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ryofurue's avatar
ryofurue
Helpful | Level 7
2 years ago
Solved

My app has been stuck at syncing, & the number of files doesn't decrease.

I updated to macOS 14.6 yesterday or the day before yesterday. I'm not sure if the problem is related or not, but Dropbox is stuck at "Syncing 17 files".  The number "17" doesn't decrease for hours. I've already restarted the machine and restarted the Dropbox app after the machine is up. I've also confirmed that

 

 

  1. The network works. (I can install apps; I can write in this Dropbox forum; etc).
  2. Dropbox has full disk access in macOS's "System Settings".
  3. When I update a text file in my local Dropbox folder, the online version on www.dropbox.com is updated, too.

 

What else should I check or do?

 

I've looked at the Dropbox help page:

https://help.dropbox.com/sync/files-not-syncing

There is a section title "Dropbox is stuck syncing forever, waiting to sync, or not starting", which didn't help.

desktop
Mac
sync

5 Replies

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  • Megan's avatar
    Megan
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    2 years ago

    Hi ryofurue, let's jump right into this!

     

    Could you let me know the app's exact status and version as shown in your system tray/menu bar?

     

    Also, can you click on your avatar in the app's preferences and then on the 'View sync issues' option? Are there any files listed there?

     

    Also, have you checked to make sure that there are no 'invalid characters' that could be preventing your files from getting synced?

     

    Keep me posted!

  • ryofurue's avatar
    ryofurue
    Helpful | Level 7
    2 years ago

    > Could you let me know the app's exact status and version as shown in your system tray/menu bar?

     

    I'm not sure what exactly I should do, but when I hovered my mouse pointer over the Dropbox icon in the menu bar, I see this:

     

        204.4.5420

        Downloading 17 files...

     

    Is this the information you are looking for?

     

    > Also, can you click on your avatar in the app's preferences and then on the 'View sync issues' option? Are there any files listed there?

     

    No.  All I see is

     

        Personal

        No issues

     

    > Also, have you checked to make sure that there are no 'invalid characters' that could be preventing your files from getting synced?

     

    I'm aware that invalid characters can be the cause, but *I don't know which files I should look at.*

     

    Which are the 17 files that Dropbox are trying to download?

  • Walter's avatar
    Walter
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    2 years ago

    Hey ryofurue - thanks for the additional information.

     

    Could you please try fixing your hardlinks and permissions and let us know if syncing is still stuck at the exact same number of files?

  • ryofurue's avatar
    ryofurue
    Helpful | Level 7
    2 years ago

    > hardlinks and permissions

     

    That was it!  I don't know exactly which was the culprit, but the hidden capability of "Fix hardlinks" or "Fix permissions" fixed my problem.

     

    Megan and Walter,  I thank you for your help!  I've also realized that Dropbox's self-fixing capabilities are excellent.

  • Megan's avatar
    Megan
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    2 years ago

    Amazing news ryofurue!

     

    If you need anything else, just give us a -virtual- shout! 🤗

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