What happens if I don't update to the new Dropbox for MacOS?

[DBMcNic]

I have Dropbox on my M1 MacMini, M1 Macbook Air, old 2015 MacBook Air (all three on Monterey 12.6.3) as well as my iPad Pro and iPhone 13. On the computers, my DropBox folder is in users/{myname}/Dropbox. All files are on the two M1 devices are saved offline (one reason I went with Dropbox, access to my files when I have no internet) and there is a folder that is shared with my spouse on his Dropbox account. I have nothing saved offline on my iPad or phone, but some specific folders are saved offline due to hard drive space. I travel frequently and don't always have WiFi, thus it's critical my files are accessible to me all the time (I am a writer). I am terrified of this update and wonder what happens if I just ignore it?

[slkoehler]

Agreed on not using one thing as the sole back up. I use 2 external hard drives. But my bad luck at the time was the crash came before I could back up to either HD (I usually do at end of day or after working on a few files). One file crashed in the middle of working on it (which is where a regularly syncing online backup is handy). Short of running 2 online backups simultaneously (which I'd think would be a terrible idea for your operating speed), I'm not sure what I could have done differently.

My experience with PCloud wasn't just the failed back up; it was their customer service or lack thereof. Again, they could be better now. Just thought I'd give others fair warning.

[DBMcNic]

The crux of the issue for me....

"After the update, all new files added by other computers, will sync as online-only by default."

This is why I can't & won't do the update and have now turned off auto app updates on my desktop and two laptops. I can't lose the feature of auto-syncing between devices. That was the feature that got me to upgrade so I could have access to multiple folders/files automatically on my six devices (iPhone, iPad Pro, iPad Mini) as well as easily share files with my husband. We travel frequently, I write books, and the auto-syncing is a must for us. There is no way I would always remember to mark new files for offline use on each of my devices. Makes no sense... I don't know if there are other applications that can replace this function, so for now I won't upgrade Dropbox or my Mac OS (currently happy on Monterey).

[millifoo]

@DBMcNic 

"This is why I can't & won't do the update and have now turned off auto app updates on my desktop and two laptops."

Turning off app auto update won't fix this:  Dropbox isn't installed thorugh the Mac app store; it chooses if & when and how to update itself.  In this particular case, they've said that upon reboot that the new behavior will take effect.

[DBMcNic]

"Turning off app auto update won't fix this:  Dropbox isn't installed through the Mac app store; it chooses if & when and how to update itself."

Well, you can see how non-technical I am...and I just paid $132 for the next year. Back to looking for other solutions, not a happy camper at all.

[Stuart L.9]

Me too - i also use external storage. My internal ssd is far too small - this sucks

[fssbob]

Re: "After the update, all new files added by other computers, will sync as online-only by default."

Yes, but you can change this in a second. Initially after the update, the default for new files is online only. But you can select all your top-level folders and in one update (right click) specify that you want everything to be "Make Available Offline". Once I did that, all new and edited files inside these folders and their subfolders were saved offline, just like they used to be.

The only exception would be new files and folders saved in the top level of your Dropbox folder--you would need to remember to right click and mark those as "Make Available Offline" as well.

(To avoid confusion, I'm only addressing the issue of people thinking files and folders will default to online-only. The inability to place the Dropbox folder on an external drive is still an issue--probably one that can't be fixed given Apple's current requirements.)

[jillbz]

Macki - I'd love to know the service you found. Can you share?

[discofuel]

The new Dropbox update that forces you to store your files in /Library/CloudStorage will not work for me.

If I ignore the update, will I be able to continue using Dropbox as normal? Or, at some point, will I be forced to update?

[discofuel]

I posted that last message as a new thread because it's difficult to get a straight answer from the Dropbox team, but they just moved my message to be a reply in this thread...

[CarloUK]

Perfect exactly what I was thinking. I use Dropbox for all the things in the previous version. The new version and its file location is something I do not want or will subscribe to. If forced I will just delete Dropbox and move to the Apple version as I only have Apple devices.