Recent Dropbox - Mac 12.3 Monterey support

[Nousmedis]

The official support page relating to Mac OS Monterey 12.3 Dropbox compatibility is 2 months old now, and Apple just released (April 2022) first beta version of 12.4 and patched 12.3 with 12.3.1, but still no references to current status other than "in late march we will release a beta version...". How can I know is the beta version is now secure or how many days, weeks or months (or years!) do we still need to wait for the final stable release of a 12.3 and up supported version of Dropbox?

[jeff w.44]

Very sad that Dropbox is basically ignoring MacOS 12.3 and later.

[sphen]

Seriously?!?!??!? I never thought that Dropbox would have literally NOTHING to say about 12.3+ support to this day. No beta no nothing. We are extremely close to 90 days after the release of 12.3 and will not be able to prevent users from updating. What’s the deal?!

[Michael B.10]

I certainly don't feel inclined to defend the way Dropbox is handling the 12.3 issue, especially communication, but it is certainly not true to say they are ignoring it and doing nothing. 

The changes Apple made 12.3 to third party extensions meant that cloud only files stopped working and new method involving the Dropbox folder being in ~/Library/CloudStorage was introduced in betas some time ago. 

Many of us are testing the new CloudStorage version and for my use it is working on both my Macs. On line only files are working. 

What I don't understand is that for some people the new CloudStorage location just happens, sometimes to their surprise. For others it doesn't, even with the same beta version. It seems you can force the change by uninstalling and reinstalling, which is what I did a month or so ago. Dropbox have said nothing (AFAIK) about this.  

One place where there is discusion about the 12.3 betas is Dropbox for macOS12.  You can also search for "CloudStorage"

[CRD-CD415]

I would to see dropbox issue an approximate timeline. Are we days, weeks, or months away from a fix?

[zaak]

I just updated my Mac, and according to the About screen I'm on MacOS Monterey 12.4.
There's a "Trouble opening files?" popup inside the Dropbox window that points to:

https://help.dropbox.com/installs-integrations/desktop/macos-12-monterey-support

That article is so old it references to 12.2 and 12.3 and doesn't even mention 12.4.

I've used Dropbox for many years. I've noticed that in the last year or two there are many bugs and little showstoppers showing up in the core offering. The Select Sync is amazing, but has so many problems beyond the ones in the article above.   Like randomly syncing files and changing the Modified date.  The biggest concern is that DropBox seems to be coming out with a new product every other month... but the core offering is slipping.    

[CRD-CD415]

I wonder if at this point dropbox just didn't say f-it and are just waiting for OS13 to be released...which of course will likely bring along a whole new next of headaches. 

[sphen]

a big issue with this new mech testing is that there is no details/communication from dropbox. just some random people that seem to get the new CloudStorage working. i have tested on several machines - some brand new and no mater what i do i am not getting the new CloudStorage location at all. betas, early access, m1 or intel, business account / personal - always the old behavior and location. 12.3 will be 90 days old very soon. i am prepping communication to clients on how to best deal with the soon to be broken features and hope for no big backlash...

[BrendaW1]

Agreed.  We have waited to update to 12.4, and just moved ahead last week.  So far we have not experienced any issues with the three of us who have updated but I feel like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.  No news on this issue is completely unacceptable from Dropbox.

[REK1]

@BrendaW1, it would be really helpful if you let us know if you face any troubles. We've got 25-30 people still on 12.2.1, just waiting for Dropbox to get its act together.  I've been thinking of upgrading my personal Mac to 12.4 to see if I have any problems with smart syncing, but I've seen so few replies here that say Dropbox (and smart sync in particular) actually works after the upgrade. It would also be helpful to know which version of Dropbox you're using. In any case, thanks for YOUR help, as Dropbox isn't helping anyone right now. How can a company paralyze so many of its customers with no news? Unbelievable ...

[sphen]

smart syncing works in apple apps from what has been mentioned and what i have seen. so if you primarily open files from within finder etc it should work fine and download the file before opening. if you try to interact with a non-local file within a 3rd party app the app will throw an error until you tell the finder to sync that file locally. depending on how your users work all this may be fine.

in the case i am thinking of we have adobe creative users using dropbox with smart sync. opening a file is fine but there are several linked files within these adobe files. all links are usually broken in 12.3+ because adobe cant access them/trigger them to sync locally. the user must manually find the linked files and sync them locally and them refresh from within the adobe app.

either way if you administer or help these users i would 100% say you should upgrade to 12.4 to see what behavior you notice.