Dropbox macOS Beta (fileproviderd based Dropbox) is an absolute nightmare!

[mwdiers]

I made the mistake of opting in to the Dropbox beta which is based on macOS fileproviderd integration, which the update notice insisted was perfectly safe. It is anything but. For the record, I am on an M1 Max laptop, running Monterey.

This is a disaster. Things seemed to be fine. I had every folder set for offline access, which worked fine for a while. Then today, after a reboot, I lost offline access to the entire Dropbox folder. The files were just gone, and had to be downloaded from scratch.

Despite having everything marked as "make files available offline", Dropbox decided there were no local files at all. Even my sidebar shortcuts to folders in my Dropbox disappeared.

I lost days of work. For whatever reason, any files updated in the last few days were not synced. After the reboot, the new offline versions of those updated files that had not synced (Logic Pro X projects in this case) disappeared, and the only available files were the older online versions. New files were simply missing. Poof, gone! I verified this by checking my Dropbox on the web. Only the old versions of those files were there. None of the new files.

I've had it. I've used Dropbox for years. But now I cannot trust it to do the most basic thing: DON'T DELETE MY DATA!!!! I have always been skeptical about the just-in-time offline file sync. I never trusted it. That's why I marked everything for offline use. But Dropbox, in their infinite wisdom, has removed a universal setting for this. I just had to trust that by marking every folder as offline, my data would remain local. My skepticism was well placed.

I THINK I have a valid Time Machine backup on my Synology. Let's hope this new Cloud location is not excluded from that backup. Otherwise I'm completely screwed.

Regardless, you have lost a customer. I'm not coming back.

[Jay]

Thanks, as the files have moved to that folder, then it would take some time as the app needs to re-index the new location and the files within it.

I'd recommend allowing more time for the app to process these changes, which can vary depending on the number of files syncing to your machine. 

[ilya1]

Honestly I am so mad with Dropbox rigth now. After YEAR OR USING IT, THE BETA VERSION SUCKS on Mac, and NONE OF MY FILES APPEAR THERE 

I NEED A QUICK SOLUTION OR CANCELING THE ACCOUNT AND NEVER EVER COME BACK 

[Nancy]

Hi @ilya1, I’m really sorry to hear about this. 

Can you please clarify what’s the syncing status of your Dropbox app at the moment? 

Also, if you can provide some more details on what’s happening exactly, that’d be great. For example, have you checked the Library of your Mac device? Do you see any of your Dropbox files there perhaps?

Thanks in advance!

[alexkolodko]

Hi! I have same issue: infinite indexing files few days. How much time need app for this?

[Walter]

Hey @alexkolodko, sorry to hear that. 

Can you clarify how many days the app is stuck at indexing? 

Have you quit and relaunched the app and/or rebooted your computer since you first noticed this?

If you did and this persists, I'd appreciate a screenshot of the app's exact status, so that we can have a visual too.

Thanks!

[ilya1]

Hi Nancy, Yes, I have checked the location section on my Mac Air M1, dropbox has a "?" mark next. and simply all the folders are there but no content at all  

[alexkolodko]

Some screenshots. And I noticed that the fileproviderd process loads the computer.

dropbox menunot uploaded filesfileproviderd process

[Agrippa]

Same on my side!

I have been accepted the Beta 3 days ago, the files have been moved to the cloud storage and since then, it doesn't stop "indexing" and I can't access my files. I have to download them from the web app and the new files I'm adding to the folders are not transfered to my web app:

[Megan]

Hi @ilya1, it looks like your app is still syncing. 

Can you check the syncing status, and send me a screenshot of what you see there?

[sweatervestguy]

Same problem. Please help ... although I do not have the new file in cloudstorage