Dropbox not syncing files on Mac OS Catalina; No finder integration icons are visible

[skyflyer]

I'm running Dropbox version v96.4.172 on Mac OS Catalina (10.15.4) - iMac. I have the same OS setup on a Macbook where it works fine.

I tried reinstalling Dropbox several times, restarting the computer and removing /Library/Dropbox* and ~/.dropbox/* files. I even unlinked the computer and linked it again.

1) Dropbox sync my files if I manually pause syncing and resume syncing. But it does not sync my files if they change or get added. When I add a file (or change it), Dropbox does not upload it. If I pause and resume, the file is uploaded immediately.

2) The finder integration is different on iMac than it is on Macbook. The only finder integrations I see are:

a) Dropbox folder in sidebar

b) Open dropbox folder toolbar icon

c) Send with Transfer context menu item

There are no Sharing context menu items present (they are on Macbook).

If I add a file on a Macbook, it syncs to iMac and I see a notification. But the files from iMac are not "picked up" - like it wouldn't detect the changes?

For what it's worth, I'm running Backblaze backup on Mac, but that's about the only difference I can think of. I tried setting Backblaze backup to "on demand backup" instead of "continously", but there were no changes.

[skyflyer]

I downloaded `fswatch` to see if OS would trigger notification for changes in the Dropbox folder and ran it; I see that fswatch successfully identifies changed/new/deleted files, so Dropbox should be able to pick them up as well.

[skyflyer · Accepted solution]

I got another idea. My iMac has two disks - one smaller and one larger. Since my profile is quite big, I have it on /Volumes/SecondDisk/Users/miha

And I have a symlink from /Users/miha to /Volumes/SecondDisk/Users/miha.

Dropbox naturally created a `Dropbox` folder under /Users/miha/Dropbox and it seems that symlink was causing issues for Dropbox. I then configured dropbox to use /Volumes/SecondDisk/Users/miha and it seems to work. Even finder icons came back.

So much for pathos 🙂

[Walter]

Hi there @skyflyer; how are you today?

I'm glad to see you managed to resolve your concern, probably by removing the symlink to your secondary drive and using the app's preferences to move your Dropbox folder there, and wanted to let you know that we're only a post away should any question come up in the future.

Stay Safe!

[AlbertHall]

I have only one disk, yet Dropbox stops synching periodically during the day! Even when it says there are more files to download. Very frsutrating, especially if you are hoping to get files downloaded over the night. I need a solution for this, please. (using Dropbox on Catalina on MacBook Pro 16 inch laptop)

[Daphne]

Hey @AlbertHall, thanks for reaching out to us here!

Can you just clarify for me, are you referring to the sync appearing to become stuck at some points? If relevant, please feel free to send along any screenshot of what you mentioned.

Also, please let me know what version of the desktop app you have installed and the current sync status.

Thanks!