Won't stop indexing on Mac

[msheppard]

I installed the mac dropbox update and the application began indexing my files. It has now been stuck for the last few days. I can only access some files. Many are now only available through dropbox.com and not in my app. If I add files to dropbox.com they are added to the indexing queue of the desktop app, but no progress is made regarding indexing. I've tried signing out, quitting, uninstalling, and reinstalling. I've seen similar threads, but no solutions have worked for me. Any help is much appreciated.

[Teddy73]

Hello again fellow sufferers.

It is now over 3 weeks since I started experiencing this "Indexing" problem.

I have tried all of the troubleshooting tips mentioned here. Each multiple times.

I have done 3 clean installs on two different Mac's (M1 & M2) using both Ventura 13.6 and Sonoma 14.0. This is how desperate I have been, to undertake 3 clean installs.

I have been in contact with Dropbox support, where the most insightful advice has been to "log out and log back in" of course that didn't work so after over a week of correspondence apparently an expert will be in contact with me.

This is a dismal situation. 

One question I have is:

• As my status is "Indexing" which it is stuck doing, I see the notice to upgrade to File Provider as DropBox recommends, however, this is not possible as it is still "Indexing".
• Does anyone have a fix to get around this? I am thinking this may be the source of the problem, where Dropbox needs to update to the new File Provider, but can't because it is stuck indexing.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[RemonR]

I’m having the same issues as mentioned here. Tried all possible solutions and workarounds mentioned here but nothing works. Please Dropbox, fix this problem!

[Heybigmac]

3 days of indexing .., No amount of sign in and out or reinstalling is making any difference.  Support seems clueless with no solutions offered. 

[Konigi]

To everyone: it is highly likely that the update to macOS Sonoma is coming tomorrow, or next week. If it's really on Apple's side and not on Dropbox's side, there are slight chances this issue is fixed. Let us all look at it again after the update! (version 14.1)

It is not uncommon that Dropbox has issues during the first weeks of a big OS update.

[cloudres]

@Konigi your deduction is based on what, exactly? Frankly, I've never heard of issues with specific apps being solved by the company that produces the operating system. Usually, it's the other way around.

[Konigi]

That is a fair question, @cloudres , and I might be wrong. My assumptions are based on:

• for many of us here, it seems that the update to the latest macOS broke Dropbox. Dropbox version itself didn't change, but something might have changed on macOS's side. Otherwise, what else has changed?
• Dropbox employees on this forum here said it was due to FileProvider, which is managed by Apple (I'm not sure if it is exclusively or mainly, though). If that is the case, Dropbox can only put more pressure on Apple, and perhaps they have not put enough, but they did say they couldn't fix it solely from their end.
• I remember a similar case in the past after an big macOS update. Apple regularly change their security programming year after year, and sometimes it breaks one thing and other times others.

What do you think? Of course, this does not excuse Dropbox's lack of proactively trying to help us through this mess. It feels like we're just left in the dark by ourselves. But fingers crossed for this week.

And of course, if I'm right, it does not mean that Apple will fix it in 14.1, and not even in 14.2. Sometimes things just remain broke.

[cloudres]

@Konigi I understand what you're saying, and I partly agree. However, let me add that large companies perform necessary tests beforehand precisely to avoid these issues. Take Adobe, for example, as I use one of their paid software suites. I haven't encountered a single problem, not a glitch. It's like nothing happened. Moreover, let's remember that MacOS Sonoma went through several betas before its release. So, Dropbox isn't discovering this just today; they should have known for at least 8 months. Why am I saying all this? Because what I'm witnessing, to me, is unjustifiable. I've paid for a service I can't use, and there's not a word of apology or a request for patience from anyone. I find this behavior truly ridiculous. Dropbox has let me down. I never expected something like this, and, in fact, I can say that in ten years, nothing even remotely similar has ever happened.

[Teddy73]

Hello again fellow sufferers.

Below is the latest advice I have received, it hasn't worked for me, my Dropbox is again "indexing" but I am posting it as it may work for some of you.

Some points to make clear:

• The "latest" version of Dropbox that I downloaded was v185.4.6054 which I have been running for around 2 weeks, so there was no newer version.
• In the below terminal code "johnsmith" should be the name of your path folder where your Dropbox is located so you will have to change this to whatever yours is named.

Lastly, if someone has success with this, please let us all know.

***

Thank you for reaching out to Dropbox Support. My name is Katherine, I am part of the Advanced Support team and I will be glad to look into your indexing issue.

I’ve taken a look at your account, and there appears to be some issues with the Dropbox software currently installed on your computer. To ensure that the software is working correctly, I’d like you to do a complete reinstall to try to fix the problem. This will not affect or remove the files in your Dropbox folder.

Please save and quit all programs accessing files in the Dropbox folder, and then follow these instructions:

1) Stop Dropbox (If needed):

Click the Dropbox icon in the menu bar at the top of your screen

Click on your profile picture or initials to the right of the search bar and select 'Quit Dropbox'

2) Download the newest version: https://www.dropbox.com/downloading

3) Open your Terminal app (Located at /Applications/Utilities/Terminal)

4) Copy and paste the following lines into the Terminal, ONE AT A TIME, and press ENTER after each one. PLEASE make sure you copy and paste these commands (don't type them by hand), as getting them wrong could cause some harm. You'll be prompted for your computer's admin password (not your Dropbox password) after entering the first command. Keep in mind that the password field in the terminal will remain blank as you type your password. After you type it, just press ENTER. You'll know that these instructions complete normally once the initial line of text (called prompt) comes up again:

sudo chown "$USER" "$HOME"

sudo chown -R "$USER" "/Users/johnsmith/Dropbox"

sudo chmod -R u+rw "/Users/johnsmith/Dropbox"

sudo mv ~/.dropbox ~/.Trash/dropbox.old

sudo chmod -N ~

sudo mv /Library/DropboxHelperTools ~/DropboxHelperTools.old

Please note that once the prompt displays, the instruction completed the requested task and is ready for the next command. If the command returns an error or does not respond after an hour, you may want to try restarting your computer and try these steps again.

5) Delete the Dropbox application from the Applications folder. You may need to provide your computer password in order to perform this action.

6) Open the .dmg file from step # 2 and double click the Dropbox icon to install Dropbox.

7) When Dropbox has finished installing, during the initial setup and sign in process, apply any Selective Sync settings you may have had prior to the reinstall and select the Dropbox folder location (if not in the default location).

IMPORTANT NOTE: Because this process removes the previous settings and configuration, if you wish to avoid re-downloading your Dropbox content, you will need to manually choose the location for Dropbox to sync to, otherwise you will create a new Dropbox folder which will start to download your content again.

To select your already established folder on your drive, after signing in and choosing which folders to sync, and before you click on "Open my Dropbox folder", you should see an "Advanced Settings" link, click on this.

Then you can choose the parent folder of the already established Dropbox folder. For example, if you have your Dropbox folder in the path "/Volumes/DifferentPlace/Dropbox (Team)" you'll want to select the folder "/Volumes/DifferentPlace/".

At the end of this process, after clicking "Open my Dropbox folder", it might take some time to re-index the files and sync any pending changes.

Please note that any changes made to the files in the Dropbox folder, the web interface or other linked devices while the folder was "off-line", will generate conflicted copies: https://www.dropbox.com/help/36

Finally, this process only works when linking to the exact same account that was previously linked to this computer. If you'd like to merge accounts, please refer to the following Help Center article: https://www.dropbox.com/help/9104

If you have any additional questions, please let me know, and I’ll be happy to assist!

Please let me know if the issue still persists.

[Teddy73]

@CHRISTIAN ARCOS I've tried it 4 times, twice on two different Mac's.

It's dismal.

[bosssdr]

Yo tengo exactamente el mismo problema y he intentado lo mismo.

No tienen ninguna solución?