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mwdiers's avatar
mwdiers
Helpful | Level 5
3 years ago

Dropbox macOS Beta (fileproviderd based Dropbox) is an absolute nightmare!

I made the mistake of opting in to the Dropbox beta which is based on macOS fileproviderd integration, which the update notice insisted was perfectly safe. It is anything but. For the record, I am on an M1 Max laptop, running Monterey.

 

This is a disaster. Things seemed to be fine. I had every folder set for offline access, which worked fine for a while. Then today, after a reboot, I lost offline access to the entire Dropbox folder. The files were just gone, and had to be downloaded from scratch.

 

Despite having everything marked as "make files available offline", Dropbox decided there were no local files at all. Even my sidebar shortcuts to folders in my Dropbox disappeared.

 

I lost days of work. For whatever reason, any files updated in the last few days were not synced. After the reboot, the new offline versions of those updated files that had not synced (Logic Pro X projects in this case) disappeared, and the only available files were the older online versions. New files were simply missing. Poof, gone! I verified this by checking my Dropbox on the web. Only the old versions of those files were there. None of the new files.

 

I've had it. I've used Dropbox for years. But now I cannot trust it to do the most basic thing: DON'T DELETE MY DATA!!!! I have always been skeptical about the just-in-time offline file sync. I never trusted it. That's why I marked everything for offline use. But Dropbox, in their infinite wisdom, has removed a universal setting for this. I just had to trust that by marking every folder as offline, my data would remain local. My skepticism was well placed.

 

I THINK I have a valid Time Machine backup on my Synology. Let's hope this new Cloud location is not excluded from that backup. Otherwise I'm completely screwed.

 

Regardless, you have lost a customer. I'm not coming back.

  • Janesco's avatar
    Janesco
    Explorer | Level 4

    Beta

     

    I installed beta on one of my computers. All installation went fine but app keeps on syncing.

    So it is still not up to date. I use my laptop to work with dropbox and still see that beta app is still not syncing changes.

     

    any ideas, did restart, tried to set document to offline but nothing happens. Quite annoying, cannot use my computer because it does not sync properly

    • Roman_G's avatar
      Roman_G
      Explorer | Level 4

      Hi!

       

      I have the same issue.

      indexing is running for 2 days now and I have no access to my files.

      Did you get a solution?

       

      Thanks

      Roman

    • Jay's avatar
      Jay
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

      Hi Janesco, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

       

      The files that are trying to sync, are they based in different folders or the same folder?

       

      This will help me to assist further!

      • Janesco's avatar
        Janesco
        Explorer | Level 4

        in different folders. Folders are completely out of sync. Forcing them to download offline is also doing nothing.

         

        I deleted and tried to revert to common app instead of beta resulting in total failure.

        Now in contact with support but solution provided is also not solving the issue.

        Waiting on the response of support how to continue

  • VictorYan's avatar
    VictorYan
    Explorer | Level 4

    After installing Beta Build 163.3.5425 on my iMac 24" with latest macOS Ventura 13.0.1, files could not sync with Dropbox cloud version.

     

    The desktop app is taking forever to index the files.

     

    Please advise if there is any solution or how could I restore the desktop app to stable version.

    • mattrp's avatar
      mattrp
      Explorer | Level 4

      Same issue here. Has been indexing for three days so far and not syncing. Killed dropbox and relaunched and rebooted several times. 

      MacBook Air. 13.0.1

      • VictorYan's avatar
        VictorYan
        Explorer | Level 4

        Finally the indexing completed overnight.

        However the file synced was two days ago and some app using data two days ago and I need to update the apps again manually.

    • Podpimp's avatar
      Podpimp
      New member | Level 2

      Now, same here:

      Mac Studio with fresh Ventura, switched after initial installation of Dropbox to the beta -> indexing and no further synch since 2 days.

       

      I canceled the beta and switched back to regular.

       

      Just confused about the status of the files in ../Library/CloudStorage

      Would be helpful to know if they are just the "Offlne Files" or even files with changes that are'nt synched.

       

      Best, Alex

    • Jay's avatar
      Jay
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

      Hi VictorYan, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

       

      If you're using the beta app, then it can take some time for the indexing to complete. 

       

      Has the location for your Dropbox folder changed to the CloudStorage location?

       

      This will help me to assist further!

      • VictorYan's avatar
        VictorYan
        Explorer | Level 4

        I believe the folder has changed to CloudStorage location

  • mwdiers's avatar
    mwdiers
    Helpful | Level 5

    I'm back home. Thankfully, the Dropbox location WAS backed up in Time Machine, and I was able to restore my entire Dropbox as of last night, to a separate location.

     

    I have uninstalled Dropbox, killed and removed the LaunchAgent, and deleted the Dropbox folder in CloudStorage.

     

    Amazingly, everything accessing those files which were formerly in Dropbox is now fast and snappy. I had no idea how slow Dropbox was making my laptop.

    • Megan's avatar
      Megan
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

      Hey mwdiers, I hope you're doing well!

       

      Your feedback regarding our app has been very valuable and I will endeavor to make sure your voice is heard.

       

      I'll forward your feedback to the appropriate areas so we can continue to improve.

       

      Thanks a bunch! 

      • ilya1's avatar
        ilya1
        Helpful | Level 6

        Honestly I am so mad with Dropbox rigth now. After YEAR OR USING IT, THE BETA VERSION SUCKS on Mac, and NONE OF MY FILES APPEAR THERE 

        I NEED A QUICK SOLUTION OR CANCELING THE ACCOUNT AND NEVER EVER COME BACK 

  • mattrp's avatar
    mattrp
    Explorer | Level 4

    pressing the "Leave Beta" button was the only solution that worked for me

    • Ovi A.1's avatar
      Ovi A.1
      Helpful | Level 5
      Add me to the list of people seeing Dropbox’s “Indexing” take several days. Yes several days (since Wednesday), I have an iMac 2019 and 2 TB cloud storage (1.6 used).

      What’s worse, is my computer has become unusable too. It’s become agonisingly slow and my Bluetooth keeps cutting out every minute for about 10 minutes.

      All this happened when I allowed Dropbox to move its folder because Mac OS Ventura.
      • Megan's avatar
        Megan
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

        Hi Ovi A.1, sorry to hear about that! 

         

        Can you let me know the app's syncing status, and version as we speak? 

         

        Keep me posted, and we'll take it from there. 

    • ilya1's avatar
      ilya1
      Helpful | Level 6

      How you can leave the beta ? can you explain please, I keep having problems and I have lost hours of work on this 

  • jscbeeby's avatar
    jscbeeby
    New member | Level 2

    I just moved to Dropbox beta for Mac (the latest version) and it's been an absolute disaster ever since. Its literally crashed my computer to the point its unusable. If you read this before updating to the Beta - DONT, you will regret it!!!!! There are MULTIPLE bugs and challenges. First of all, the desktop app will not start. Takes more than 30mins before it finally gets going. It also renders all my offline files inoperable. Cant open, and when I try it crashes my computer every time. I have spent 6 hours of my weekend trying to get it back up and operating. So frustrating. One weird quirk is icons show both green and online only at same time. When neither is downloaded. Please can someone tell me how to revert back to the older more stable version of dropbox!!!.

    • Hannah's avatar
      Hannah
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

      Hey jscbeeby, I'm really sorry to hear you're having these issues using the beta version of the Dropbox for macOS app.

       

      Which exact version are you currently using and what's the sync status at the moment?

       

      You can see this info, by hovering over the Dropbox icon in your menu bar.

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