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High CPU Usage after updating MacBook Pro to MacOS Monterey (12.3)

I installed the latest MacOS update (Monterey 12.3) on my MacBook pro last night and now Dropbox is almost continuously syncing files and sucking my CPU usage. Fans are running almost constantly, and battery life has been dreadful as a result.

Anyone else experiencing this?

All my files are fully synced so I have no clue what files Dropbox keeps re-syncing and why over and over again. I've rebooted, turned Dropbox on and off. Pretty much everything I can think of other than deleting and reinstalling the desktop app.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

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BenDBX

Hi Everybody,

I spoke with our engineering team to confirm that this issue was resolved. I'm following up with this thread to confirm that high CPU usage is no longer a problem for any users. Ensure your MacOS and Dropbox are up to date, and please let us know if this is still affecting you. Thanks!

Regards,

Ben

All comments

choongng

Dropbox is the largest single energy consumer on my laptop. Historically I close it when I'm on battery, however this is not ideal because it is a bit annoying and because it stops sync until reopened. It doesn't seem like there's any intrinsic reason it needs to use so much energy while idle, and fixing that would be a small improvement for every Dropbox user.

Megan

Hey there, @afrey25, I'd be happy to have a closer look into this for you!

Keep in mind that the Beta version of the Dropbox app could be contributing to high CPU usage and not ease the issue. What is the current version you're using?

Feel free to hover your mouse over the Dropbox icon near your WiFi, and let me know.

Have you taken a look at this Help Center article?

Thank you very much!

afrey25

Thanks, Megan.

I just checked my current version and it's v143.4.4161. I don't think I'm signed up for beta versions of the Dropbox app on Mac.

It's the oddest thing. Dropbox app will show that everything is synced ("Your files are up to date") and it will sit there for a minute or two and then it will just start syncing files again. Some times it will just say "Syncing..." and other times it will say "Syncing 20 files" or "Syncing 128 files" and just keep changing the number. Eventually it will say everything is up to date again. Nothing is changing with my files or folders.

Also I took a look at the help article you linked to. I tweaked a couple settings based on the article recommendations, but there shouldn't be any issues with my files or anything else listed in the article. The only thing I haven't done is uninstall and reinstall.

George17

I have got the exact same problem, (Dropbox app will show that everything is synced ("Your files are up to date") and it will sit there for a minute or two and then it will just start syncing files again. Some times it will just say "Syncing..." and other times it will say "Syncing 20 files" or "Syncing 128 files" and just keep changing the number. Eventually it will say everything is up to date again. Nothing is changing with my files or folders.).

And then the fans kick in with tremendous CPU usage. It all started when Dropbox autoupdated to 144.4.4491. I am on Monterey 12.2.1. I have done all troubleshooting steps, it is clearly a Dropbox bug.

Megan

Hi @afrey25 & @George17!

When you see the syncing messages of files being synced to the device, is there a chance that files are being added to a shared folder on your account online maybe?

Also, do you have any third-party apps that use your files too?

Stecki

Same problem here (M1 MacBookAir 2020, Monterrey 12.3, Dropbox 144.4.4491). About an hour ago there was continuous high cpu usage by dropbox; my machine got so hot, I decided to shut down and wait for it to cool. After restart, now every few minutes very high CPU usage, "indexing". Then everything is "up to date". Then a few minutes later "indexing" with high cpu. I have not added files for about 2 hours and there is no third party app currently posting file updates to my dropbox. This problem seems to have started today (presumably after a dropbox self update).

Goatbuoy

Same here - MacOS 12.0.1; MPB 2019

Screenshot 2022-03-17 at 14.18.10.png

But then a few moments later:

George17

Hi Megan, thank you for getting back to us. No shared folders are being changed, no files changed, no app is accessing anything when this is happening. Definitely a Dropbox bug.

gimmy87

Same issue in my macbook pro 2018 with Monterey 12.3 and Dropbox v144.4.4491.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

giryaev

I have exactly the same problem. At the same time, I noticed that for files that were in the status of "online only", now the size is not shown.

JayhawkRaven

I am having trouble with my iMac slowing down to the point of being unusable. Seemingly without warning I will get beachballs while I am working. Sometimes I can switch to another app which seems to work fine, and sometimes it seems to drag down the entire system.

According to Activity monitor, the CPU usage is frequently very high, and frequently up near or even over 100%.

I boot from an external SSD. I have my dropbox files stored on another external SSD. That SSD is large enough to hold all of my dropbox files. I have Smart Sync turned on. I tried to turn it off but a kernel panic hit when I started to do that. Maybe it was unrelated, I don't know. Is there a downside to turning Smart Sync off?

Any other ideas?

musicnote325

I have the same issue as well, also Macbook Pro with Monterey 12.3 and Dropbox v144.4.4491.

afrey25

@Megan It appears a lot of us are having this issue. Have you or Dropbox been able to look into this further?

dglasser13

I am also experiencing this issue since update MacOS.

MacBook Pro 15", Intel i7

MacOS Monterey version 12.3

Dropbox v144.4.4491

JayhawkRaven

As I mentioned, I have my dropbox folder on an external SSD that is large enough to hold all of my files. I turned Smart Sync off yesterday, and I have not had the extreme problems I was having before. That is, the computer has not frozen.

Activity Monitory shows the CPU% has been hovering around 100% for the last hour, and I have seen it as high as 237.5% in the past few minutes. I have not added anything to the dropbox folder, so I have no idea what it might be thinking about.

Lyle M.

I've got a 16-inch MBP 2021 w/M1 Pro CPU and am not sure if I'm on the beta or not but my version is 145.3.4888. I'm not experiencing any of these issues on 12.3 but I noticed that everyone in this thread is using version 144? I keep all my files local which is another difference.

dglasser13

I activated beta software (log onto the website and opt in under settings), and my system updated to v.145.3.4888. In the few hours since then there seems to be less Dropbox-related CPU activity, my fan isn't on all the time, and my battery is holding a charge for longer.

So I'm keeping my fingers crossed this addressed the issue. Will keep an eye on it over the next few days of heavier use and see how it goes.

Megan

Hello everyone, happy Tuesday!

First of all, thank you for reporting this, I appreciate your time.

If all of you can
open a ticket about what you mentioned, that'd be awesome. If you're having any trouble doing so, I'm here to help you open one, just give me a shout.

In any case, feel free to reply back to me with your ticket number, so I can locate it on our system.

Keep me posted!

George17

Hi Megan,

thank you for your reply. Please do not get me wrong, but I am paying already too much for Dropbox. I have clearly stated my issue here already, not only myself, but several others. Why do all of us have to raise separate tickets for this, instead of this entire thread being forwarded to the relevant team?

Thank you and best wishes,

George

JohnLane02

exactly. This is a known issue that was months in the making.

Jason B.25

Having the same issue on an M1 Macbook Pro running 12.3 withDropbox v144.4.4491.

JayhawkRaven

George17 and JohnLane02, Dropbox knows there is an issue and they do not know how to fix it or do not care to fix it. Rather than have the issue discussed on the board they would prefer that we each open up a ticket, where someone will guide us through scripted series of steps ranging from 'make sure your computer is turned on' to 'make sure your software is up to date.' They will then send us through a painstaking step-by-step process to rule out every other thing that could possibly be causing the problem. During this process some folks will give up, and others will find the answer on their own, and some will not find an answer, but it will take a week to get through that process. But they won't be posting about the problem anymore, so things will look better.

I have turned off Smart Sync and store all the files locally. This has stopped the spinning beachballs of death, but Dropbox is still using a minimum 60% of CPU usage.

I have used Dropbox for several years, but I am starting to look for better alternatives.

Lyle M.

Try turning on the beta testing and upgrade to DropBox 145 to see if that helps.

sstm

same problem, dropbox version 145.5, Mac OS 12.2.1 Monterey

hope to find a solution soon, I have to quit dropbox to reduce overheating and cpu usage,

Lyle M.

I'm running Monterey 12.3 and DropBox 146.3.4795 without any noticeable issues. If it makes any difference I store all my files locally. I share document files (Scrivener) with Windows 10 desktops without any issues and go back and forth between operating systems. The only problem I've ever had is that you have to wait long enough for DropBox to sync the files as it has always seemed slower than necessary to do that.

Megan

Hey @sstm, welcome to our Community!

Can you share with me the app's syncing status at the moment? Also, when did that start happening on your end?

Also, @Lyle M., it seems you're using the Beta version of our app, which could be contributing to this type of behavior.

Can you go into your account settings on the Dropbox website and turn Early releases off. After that, please install one of the stable builds of the Dropbox application.

Keep me posted on what you find, guys!

MarcelN1987

Got the same problem since the March update due to native use of M1. Got this issue on my M1 Mac mini running the latest app and macOS version and also on my Intel-based MacBook Air. Says "all files up to date" and soon keeps syncing without any changes made to the data. I am using Smart Sync too. My guess: It keeps scanning for changes since the March update and something changed along the way must be causing this.

From what I've read, people using Smart Sync got this issue and those storing locally not. And I opened up a ticket already. Only received a step by step instruction on how to reinstall Dropbox ...

nathanlw

Just to add I'm also finding this issue with constant syncing, high CPU, when no changes are being made to any shared files.

MacOS Monterey 12.3 (21E230). No connected apps or anything exotic.

Paused syncing indefinitely as a workaround for now but obviously this isn't ideal.

Jay

Hi @MarcelN1987, did you reply to the support ticket regarding this matter to let them know if the steps helped?

@nathanlw, what version of the Dropbox desktop application are you running currently?

sstm

Hi Megan,

I had to quit the dropbox app to reduce overheating my mbp. I am seeing the same problem every time I turn it on.

At some point it says "files up to date" and then after a while it starts syncing again for no apparent reason, no changes to any files. This started to happen just few days ago (max a week back, no very sure).

"Early releases" is off, I never turned it on.

thanks

ssm