What happens if I don't update to the new Dropbox for MacOS?

[DBMcNic]

I have Dropbox on my M1 MacMini, M1 Macbook Air, old 2015 MacBook Air (all three on Monterey 12.6.3) as well as my iPad Pro and iPhone 13. On the computers, my DropBox folder is in users/{myname}/Dropbox. All files are on the two M1 devices are saved offline (one reason I went with Dropbox, access to my files when I have no internet) and there is a folder that is shared with my spouse on his Dropbox account. I have nothing saved offline on my iPad or phone, but some specific folders are saved offline due to hard drive space. I travel frequently and don't always have WiFi, thus it's critical my files are accessible to me all the time (I am a writer). I am terrified of this update and wonder what happens if I just ignore it?

[fssbob]

@CarloUK: When you say "all the things in the previous version", I'm curious what you're referring to. Not being able to place the Dropbox folder on an external drive is definitely a disadvantage. But other than that, I haven't seen any loss of functionality.

[CarloUK]

Well im no expert but I like the current version as its right there in my finder. Available whether i am online or not. Synced to all my other apple devices. Its not hidden in some obscure directory and possibly going to my apple cloud. Plus a lot of my other apple devices have old ios versions so the new dropbox version may cause a bunch of issues i can do without. Ill read up some more. Maybe its time to drop dropbox and go with apple cloud drive. Looks like its the same as the new dropbox roll out

[fssbob]

It's still right there in Finder--now appears under "Locations" in the Sidebar. (If by chance you don't see it, you might need to check "Cloud Storage" in Finder Preferences / Sidebar.)

Still syncs to other devices just like before.

Doesn't do unwanted sync to iCloud.

Since I didn't have my Dropbox folder on an external drive, it's worked fine for me. My biggest problem with the update is the horrible job Dropbox Support has done of providing documentation about it. There are a few settings you have to know how to check and then set, after which everything works fine. But they don't have a document that clearly explains this.

[DBMcNic]

My biggest problem is new files are not marked as off-line. I share my account across 2 laptops, 1 desktop, 2 tablets, 1 phone - all Apple. Plus, one folder is shared with my husband's Dropbox account. I have taken the precaution of creating a top level folder called My Dropbox and slowly moved all my other folders under that. They are all marked as available off-line. I hope, based upon what I have read here, that will work the way I need once I am forced into the update via an OS update.

[fssbob]

After the move, make sure that all top level folders are marked as offline. (The setting might change during the move--that happened with me.) The offline setting should then propagate all the way down. It's possible that all your files & folders will need to do a one-time re-download after the move--that happened with me.

[DBMcNic]

Thanks, Robert. I'm putting this off for as long as I can!

[tcoates]

Can you let us know who the other provider is that you found?

I am not planning to upgrade based on the chat RE this ,  but i would like to have a plan B in place.

tom

[Mike V.6]

This update makes a lot of changes. It feels like a violation of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy.  I worry about the potential for errors and bugs. A nice safe, protected environment for a large amount of critical data is why I keep using dropbox. Obviously Dropbox believes it is important to install it considering their implementation costs. 

Note: While we recommend opting-in to the latest version of Dropbox for macOS, this migration isn’t required for you to continue using Dropbox.

Why should I install it?  Long term, what happens if I don't?

Can anyone offer a soft, blue security blanket with which I can wrap up myself to convince my inner being that doing the install justifies the risk?

Thank you.

Mike

[ElApuntador]

Please, Macki, could you share with me the name of the alternative to Dropbox that you found? Thank you.

[CarloUK]

Im not upgrading. In fact i will probably go across to the free apple cloud. How do i stop the dropbox upgrade message permanently nagging me ??