High CPU Usage after updating MacBook Pro to MacOS Monterey (12.3)

[afrey25]

I installed the latest MacOS update (Monterey 12.3) on my MacBook pro last night and now Dropbox is almost continuously syncing files and sucking my CPU usage. Fans are running almost constantly, and battery life has been dreadful as a result.

Anyone else experiencing this?

All my files are fully synced so I have no clue what files Dropbox keeps re-syncing and why over and over again. I've rebooted, turned Dropbox on and off. Pretty much everything I can think of other than deleting and reinstalling the desktop app. 

Any suggestions? Thanks.

[JohnLane02]

exactly. This is a known issue that was months in the making. 

[Jason B.25]

Having the same issue on an M1 Macbook Pro running 12.3 withDropbox v144.4.4491.

[JayhawkRaven]

George17 and JohnLane02, Dropbox knows there is an issue and they do not know how to fix it or do not care to fix it.  Rather than have the issue discussed on the board they would prefer that we each open up a ticket, where someone will guide us through scripted series of steps ranging from 'make sure your computer is turned on' to 'make sure your software is up to date.'  They will then send us through a painstaking step-by-step process to rule out every other thing that could possibly be causing the problem.  During this process some folks will give up, and others will find the answer on their own, and some will not find an answer, but it will take a week to get through that process.  But they won't be posting about the problem anymore, so things will look better.

I have turned off Smart Sync and store all the files locally.  This has stopped the spinning beachballs of death, but Dropbox is still using a minimum 60% of CPU usage.

I have used Dropbox for several years, but I am starting to look for better alternatives.

[Lyle M.]

Try turning on the beta testing and upgrade to DropBox 145 to see if that helps.

[sstm]

same problem, dropbox version 145.5, Mac OS 12.2.1 Monterey 

hope to find a solution soon, I have to quit dropbox to reduce overheating and cpu usage,

[Lyle M.]

I'm running Monterey 12.3 and DropBox 146.3.4795 without any noticeable issues. If it makes any difference I store all my files locally. I share document files (Scrivener) with Windows 10 desktops without any issues and go back and forth between operating systems. The only problem I've ever had is that you have to wait long enough for DropBox to sync the files as it has always seemed slower than necessary to do that.

[Megan]

Hey @sstm, welcome to our Community! 

Can you share with me the app's syncing status at the moment? Also, when did that start happening on your end? 

Also, @Lyle M., it seems you're using the Beta version of our app, which could be contributing to this type of behavior. 

Can you go into your account settings on the Dropbox website and turn Early releases off. After that, please install one of the stable builds of the Dropbox application.

Keep me posted on what you find, guys!

[MarcelN1987]

Got the same problem since the March update due to native use of M1. Got this issue on my M1 Mac mini running the latest app and macOS version and also on my Intel-based MacBook Air. Says "all files up to date" and soon keeps syncing without any changes made to the data. I am using Smart Sync too. My guess: It keeps scanning for changes since the March update and something changed along the way must be causing this.

From what I've read, people using Smart Sync got this issue and those storing locally not. And I opened up a ticket already. Only received a step by step instruction on how to reinstall Dropbox ... 

[nathanlw]

Just to add I'm also finding this issue with constant syncing, high CPU, when no changes are being made to any shared files. 

MacOS Monterey 12.3 (21E230). No connected apps or anything exotic.

Paused syncing indefinitely as a workaround for now but obviously this isn't ideal.

[Jay]

Hi @MarcelN1987, did you reply to the support ticket regarding this matter to let them know if the steps helped?

@nathanlw, what version of the Dropbox desktop application are you running currently?