Dropbox sync never finishes: MacOS Monterey 12.6 onwards, Dropbox 176.4.5108

hteran · ‎06-29-2023

Hi,

My Dropbox keeps on syncing 6825 files since months ago, I tried removing and reinstalling Dropbox, no luck. It is not responsive and not usable, I checked similar problems on this forum, none of them helped. I appreciate advice. Thanks

hteran · ‎08-16-2023

Hi there,

After a few weeks break (of this problem and everything indeed during summer!), I came up with some inspiration and detected and solved the problem, Here I post because I think brings some useful info for others:

1- When reinstalling Dropbox, DELETE both:

1a- the $HOME/Dropbox folder (which contains a .dropbox subfolder)

1b- the $HOME/.dropbox directory

Note the difference between the two paths, and both .dropbox dirs are evil for our purposes as they contain logs and stuff that otherwise will be taken into account for the updated instalation and prevents it to be a real "fresh start".

2- Only after doing this, Dropbox checks the requirements for synking et voilà! Seems I had surpassed the max number of devices (max 2 for free accounts like mine). Thing is that I only have my mobile phone and my work computer so I dig on the others. Apparently, the name of my computer changed in the last months, still not clear the cause. Could be because the central services of University took it to register and upgrade (second evil of this story), could be because the name dynamically changes depending on the network I am connected to (I have seen this before. Pending to check and definetly mark as "solved" this last issue of the computer naming, this is on me, I alert all users here (and the IT support of Dropbox to which I am very grateful for the help so far):

3- If for WHATEVER reason your computer that has Dropbox app and syncing changes name, Dropbox central station will register it as a new device and you will probably surpass the number of allowed devices, but what is more problematic: at least on MacOS12.x, IT DOES NOT ALERT OF THIS unless you doo a fresh re-installation of theDriopbox app (see point 1).

I hope this helps others, stay synced!

Hugo

View solution in original post

Hannah · ‎06-29-2023

Hey @hteran, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Do you remember following the update process to the new Dropbox for macOS version?

Is syncing completely stuck or just moving really slowly?

If it's completely stuck, try the steps in this article as well, to see if they help.

Let me know how it goes.

Hannah
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support

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hteran · ‎06-29-2023

Hi,

Yes I followed all the steps provided in the link, I have uninstalled and reinstalled the Dropbox app, and I confirm that the sync is just stuck (does not move at all)

Megan · ‎06-29-2023

Hi @hteran, it might sound trivial but have you checked online for your account's quota?

Do you have enough space in the account, to sync these files? Also, how large are they?

Megan
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support

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hteran · ‎06-29-2023

Hi, yes I have 15% space free still, 2 Gb more or less.
Files are not incredibly large, 50 Mb the largest.

Any other tips?

Megan · ‎06-29-2023

Thanks for clarifying @hteran!

Could you also try Walter's steps as shown here, in order to fix the hardlinks, and permissions of your files, and let me know if this gets things going?

Megan
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support

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hteran · ‎06-29-2023

I tried now, no changes ...

As for the update that you mentioned earlier (Dropbox for MacOS10.5 or greater) I cannot get that done since I am eternally syncing...

Walter · ‎06-29-2023

Hey @hteran, sorry to jump in here, but could you send us a screenshot of the app's exact status as shown in your menu bar at the moment?

You can find the most recent version of the desktop app here, if needed by the way.

Walter
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support

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hteran · ‎06-29-2023

Hi Wanter,

Sorry for late reply, did not see your post originally. Attached the screenshots, I downloaded the last version (though I realize now I already was running that one as you can see). The numbers don't move, ever.

Shall I select all folders except one for syncing, and iteratively go one by one until I find a folder that causes the problem?

Megan · ‎06-30-2023

Hi @hteran, I was about to suggest that too.

If you could give this one a go, and update me that'd be wonderful!

Have you also ensured that there's no firewall, antivirus or perhaps a VPN/proxy setting that might be causing this?

Megan
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support

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Dropbox sync never finishes: MacOS Monterey 12.6 onwards, Dropbox 176.4.5108

Dropbox sync never finishes: MacOS Monterey 12.6 onwards, Dropbox 176.4.5108

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