apparently an expert will be in contact with me.
This is a dismal situation.
One question I have is:
- As my status is "Indexing" which it is stuck doing, I see the notice to upgrade to File Provider as DropBox recommends, however, this is not possible as it is still "Indexing".
- Does anyone have a fix to get around this? I am thinking this may be the source of the problem, where Dropbox needs to update to the new File Provider, but can't because it is stuck indexing.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
To everyone: it is highly likely that the update to macOS Sonoma is coming tomorrow, or next week. If it's really on Apple's side and not on Dropbox's side, there are slight chances this issue is fixed. Let us all look at it again after the update! (version 14.1)
It is not uncommon that Dropbox has issues during the first weeks of a big OS update.
That is a fair question, cloudres , and I might be wrong. My assumptions are based on:
- for many of us here, it seems that the update to the latest macOS broke Dropbox. Dropbox version itself didn't change, but something might have changed on macOS's side. Otherwise, what else has changed?
- Dropbox employees on this forum here said it was due to FileProvider, which is managed by Apple (I'm not sure if it is exclusively or mainly, though). If that is the case, Dropbox can only put more pressure on Apple, and perhaps they have not put enough, but they did say they couldn't fix it solely from their end.
- I remember a similar case in the past after an big macOS update. Apple regularly change their security programming year after year, and sometimes it breaks one thing and other times others.
What do you think? Of course, this does not excuse Dropbox's lack of proactively trying to help us through this mess. It feels like we're just left in the dark by ourselves. But fingers crossed for this week.
And of course, if I'm right, it does not mean that Apple will fix it in 14.1, and not even in 14.2. Sometimes things just remain broke.
Konigi I understand what you're saying, and I partly agree. However, let me add that large companies perform necessary tests beforehand precisely to avoid these issues. Take Adobe, for example, as I use one of their paid software suites. I haven't encountered a single problem, not a glitch. It's like nothing happened. Moreover, let's remember that MacOS Sonoma went through several betas before its release. So, Dropbox isn't discovering this just today; they should have known for at least 8 months. Why am I saying all this? Because what I'm witnessing, to me, is unjustifiable. I've paid for a service I can't use, and there's not a word of apology or a request for patience from anyone. I find this behavior truly ridiculous. Dropbox has let me down. I never expected something like this, and, in fact, I can say that in ten years, nothing even remotely similar has ever happened.
Hello again fellow sufferers.
Below is the latest advice I have received, it hasn't worked for me, my Dropbox is again "indexing" but I am posting it as it may work for some of you.
Some points to make clear:
- The "latest" version of Dropbox that I downloaded was v185.4.6054 which I have been running for around 2 weeks, so there was no newer version.
- In the below terminal code "johnsmith" should be the name of your path folder where your Dropbox is located so you will have to change this to whatever yours is named.
Lastly, if someone has success with this, please let us all know.
***
Thank you for reaching out to Dropbox Support. My name is Katherine, I am part of the Advanced Support team and I will be glad to look into your indexing issue.
I’ve taken a look at your account, and there appears to be some issues with the Dropbox software currently installed on your computer. To ensure that the software is working correctly, I’d like you to do a complete reinstall to try to fix the problem. This will not affect or remove the files in your Dropbox folder.
Please save and quit all programs accessing files in the Dropbox folder, and then follow these instructions:
1) Stop Dropbox (If needed):
Click the Dropbox icon in the menu bar at the top of your screen
Click on your profile picture or initials to the right of the search bar and select 'Quit Dropbox'
2) Download the newest version: https://www.dropbox.com/downloading
3) Open your Terminal app (Located at /Applications/Utilities/Terminal)
4) Copy and paste the following lines into the Terminal, ONE AT A TIME, and press ENTER after each one. PLEASE make sure you copy and paste these commands (don't type them by hand), as getting them wrong could cause some harm. You'll be prompted for your computer's admin password (not your Dropbox password) after entering the first command. Keep in mind that the password field in the terminal will remain blank as you type your password. After you type it, just press ENTER. You'll know that these instructions complete normally once the initial line of text (called prompt) comes up again:
sudo chown "$USER" "$HOME"
sudo chown -R "$USER" "/Users/johnsmith/Dropbox"
sudo chmod -R u+rw "/Users/johnsmith/Dropbox"
sudo mv ~/.dropbox ~/.Trash/dropbox.old
sudo chmod -N ~
sudo mv /Library/DropboxHelperTools ~/DropboxHelperTools.old
Please note that once the prompt displays, the instruction completed the requested task and is ready for the next command. If the command returns an error or does not respond after an hour, you may want to try restarting your computer and try these steps again.
5) Delete the Dropbox application from the Applications folder. You may need to provide your computer password in order to perform this action.
6) Open the .dmg file from step # 2 and double click the Dropbox icon to install Dropbox.
7) When Dropbox has finished installing, during the initial setup and sign in process, apply any Selective Sync settings you may have had prior to the reinstall and select the Dropbox folder location (if not in the default location).
IMPORTANT NOTE: Because this process removes the previous settings and configuration, if you wish to avoid re-downloading your Dropbox content, you will need to manually choose the location for Dropbox to sync to, otherwise you will create a new Dropbox folder which will start to download your content again.
To select your already established folder on your drive, after signing in and choosing which folders to sync, and before you click on "Open my Dropbox folder", you should see an "Advanced Settings" link, click on this.
Then you can choose the parent folder of the already established Dropbox folder. For example, if you have your Dropbox folder in the path "/Volumes/DifferentPlace/Dropbox (Team)" you'll want to select the folder "/Volumes/DifferentPlace/".
At the end of this process, after clicking "Open my Dropbox folder", it might take some time to re-index the files and sync any pending changes.
Please note that any changes made to the files in the Dropbox folder, the web interface or other linked devices while the folder was "off-line", will generate conflicted copies: https://www.dropbox.com/help/36
Finally, this process only works when linking to the exact same account that was previously linked to this computer. If you'd like to merge accounts, please refer to the following Help Center article: https://www.dropbox.com/help/9104
If you have any additional questions, please let me know, and I’ll be happy to assist!
Please let me know if the issue still persists.
FrankieAnn, thank you for your cooperation. Indeed, these procedures worked for me. I don't know exactly whether this was a problem from Dropbox or Apple, but today I updated macOS Sonoma to version 14.1 and tried the "reboot" on Dropbox.
Best regards!
Something strange is happening here. I'm still on Dropbox version 185.4.6054, and I'm using macOS Sonoma 14. I haven't updated to 14.1 yet.
What I've noticed is that the files that were supposed to be synchronized and 'online only' have been partially synchronized. Some of them are visible on Dropbox.com, but not all. The cloud icon with an exclamation mark remains in the Finder, even when the file appears on Dropbox.com.
I've also noticed that a previously unseen option has appeared in the dropdown menu: 'Sync the next.' Clicking on it doesn't seem to do anything. However, I wanted to report what I've observed for the record.
As I've mentioned, what I'm experiencing doesn't seem to follow a clear logic because it happens with some files but not with others.
For over 20 days now, since the MacOS Sonoma update, I've been unable to use Dropbox. This means no more backups, no more file synchronization, no more sharing documents with colleagues, and no more convenience for me. It won't be long before my hard drive fills up, and at that point, the only way I'll have to clear space is by returning to the old external hard drives I had abandoned, favoring a paid Dropbox account.
It's been quite a letdown, and I'm very disappointed.
DBox staff response to me that Sonoma and DB work fine together, it is love at first sight
Yes, indeed now it works
Forgive me, but has there been an update from Dropbox that fixed the issue, or are you being sarcastic?
This is it. This is the solution that works. I tried everything up to this point. Please foreground this workaround. It will save people time and headaches.
