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No longer see syncing check marks on Mac when using the Dropbox desktop app

Hoping someone can give me some guidance. I was running dropbox on an older Mac with no problem.

I recently purchased a new Mac M4 and migrated all of my files over to this Mac that is running Sequoia. I have the same files and programs that I did on my previous Mac.

Dropbox no longer has the check mark status so I know everything is syncing or has synced. The files ARE syncing and they are current, just no status marks. I have re-started the Finder a number of times. I removed the Dropbox app and re-installed. Re-started the computer after a few times. No change in behavior.

Is something conflicting with this app. Odd as I've added no new apps since moving to this Mac. Trying to sort it out. Thank you.

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Megan

Gotcha @RamblinMan!

If you could also try one more step, which is an advanced reinstall that'd be great. If this doesn't work either, I'll be happy to open up a ticket on my end for you.

Let me know!

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Walter

Hi @RamblinMan - sorry to hear you're having issues with this.

Can you please clarify your device's exact OS version and the status and version of the Dropbox desktop app as shown in your menu bar?

Are you using any other 3rd party apps that might be monitoring, syncing or backing up the files inside your Dropbox Folder?

A screenshot of what you see would also help!

RamblinMan

Thanks for the response.

Running Sequoia 15.1.1

From the menu bar, Dropbox 213.4.4597. Says Up To Date. Also says all files are up to date. For what it's worth, each time I quit and re-start dropbox, there is a small activity icon in the menu bar for like 7 to 10 seconds, then it disappears. No other check marks or status symbols anywhere.

On the 3rd party apps, I do use an online backup system (BackBlaze) that I have used for many years alongside Dropbox. I tried to check if dropbox was excluded from back blaze and I do not see how to exclude that entire folder. Still playing around with it. Can't think of any other apps that would be involved. I don't have many apps installed in general outside the typical Apple apps.

I will work on a pic separately but I basically have two folders with no icons.

RamblinMan

Update: I was able to "exclude" the Dropbox folder from both Backblaze and Time Machine. Time Machine has backed up that location I assume for years but I excluded it to test. Quit dropbox, restarted it and Finder. No difference. I do still see a very quick status icon in the menu bar but it goes away very quickly. Here's a pic of my folder.

Hannah

Hey @RamblinMan, can you please follow the steps below and let me know if they make any difference?

Click on the Dropbox icon from your Desktop and quit the application
Open your Activity Monitor from your Mac Utilities folder
Force quit out of the instances of the Dropbox application that are running by searching for "Dropbox" in the search bar, then clicking on the "x" force quit icon on the top left
Re-start Dropbox from the applications folder by double clicking on the Dropbox application
Click on the Apple icon in the top left of your screen
Click on "force quit"
Relaunch the finder

ReRe2

I have same problem, but Mac Mojave and no BackBlaze. Your instructions don't solve the problem of no sync icons - and no index of files. I also reinstalled to no avail.

Megan

Hey @ReReDouble, thanks for posting here today!

Can you let me know the version of our app that you're using, along with the app's current syncing status? You can find this by hovering your mouse over the little Dropbox icon on your menu bar, next to your WiFi.

Also, when did you first notice this issue?

Let me know more!

RamblinMan

I've answered this question in my first response.

Running Sequoia 15.1.1

From the menu bar, Dropbox 213.4.4597. Says App Up To Date. Also says all files are up to date. For what it's worth, each time I quit and re-start dropbox, there is a small activity icon in the menu bar for like 7 to 10 seconds, then it disappears. No other check marks or status symbols anywhere.

I first noticed this about 45 to 60 days ago.

Megan

Hi @RamblinMan, did you try out the steps that my colleague @Hannah provided above?

RamblinMan

Not trying to be rude, but are my responses not seen? I have tried all steps and nothing has changed. (Edit: I checked and didn't see the response either. It had not posted so I clicked it again.)

RamblinMan

Thanks for the response. Before making my original post, I had seen this possible solution and already tried it. Did not help. I did it again in response to your request just to rule it in or out. It made no change in behavior. No status check marks. I'm assuming I'm supposed to still be seeing

Megan

Gotcha @RamblinMan!

If you could also try one more step, which is an advanced reinstall that'd be great. If this doesn't work either, I'll be happy to open up a ticket on my end for you.

Let me know!

RamblinMan

Megan,

Thanks for the response. I just did the advanced reinstall. While I've used Terminal for other things, I'm not 100% certain the removal and reinstall was correct. I was getting what seemed like two prompts during the installation as I went through it. Also, I had to manually delete Dropbox from "Locations" in the Finder. When it re-installed, the Dropbox folder showed up in "Favorites" in the Finder but is no longer in "Locations." Not sure if this matters.

So now when I go into Finder, to my Dropbox folder, nothing was showing when the files were syncing but, once they were synced, I indeed have green check marks on each file that I did not have before. So good stuff on this front. The Folder itself that I synced also had a green check box. Success on this front.

What I can't recall....should the menu bar on the Apple show a check mark or anything? When I first dropped files in the Dropbox folder, there was a very brief activity marker of something type in the menu bar. It disappeared. This was the same behavior before the re-install. I thought in the past there was a green check mark in the menu bar but I admit I may be remembering incorrectly. Thank you!

Hannah

Hey @RamblinMan, I'm glad the advanced reinstall helped you with your sync icons.

The sync icons on the Dropbox icon should look like this, so if these are what you're seeing, you should be good to go.

RamblinMan

Thanks for the responses. It appears the advanced reinstall resolved my issue. Thank you!

abuislam5

It sounds like the Finder extensions for Dropbox might not be enabled. Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Extensions and check if Dropbox's Finder extension is turned on. If it’s already enabled, try disabling and re-enabling it. This often resolves missing sync status issues on macOS. Hope this helps!

ReRe2

(I've moved my question to another thread to prevent confusion)

RamblinMan

Thanks for your help roughly 30 days ago. Reporting back that my system on my Mac is back to not showing any status check marks. My problem has returned.

RamblinMan

Well, an edit to my own post. I re-booted my system and then the check marks returned. Not sure why it went 24 hours with not showing them at all, but the re-boot resolved it this time.