Desktop app is stuck at indexing for days

[selkie19]

Hello, I have Dropbox on my iMac running 12.6.3 Monterey. Dropbox has been stuck on indexing for over a week. I have tried the troubleshooting advice but haven't had success. Any ideas?

Thank you!

[selkie19]

I am running version 169.4.5684 of Dropbox

[Walter]

Hey @selkie19, sorry to hear about this.

Can you please try fixing your hardlinks and permissions as outlined here?

If syncing gets stuck at the exact same number of files again, please send us a screenshot of the app's status as shown in your menu bar so that we can have a visual too.

Thanks!

[selkie19]

 Thank you Walter. I did both the hardlinks and permissions. Still indexing at the same number.

[Hannah · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the screenshot, @selkie19.

Can you also check the article that Walter linked in his previous reply, on how to fix syncing issues, to see if any of the suggestions there are helpful?

[EagleG]

I'm having a similar problem: I updated Dropbox desktop app after upgrading to OS 13.2 on my MacBook.  I got a notice that my synched files were moving to "Locations"--then dropbox started "indexing".  It has not stopped indexing, weeks later.  I uninstalled and reinstalled the desktop app, but still says indexing.  Could someone help?  This makes Dropbox a lot less useful to me, since I need up to date files synched to my laptop for offline use.

[Megan]

Hi @EagleG, let's see what we can find on this together! 

Following a migration to the new Dropbox for macOS, your files need to be re-synced. Depending on the amount of files you have in your Dropbox, this may take some time to complete.

There are some things you can check to ensure that the migration and the re-sync is still progressing and not stuck. First, click the Dropbox icon in the menu bar at the top of your screen, and then take note of the time and the number of files that are currently syncing.

Wait a while then repeat step 2. If the number of files that are syncing has reduced, then it may be worth waiting a little longer to see if the syncing completes.

If the number of files has not reduced it might be worth checking out the troubleshooting steps outlined in this article , as Hannah mentioned above.

Provided that you've checked these steps, and nothing works, let me know and we can have an even closer look into it. 

[EagleG]

Thanks for writing.

The files are not synching at all.  Dropbox is stuck on "indexing".  I've pasted a screenshot below.  So far, none of those trouble-shooting tips have worked.

[Hannah]

Hey @EagleG, does the sync status just read "indexing...", with no number of files remaining, or does it give you a number as well?

[EagleG]

It just says "indexing" with no number of files remaining.