cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
Announcements
We are making some updates so the Community might be down for a few hours on Monday the 11th of November. Apologies for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience. You can find out more here.

Plans and Subscriptions

Ask the Dropbox Community for help if you have questions about your Dropbox plan or subscription. Find solutions and share advice with members.

cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Re: Authorization error Dropbox and can not sync

Authorization error Dropbox and can not sync

Ester2
New member | Level 2
Go to solution

I am receiving an error message saying that Dropbox can not synchronize because of an authorization error. That can be correct because the roots of my apple ID on my macbook were installed incorrect and our IT party has adjusted that correct so now my username is different than the one dropbox knows. How can I change that? I already trief via the terminal instructions but it does not work. Can somebody please eplain what I need to do? I already de-installed Dropox and Installed it again but the problem still excists.

 

Thanks for your reply!

1 Accepted Solution

Accepted Solutions

Jay
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution
Hi Ester, assuming that this is an issue where the username you use to login to your computer changed, as well as the home directory, then the following steps should help.

Since Dropbox can’t update itself to a new folder location unless you tell it to, this is why it won’t start.

Firstly, take note or take a screenshot of any Selective Sync settings you may have applied prior to re-installing as you will need to re-apply these settings after this process.

Second, quit all open apps that could be accessing the Dropbox folder, and open Terminal.

Copy and paste the following line into the Terminal and press ENTER.

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

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 prompt comes up again.

If the command returns an error, or does not respond after an hour, you may want to try restarting your computer and trying this step again.

Finally, restart Dropbox from the Application folder, then please sign in and apply any Selective Sync settings you may have had prior to this reset during the sign in process. Your account will take a few moments to reindex the files and sync any pending changes.

Hope this info helps!

Jay
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


Heart Did this post help you? If so, give it a Like below to let us know.
:arrows_counterclockwise: Need help with something else? Ask me a question!
:pushpin: Find Tips & Tricks Discover more ways to use Dropbox here!
:arrows_counterclockwise: Interested in Community Groups? Click here to join!

View solution in original post

6 Replies 6

Ester2
New member | Level 2
Go to solution

Schermafbeelding 2018-08-06 om 11.50.03.png

This is in Dutch the error message that I am receiving...

Jay
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution
Hi Ester, assuming that this is an issue where the username you use to login to your computer changed, as well as the home directory, then the following steps should help.

Since Dropbox can’t update itself to a new folder location unless you tell it to, this is why it won’t start.

Firstly, take note or take a screenshot of any Selective Sync settings you may have applied prior to re-installing as you will need to re-apply these settings after this process.

Second, quit all open apps that could be accessing the Dropbox folder, and open Terminal.

Copy and paste the following line into the Terminal and press ENTER.

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

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 prompt comes up again.

If the command returns an error, or does not respond after an hour, you may want to try restarting your computer and trying this step again.

Finally, restart Dropbox from the Application folder, then please sign in and apply any Selective Sync settings you may have had prior to this reset during the sign in process. Your account will take a few moments to reindex the files and sync any pending changes.

Hope this info helps!

Jay
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


Heart Did this post help you? If so, give it a Like below to let us know.
:arrows_counterclockwise: Need help with something else? Ask me a question!
:pushpin: Find Tips & Tricks Discover more ways to use Dropbox here!
:arrows_counterclockwise: Interested in Community Groups? Click here to join!

Ester2
New member | Level 2
Go to solution

Thanks Jay. This has helped. I already tried the terminal options with the suggestions at the FAQ but this prompt line was different and now he is syncing again so it looks like everything is working again. Thanks again!

Jay
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution
Glad to hear that! Changing a username on a system is relatively painless, but other apps get affected, so it might be worth checking if any other apps on your end could have issues similar to the Dropbox app.

Jay
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


Heart Did this post help you? If so, give it a Like below to let us know.
:arrows_counterclockwise: Need help with something else? Ask me a question!
:pushpin: Find Tips & Tricks Discover more ways to use Dropbox here!
:arrows_counterclockwise: Interested in Community Groups? Click here to join!

Ester2
New member | Level 2
Go to solution

Hello Jay, yes that is correct and indeed the case. I already solved all other apps however I got stuck at Dropbox but I think everything is working as it should again.

Jay
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution

fist bump.gif


Jay
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


Heart Did this post help you? If so, give it a Like below to let us know.
:arrows_counterclockwise: Need help with something else? Ask me a question!
:pushpin: Find Tips & Tricks Discover more ways to use Dropbox here!
:arrows_counterclockwise: Interested in Community Groups? Click here to join!

Need more support?