Dropbox Location Change on MacOS 12.6

[OldMacGuy]

Just installed DropBox update v157.4.4808 on a MacbookPro 13,3 running MacOS 12.6.  DropBox location was moved by installer to ~/library/CloudStorage and alias moved from "Favorites" to "Locations" in sidebar.  DropBox support doc "https://help.dropbox.com/installs/macos-faqs" says new location due to change in MacOS.  HOWEVER, installed same DropBox version on an iMac 18,3 running MacOS 12.6 and the location did not change!  DropBox alias remains in "Favorites".

Anyone else run across this discrepancy?

Anyone have an idea as to cause of this discrepancy?

[Chris R.34]

What is not clear to me is whether or not Apple is actually forcing Dropbox to move.  They (Dropbox support) have not provided a reference.  It would seem other apps have not yet moved everything to /Library.

[iantho]

Perfect timing - the infamous message popped up a couple of hours ago and Dropbox started relocating all my files to the new default location. It seemed to work okay, but I now have loads of files showing up in the "Sync and backups" notifications as "edited" at the exact time Dropbox was moving everything. I just checked the "Recents" list in the web version of Dropbox and none of those edits are shown there, so I guess the erroneous file changes are just falsely reported by the local Dropbox app but don't actually exist in the central cloud storage. Still, it's not very reassuring to see loads of unexpected changes to important files. That should definitely be logged as a bug as it's happened on both our Macs here, so it must be pretty easy to reproduce.

[idratherbeflying]

I've been using Dropbox for at least a decade now and despite the price increases, never had complaints. I run the service on my Macbook and my Mac Pro. This change isnt much of a problem on my Macbook as the SSD is large enough to hold my entire Dropbox, but the MacPro5,1 is another story. On that machine, my Dropbox folder is on a separate internal drive and my system drive cannot hold the entire thing. Keeping some files to online-only is not an option. Thankfully, the change has only hit the Macbook and the Mac Pro hasn't been affected yet.

This was a rude awakening as I only found out about this change hours ago. I guess in some way it was a good kick in the rear. I'm already exploring upgrading the Mac Pro's system drive and testing competitors like Sync. I'm playing a wait and see approach to see how Dropbox will handle this, but also getting ready to pull the trigger to move to a competitor at a moment's notice.

[Clare H.2]

@Chris R.34 

No, Dropbox is not being forced to do this by Apple, it is a decision on their part. Microsoft's OneDrive operated on the same deprecated kernel extension as Dropbox did, but have found a way to allow the sync folder to live on an external drive, so this is clearly Dropbox's decision.

[oboyd]

This whole thing is getting me very worried. I just bought my Mac Studio a few months ago, with a 500Gb internal drive. I've been using a 2Tb external to store my Dropbox. No way I can store everything I need on my internal drive. The company I freelance for uses Dropbox so I can't just switch to something else.
I truly hope this will be remedied by Dropbox.
I was wondering. If I was to run the OS from my external drive would this solve the problem. Not ideal I know but cheaper than paying £3000 for new hardware.

[Johnny W.2]

Hang on a minute. According to that link, MS One Drive is also being forced to use "~/Library/CloudStorage". It's just that they've found a way to hack their software so that, while the root sync root remains in ~/Library/CloudStorage, they have put the related cache file elsewhere (potentially on an external drive). This isn't so much DropBox's "decision" as much as they just haven't found a way around it the way MS has.

[mscottpath]

@oboyd Unfortunately, Apple has made it very difficult to boot from external drives. Appleinsider did have an article on how to do it:

https://appleinsider.com/inside/macos-ventura/tips/how-to-make-an-external-bootable-working-drive-in...

I have pretty much switched to Sync.com which, so far does not require relocation of its folder to the Library... but who knows if that will last. Ultimately, we Mac users are being impacted by Apple which is selling non-upgradable computers (best to buy the biggest SSD model at time of purchase for HUGE bucks!) and, for what we assume are security reasons, restricting third party vendors like Dropbox.  Apples iCloud just does not work like Dropbox making it a nonviable solution and it is still limited by the small SSD that we are 'stuck' with.  I have to say, that while I'm very irritated with Dropbox (especially their lack of real responses to issues raised in this forum), Apple is the real problem.  They are making the Mac more iPhone like and heavily restricting the versatility of their desktop and laptop computers. All computing/software companies seem to think that their users have unlimited and FAST access to the 'cloud' and should not require local storage.

[Wim Geerts]

Hi, I am using Mac OS Ventura 13.1 and Dropbox v165.4.4300 and will ignore the notification "Dropbox for MacOS now Ready, install the latest"as I need to use my own stipulated home location of the Dropbox folder.

My home location of Dropbox folder is part of Cloudstation folder, which is an excellent cloud solution free available on Synology NAS drives.

I have no need for any Dropbox desktop application, I use the finder to access my content.

[benjackson]

I’ve tried this many times. Apple has thought of this and prevented it somehow. (Regarding suggestion to use symlink)

[tina458]

@Walter

We pay for dropbox, so if we want to store/snyc to an external hard drive we should be able to.  My personal/business subscription has an "upcharge" for the ability to do this that i pay.  Dropbox need to stop asking its customers WHY would we want to do something we have always done !  Dropbox has been around for along time, and alot of your customers with it !  This new "online-only" "cloud-based" thinking of the newer generation is NOT something some of us long time users want !  Sometimes it even conflicts with new Cyber-Security laws and insurance that we are now MANDATORY to cover.  Start listening to your customers and stop asking us why we want something you take away or change that we are used to having and sometimes PAY EXTRA FOR !