Syncing even when the app is off

[albinotoni]

My dropbox is syncing on two different macs when the app is off. On the DB-preferences I have checked out starting the app on startup and dropbox is also not on the list of apps which are started when logging in in the preferences of mac. The other mac is running Ventura and the other Monterey. Has anyone else noticed similar?

[Walter]

Hey @albinotoni, sorry to hear you're having issues with this.

Could you clarify the app's version as shown in your menu bar?

Also, can you try toggling back on the auto-startup option through the app's preferences under the General tab and then back off again?

Let me know what you find!

[albinotoni]

Where exactly should I find the app's version number? I will try toggling next, but the app is not starting (there isn't menu bar icon and system monitor shows only two background(?) services, DropboxFileProviderCH and DropboxFileProvider. And this is happening (at least) on two different macs.  

[albinotoni]

Found it. The version on other computer is v169.4.5684. I am not near the other problematic mac now, will check it later.

[albinotoni]

Toggling the checkbox did not help. And I rebooted the computer after the changes on and back, since that'll be the next thing you'd ask.

One thing that I noticed today was that after turning on this computer for the first time today (the app was not on) , there were some files missing in one db-directory. The files were two text files made on this same computer. I made a new text file on the same directory and after a little while it synced and the missing files came back also. The actual app was still not on. I can also see all the status icons on my db-directories while the app is not on. This is different than it used to be before the last big update, if that matters.

[Megan]

Hi @albinotoni, interesting finds you have there.

Could you possibly send me a couple of screenshots of this (the icons in your Dropbox folder while the app is not running & the app's syncing status), in order for me to have a clear visual too? 

[albinotoni]

Hi. Here is a screenshot of one folder after the restart (dropbox app is not on). System monitor shows couple of processes related to dropbox, and I guess these should be on. In the folder, there is a text file called dbtest230321 which I just made. It synced almost immediately to cloud and I can open it on my cellphone. As you can see, the icons after the filenames also show that the files are online.

I didn't quite understand, how should I take a screenshot of the app's syncing status while it is not on?

[fssbob]

I've noticed that with the new Mac version, syncing takes place regardless of whether the Dropbox app is running or not. Given that, what functionality is added or taken away by running or not running the Dropbox app?

[Rich]

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@fssbob wrote:

I've noticed that with the new Mac version, syncing takes place regardless of whether the Dropbox app is running or not. Given that, what functionality is added or taken away by running or not running the Dropbox app?

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Dropbox can't sync if the application isn't running. Are you sure it's not just running in the background? I'm, not a Mac user, so I'm not familiar with any differences that may exist between Dropbox on Windows vs. a Mac, but I know that it can't sync if Dropbox isn't running.

[fssbob]

That used to be the case, but with the new version the syncing is at least partially delegated to the Mac File Provider API, which continues to run regardless of whether the Dropbox application is. I just watched as a Mac with Dropbox installed fully synced incoming changes with the Dropbox application disabled.