Not seeing my backups on other devices, after updating the Backup feature

[Roroboo]

Dear All.

I have been using Dropbox for over a decade. It would always sync my desktop in such a way that I was able to access any file from my desktop on any of my other devices, including phones and tablets. I love this feature.

Recently the desktop app asked me if i want to put my desktop in backup which I accidentally said yes to. I instantly regretted it as I lost Desktop sync and now can no longer access my desktop files on other devices. I turned off backup feature and reinstalled Dropbox to no avail. 

Please help! I loved desktop sync and have been using it over a decade. It is the FEATURE i use dropbox for. 

How do I reenable desktop sync? It used to show up as an icon in my Dropbox folder under ‘Mac’

I use a MacBook Pro.

Thank you in advance.

[Nancy]

Can you please clarify what you mean when saying you can't access the Dropbox website on your iPad? Are you unable to access the website in general, or just the Backups page?

[Ravip]

I have this same exact issue. Messed up my entire work flow that I've been using for many years now. Made it simple and easy to use and sync across multiple devices. PLEASE PLEASE @Nancy pass on the feedback there's many of us who are running into this issue and there's no way to revert back. This messed up the way we worked this entire time with Dropbox.

[Walter]

Hi there @Ravip - thanks for your feedback on this.

We've passed it on internally and please let us know if you have anything else to add. 

[Roroboo]

@Nancy So I can access the backups page on my iPad via the URL you sent.

However there is no way to access that backup page via the native Dropbox app on iPhone or iPad or even Mac or PC. So then the only way is using a web browser which is not intuitive. As @Ravip mentioned, it does mess up an established workflow we’ve had for years and even decades and there seems no way to revert back to the traditional Dropbox behavior.

Maybe if Dropbox can access the ‘backups’ natively on the mobile apps that could possibly work but even that is not possible right now (unless we use a web browser)

[Rich]

The old backup feature wasn't really a backup. All it did was move your key folders (Desktop, Documents, Downloads) into the Dropbox folder so they could sync. There was no true backup. It was just another folder syncing like any other. The new backup doesn't work that way and is closer to a real backup system.

It's easy enough to replicate the old method. Just move your Desktop (or other) folder into the Dropbox folder using whatever mechanism your operating system has to relocate such folders. For instance, in Windows, if you look at the Properties of the Desktop folder (or any other key folder) you'll see a Location tab. On that tab is a Move button that allows you to move the folder to a new location. Use that feature to move the folder into your Dropbox folder and it will sync just like it used to.

[danbett]

Hi Rich

I have exactly the same problem, I clicked on the link and it completely changed my workflow, I now cannot easily share links from my desktop (as it has to upload every time). If I do as you say above will that still ensure that I have full offline access to my files and does this mean that I then have

i) A Backup Folder in one location

ii) My content/files in another location that I can use as before

ii) There are no conflicts between the two...

many thanks 

Dan

[Spushor]

I got the same problem and the same runaround from Dropbox why they took away this wonderful thinking of the desktop to the iPhone or iPad apps. The new update has a back up of my Mac and I ask - Why is my new Mac Desktop files on DB file Backups/Mac/Desktop not visible on my iPhone Dropbox app? Dropbox, please provide access to this file on my mobile devices?

[Spushor]

Why is my new Mac Desktop files on DB file Backups/Mac/Desktop not visible on my iPhone Dropbox app?

[SkyBabyBlu]

Has there been any update on this, it's frankly ridiculous, it's almost the sole reason I pay for Dropbox to be able to access my files from anywhere.

[Spushor]

I have received correspondence and Dropbox grammar stating the functionality has been taken away that we all enjoyed and the message from Dropbox to Customer “DROP DEAD” - we don’t care about your functionality problems. We’re gonna issue the software the way we want it. Customer be damned. Now I am working on a bunch of workarounds to try to restore the functionality that I needed when I use my mobile device to look up dropbox data.