Disaster: Dropbox removing external disk support for Mac users :(

EDIT: My procedure below worked for me because I had unwittingly upgraded to "Dropbox for macOS on File Provider" several months ago – before Dropbox finally stopped prompting certain Dropbox users to upgrade. The advice below is a way to "downgrade" and allow storage on an external drive.

I found the way to downgrade from "Dropbox for macOS on File Provider" at https://help.dropbox.com/installs/dropbox-for-macos-support. I logged out and back into Dropbox on my MacBook Pro (500 GB boot drive) running macOS Monterey. I was able to opt out of "Dropbox for macOS on File Provider" and select an external SSD drive as my Dropbox location. My Dropbox files synced up selectively, exactly as I had previously configured.

Here is an excerpt from the above page:

If you’ve updated to Dropbox for macOS on File Provider but want to change the location of your Dropbox folder back to your external drive, you can do so by following the instructions below.

To log out of your account:

1. Click the Dropbox icon in the menu bar.
2. Click your profile picture or initials.
3. Click Preferences.
4. Click Account.
5. Click Sign out.

You’ll then be prompted to re-enter your account information.

To log back in to your account:

1. Click Sign in with Dropbox.
2. Select how you want to store your files (local or online-only).
3. Click Next.
4. Click Advanced settings when you see “You're almost finished.” 
5. Under Dropbox location, select a folder location.
   • You can choose to store the Dropbox folder on your external drive from this screen.
6. Click Done. 

Note: Changing the location of your Dropbox folder may cause issues opening online-only files in third-party applications. These files may need to be re-linked. 

Updating MacOS seems to be fine (well for now on Ventura anyway), but yep don't update Dropbox or you'll lose the option to use an external drive. That said, this issue has already forced me to go for a bigger internal drive, which although expensive, does appear to have made me future proof. Most annoying is the lack of transparency on this issue, with Dropbox just blaming Apple and Apple saying nothing at all! It doesn't inspire confidence.

I did not upgrade Dropbox to MAcOS on File Provider, and I have been able to move my work from my Mac, to an external 2TB SSD

Lot's of you are talking about file provider and keeping old versions and workarounds. Are you talking about an enterprise version? I run a small music studio and I just downloaded the latest home version of Dropbox; I'm on the latest macos and I haven't had to do anything special. It just has the option to pick an external drive now. I really wish an employee would chime in but since crowdsourcing is their idea of customer service, I won't hold my breath. Haha.

Thanks Richard, I'm screen grabbing that! 👍🏻

I believe the installer is not using Apple File Provider by default now. If it asks you to update, don't do it. Still not a real fix, to the best of my knowledge... just using the old kernel extensions still, which Apple will drop with an update at some unknown date.

My procedure (posted above) worked for me because I had unwittingly upgraded to "Dropbox for macOS on File Provider" several months ago – before Dropbox finally stopped prompting certain Dropbox users to upgrade. The advice I gave is a way to "downgrade" and allow storage on an external drive.

If you visit the link I gave in my above post, you will see an explanation from Dropbox:

https://help.dropbox.com/installs/dropbox-for-macos-support

Notes:

• We’re working directly with a small subset of macOS users with complex configurations to ensure their migration is as seamless as possible. 
• Some macOS users with complex configurations—like those storing their Dropbox folder on an external drive—won’t be migrated at this time. These users will continue on their existing Dropbox experience.

Hey Richard Schletty

Thanks for the information on the workaround.

Apologies if my question has already been asked and answered, but is this really just a temporary solution? Eventually, we'll need to upgrade Dropbox to maintain current functionality, right? Or are you planning on sticking with the current version?

(Like many in this thread, I'm in video, and the use of external file storage is mission-critical.)

Duncan Macintyre