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?

[Jay]

Hi @DBMcNic, thanks for messaging the Community.

The new version of the Dropbox desktop application on Mac OS will move the Dropbox folder into the CloudStorage folder primarily, and can only be stored on your local disk.

You can find out more changes from this on this article. If you choose to upgrade or not, files will still sync from one device to another like normal. 

Once the rollout is complete, all users on Mac OS 12.5 or above will be running this version, so it would eventually upgrade to this version.

If you have any further queries, feel free to message back.

[DBMcNic]

I guess the name "CloudStorage" confused me, making me think the files would only be in the cloud. You're saying nothing would change, I'd just have to update all my aliases on my devices?

[Jay · Accepted solution]

By default, new files added to the account from the site or another device would sync as online-only on your machine, but you can still mark them as available offline.

Files will still sync as normal, and yes, you'd need to change your aliases if any apps of programs need to locate the Dropbox folder.

[Macki]

I have several macs that I sync using dropbox, none of which has a large hard drive.  I keep my dropbox files on encrypted removable drives which are stored at a different location when not in use.

The removable drives are several terabytes in size, giving ample storage capacity for my needs - my dropbox folder is currently close to 600Gb and will continue to grow in size.  

If the new dropbox software tries to move my dropbox folder to my mac drive it will fail as there will not be enough room given the space requirements of other software installed on the machines.  In any case I specifically do not want the data stored on the mac hard drive due to the physical security requirements.  One of the significant benefits of Dropbox has been that I have been able to move the dropbox folder to wherever I want it without any hassle.

Does this mean I have ditch Dropbox and use a different provider?  Can I create a symlink to one of the external drives and continue to use that?  Is there another solution?  Although there are plenty of alternatives I would prefer not to have to change to a different provider if I can avoid it.

[Hannah]

Hey @Macki, thanks for taking the time to reply to this thread.

As part of the Dropbox for macOS update, the Dropbox folder must indeed be located in ~/Library/CloudStorage on your Mac.

We definitely understand any inconvenience caused by this.

As with any operating system, macOS is updated regularly and with that, we must keep the Dropbox app aligned with any requirements set out by an OS.

I will of course, pass your comments along to our team about this, so thanks for your feedback here.

[Jeremy M.24]

I've been reluctant to update to Dropbox under MacOS 12.5.1.  The reason is a bad experience with OneDrive.  I far prefer Dropbox to OneDrive, but my employer is a Microsoft ecosystem and I have to use OneDrive for work-related files.  After updating OneDrive under 12.5.1, my files no longer sync automatically; they are kept in the cloud and I have to manually click a button to download them to sync.  It's like I'm back in 2014 using Unison.

I don't love the other changes under the new version of Dropbox (presumably foisted upon you by Apple), but having to manually sync is a non-starter for me; I want all my files synced on all my machines at all times.  So, before I update, I want to make sure: Am I going to have this same problem if I update Dropbox?

[DBMcNic]

Still not pleased with the news that I will have to manually mark any new files as off-line on multiple devices. I'm in my late 70s and memory is not my forte. I will avoid the upgrade as long as possible, even if it means not upgrading my OS. Sad that this has become a requirement with the new DB for OS. One HUGE advantage was not having to think about it and having all file synch to all devices.

[jwisser]

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@Jay wrote:

If you choose to upgrade or not, files will still sync from one device to another like normal. 

Jay, I think this is the core of the comms problem Dropbox has around this update. If this is true, then there is simply no reason to "upgrade" to the new version of the app, which provides an inferior experience.

If Apple will at some point forcibly EOL the old version of Dropbox, Dropbox needs to communicate that (along with the expected timeline) to customers. If this change isn't actually required by Apple, but is being pushed by Dropbox for some other reason, then Dropbox needs to own up and clearly communicate that to customers. As it stands, the message you're sending to long-time customers is "Upgrade to this limited version of our software for no reason. There's no consequence for not doing so except constant vigilance against our suggestions to upgrade."

Can you provide a clear explanation of the benefit to Dropbox customers of accepting this upgrade, rather than just staying on the current, working version?

[Macki]

Hannah,

As your response to my concerns was basically to suggest that the issue is with the Mac OS and was out of Dropbox's hands, I took the time to look at alternatives, and found that none of your competitors seem to be having the same problem and that there are quite a few alternative options.  I spent the time since my last message testing out three of them, and found one in particular that I like a lot.  It's less expensive, gives me a much more granular level of control over what files and folders are stored where, and lets me put them wherever I want - and not in some specific location that they decide on.  They also offer a deal with a one-off lifetime payment for a positively huge amount of storage (10TB) which I will probably take.  So I guess I should thank you for giving me the reason to look at better solutions.

I hope someone at Dropbox figures out how to work with Mac OS so that they can do something similar, otherwise I suspect that they will lose quite a few customers who have Apple computers and like to have control over their own systems.