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Forum Discussion

jhashimoto's avatar
jhashimoto
Explorer | Level 3
9 months ago

Issues with connecting to the desktop app - permanently stuck on Starting...

Our current configuration for our organization's dropbox is as such - we have one dropbox account which is shared with multiple individuals and is typically logged into on the desktop dropbox applica...
Desktop
Error Messages
Install
Setting up the apps
Windows
Jay's avatar
Jay
Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

Hi kkkkkkirk, did you try an advanced reinstall as I mentioned above? Are you able to connect to Dropbox using another network connection?

kkkkkkirk's avatar
kkkkkkirk
Explorer | Level 4
9 months ago

Yes I have tried with an advanced reinstall and it didn't work for me. I have turned windows default firewall off but it appeared not to be the issue either.

I am in a region with limited access so I have to rely on VPN to access dropbox, but it has been working fine for me for years.

  • Megan's avatar
    Megan
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    9 months ago

    I definitely see where you're coming from kkkkkkirk.

     

    A VPN can cause issues with the connection of the desktop app, one way or another. Maybe not at first, but initially it will.

     

    Have you tried temporarily disabling your VPN, just to check and possibly limit this issue? 

     

    In this case, it sounds like your VPN could be hindering the connection of the app.

     

    If your VPN has any advanced settings that would allow a stable connection to Dropbox, could you try enabling them to see if this resolves the issue?

    • kkkkkkirk's avatar
      kkkkkkirk
      Explorer | Level 4
      9 months ago

      I have now came across multiple threads in the forum reporting this exact same issue, and most of them do not even use VPN. I initially believed that my VPN could potientially be the cause, but after reading other's postings and comments that reporting simialr behaviors to my dropbox, I highly doubt this has anything to do with my VPN.

      I am on Windows 11 21H2 and my dropbox version is 194.4.6267, hope this help your developers identify the bug. 

       

       

      • kolella's avatar
        kolella
        Helpful | Level 5
        9 months ago

        I've "solved" same problem on Mac OS Sonoma 14.4 with a small workaround. Disabled Dropbox startup item and created a Mac shortcut startup item that launches dropbox after a delay of 30 seconds.  I will wait for an app update to try dropbox's auto startup method again. I don't know if it's a dropbox bug but it is probably starting before internet connection is established and it's unable to reconnect on it's own

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