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

[Jon C.10]

In case anyone's unaware... if you're a Mac user storing your Dropbox on an external drive, you'll shortly lose that ability.

https://talk.tidbits.com/t/dropbox-drops-support-for-storing-files-on-an-external-drive-and-onedrive...

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

Just confirmed this with DB support (see below).  Gutted - been with Dropbox for years and our entire video team flow is based around it 😕

>Hi there, I read today that you are scrapping the ability to store the Dropbox folder on external disks, on OSX. I'd like to ask more about this please.

> Hello Jon, and thank you for contacting Dropbox Support. My name is Joseph, and I will be more than happy to look into your request, right away.  

That is correct Jon, as part of the Dropbox for macOS update, the Dropbox folder must be located in ~/Library/CloudStorage.

>This is a showstopper for us, and will mean we have to move to another service. We have a large distributed team using DB for video work, no way it'll fit within internal drives.
Is there a workaround?

> I totally understand and I apologize for the inconvenience. Unfortunately, there is no workaround on this as changing the location of your Dropbox folder is no longer supported by macOS.

>This change doesn't seem to have hit us yet - we're running a variety of machines inc Ventura
What will trigger its enforcement? Can we stay on an earlier OS or Dropbox version?

>The updates happening automatically every time the Dropbox app is restarting, for example if your device never restarts it should maintain the older version but we can't guarantee full functionality on older versions of the application.

>So what will happen - if we have a Dropbox folder on an 8TB drive and a tiny internal drive - will it try to clone stuff across and eat up the space? What's the mechanism?

>That's right, it will try to move the content on your internal drive until it has no space and gives you an error.

>Is Smartsync still supported? I.e. will it move stuff to being online only if it won't fit?

>It is, however it is now known as online-only.

[Curly123456]

Thank you, I've found the option

This is for work so I hope it's possible....

Did it work okay for you, were you able to transfer your existing Dropbox folder from your Mac onto an external drive?

(I'm also Ventura, Dropbox version 180.4.4912)

[jaesm]

I tested it with a couple gigs worth of files and it seems to work. I'd really like to hear from Dropbox or someone who knows more about the situation. If it is working now, how come no one is talking about it? It makes me think I'm missing an important piece here.

[GraphicQuarter]

It looks like a temp fix at best. They still warn that if you update to the new 'Dropbox for macOS on File Provider' then you won't be able to use an external drive.

[beenyweenies]

@Curly123456 You can’t ‘transfer’ your files from your local drive to the external. Any time you change Dropbox location, it has to completely download all of your files from scratch again. If you were to move all of the existing files to the new location it would reject that. I’m guessing that it uses the download process to build its database to keep track of which files are local, remote etc.

[Curly123456]

Well, this is a genuine workaround it seems

I suppose one would just have to never update either the hated Dropbox or the despised Mac OS?

[GraphicQuarter]

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.

[Richard Schletty]

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. 

[GraphicQuarter]

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

[Curly123456]

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

[Duncan Macintyre]

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