My Mac is stuck at "Syncing" after updating my OS.

To summarize my experience, you try these in this order:

Restart the Dropbox app and wait. If the problem isn't solved . . .
Restart the computer, log in to your account, and wait. If the problem isn't solved . . .
Log out from Dropbox app and log back in.

Note that if you do step 3, it will take a lot of time for the Dropbox app to index your files again. Just wait.

My problem was usually solved at step 1 or 2, but in the past half year, I had to go down to step 3 twice.

All comments

Hi @ryofurue, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Does the issue go away after rebooting your device or quitting and relaunching the app by any chance?

Could you confirm where your Dropbox folder is currently located on your machine?

Feel free to also hover your mouse over the little Dropbox icon on your menu bar, next to your WiFi and clarify the version you're using, along with the app's current syncing status.

I’d also like you to right-click on your local Dropbox folder directly, select “Get info” and send me a screenshot of the next window you’ll see.

Keep me posted!

I started the machine. Dropbox is launched. "Starting..." -> "Syncing..." --- Dropbox was stuck here. I waited for 10 minutes before going to the next step.
I then quitted Dropbox and launched it again (from /Applications/). "Starting..." -> "Syncing 11 files..." -> "Syncing..." --- Dropbox was stuck here. I waited for 10 minutes before going to the next step.
I then quitted Dropbox, restarted the machine, and logged in when the machine got up. Dropbox was automatically launched. "Starting..." -> "Syncing 11 files..." -> "Syncing 19 files..." -> "Syncing...". I waited for 10 minutes. Nothing changed.

In the above, my reports about "Syncing XX files" may not be accurate. It's possible that I just missed those temporary messages.

During the above experiment, I was working on another Mac. When I altered some files on it, they are synced on the problematic machine. So, the basic mechanism of syncing seems to be working.

Could you confirm where your Dropbox folder is currently located on your machine?

`~/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox/` . . . I confirm that none of the directories is a symbolic link.

Feel free to also hover your mouse over the little Dropbox icon on your menu bar, next to your WiFi and clarify the version you're using, along with the app's current syncing status.

Dropbox 217.4.4417

Syncing...

I’d also like you to right-click on your local Dropbox folder directly, select “Get info” and send me a screenshot of the next window you’ll see.

I don't know how to paste the screenshot here. I'll try to send it you if I find a way to do so.

I initially formatted the above message of mine using some quoting, but this website complains

Content Not Published
Your post contains invalid HTML. Remove the following invalid tags before publishing: a, span (style)

So, I copied the text and pasted it and posted. That's why quotations don't have any indication of quoting.

Megan wrote:
I’d also like you to right-click on your local Dropbox folder directly, select “Get info” and send me a screenshot of the next window you’ll see.

I haven't been able to find out how to send you the image.

Hey @ryofurue, thanks for the heads up and added info!

You should be able to copy and paste your screenshot when replying to me. Alternatively, you can click the camera-like icon and attach it that way.

Do you have any proxy, VPN, firewall, security software, or even ISP/router settings that could be restricting traffic to the following Dropbox domains?

If you do, try temporarily disabling those, to see if that helps.

You are right. I don't know why pasting didn't work when I last tried. Here is the "Get Info" screenshot.

Megan wrote:
Do you have any proxy, VPN, firewall, security software, or even ISP/router settings that could be restricting traffic to the following Dropbox domains?

The problematic machine is my personal one without any additional security software. I don't use VPN on that machine. How can I check whether macOS's firewall or my router or ISP is blocking traffic to the Dropbox domains? Can you think of a simple test?

Is it possible to tell which files Dropbox is currently trying to sync? The "sync issues" is still empty.

Nancy

Hi from me as well, @ryofurue! From your screenshot, it looks like your device was in the process of calculating the size of the files in the Dropbox folder. If you give it a bit more time, does the size appear or does it keep calculating still?

Other than that, I’d like you to restart the Dropbox app with these steps:

Open your Dropbox desktop app if it isn’t running already.
Click the Dropbox icon in the menu bar at the top of your screen.
Click your profile picture or initials in the upper right of the window that appears.
Click Quit.
Open a new Finder window.
Click Applications.
Double-click the Dropbox icon.

If this doesn’t make any difference, please check whether you have a copy of the Dropbox.app file on your computer in these locations:

/Applications
~/Library/Application Support/Dropbox

Let me know what you find once you’ve tried the above.

Nancy wrote:
it looks like your device was in the process of calculating the size of the files in the Dropbox folder. If you give it a bit more time, does the size appear or does it keep calculating still?

My machine has been up for more than 23 hours. There is no change. In the "Get Info" pane, it's still "Calculating Size" in gray. Dropbox keeps saying "Syncing..."

Nancy wrote:
Other than that, I’d like you to restart the Dropbox app with these steps:

Open your Dropbox desktop app if it isn’t running already.
Click the Dropbox icon in the menu bar at the top of your screen.
Click your profile picture or initials in the upper right of the window that appears.
Click Quit.
Open a new Finder window.
Click Applications.
Double-click the Dropbox icon.

Dropbox didn't launch. Then I typed

ps -ef | grep -i dropbox

and found that there are some Dropbox processes. I killed one of the processes using the `kill` command. All Dropbox-related processes were gone then. (I didn't use `-KILL` option.)

Then I launched Dropbox from /Applications/ and then Dropbox has been "Syncing..." for 10 minutes or so.

The "Get Info" pane has changed. The calculation of the size has been finished:

Nancy wrote:
please check whether you have a copy of the Dropbox.app file on your computer in these locations:

/Applications
~/Library/Application Support/Dropbox

/Applications/Dropbox.app exists.

~/Applications/ doesn't have Dropbox related things.

~/Library/Application Support/Dropbox/ exists. It's a directory.

None of these directories or files is a symbolic link.

Walter

Hey @ryofurue - thanks for the additional information and clarifications. Could you please send us a screenshot of the app's exact status as shown in your menu bar at the moment?

Walter wrote:
a screenshot of the app's exact status as shown in your menu bar at the moment?

Do you mean this?

When I hover the mouse pointer over the Dropbox icon, I see a tooltip showing these two lines:

Dropbox 218.4.4348

Syncing...

Would it make sense if I just uninstalled Dropbox and re-installed it?

By the way, I keep getting this error for these textboxes of this forum when I pressed the button "Reply":

Content Not Published

Your post contains invalid HTML. Remove the following invalid tags before publishing: li-image, span, span (style)

Thanks for the info, in order to look into this matter in more detail, would it be possible to reach out to the email associated with your forum profile @ryofurue?

Megan wrote:
in order to look into this matter in more detail, would it be possible to reach out to the email associated with your forum profile ryofurue?

Yes, please do so. (You mean you know my email address, right?)

Hey @ryofurue, I can see the email address you've linked to your Community profile.

I just created a ticket on my end for you. Reply back to me, and we'll take it from there. Thanks!

Subject: Urgent Sync Issue – Critical Event Approaching

Dear Dropbox Support Team,

I have been experiencing serious sync issues for the past three days. Despite following all the recommended troubleshooting steps provided by Dropbox, I have not been able to resolve the problem.

A support representative mentioned that there is a limit of 300,000 synchronized files. However, before the last update, I had significantly more files synced without any issues. In an attempt to fix this, I have already deleted numerous files, yet the synchronization problem persists.

I have been a long-time Dropbox customer and have always been satisfied with your service. However, this issue is creating a major challenge for me: In two weeks, I am organizing a large event, and I absolutely need Dropbox to function flawlessly.

I kindly ask for a swift and competent solution to this issue. Could you confirm whether this limitation is due to the recent update? Is there any way I can ensure that all my files synchronize properly?

You see i removed almost eveyting form the harddrive. this is not the goal of a semless intigration on mac osx.

I appreciate your support and look forward to your prompt response.

Best regards
Adrian

Nancy

Hey @muestik! Is the Dropbox app stuck downloading those 22 files or does the number keep changing?

If you keep the window with the properties of the Dropbox folder open for a little longer, does it show the current number of files that it contains?

Thank you for your quick response at least someone is taking the time to help. At support cancel, no one was really helpful.

I checked everything again and have now brought it down to under 300,000. But the problem still persists it won’t load. Sometimes it shows a leftover number, and sometimes it just says "syncing."

Before the update, I had more than 700,000 files in sync mode, and that was never a problem. It’s really important to me that I can sync my data this way, even if it’s not fully stored on my computer just as an alias. I always assumed this would remain possible.

The fact that it’s now limited to 300,000 is completely new to me. That’s a ridiculous number if you consider the Downloads, Music, Documents, and Films folders where most of the files are stored. I’m really pissed off and could barely contain my anger today.

I don’t understand why such a major update was rolled out without proper background checks... This reminds me of Sonos, which became completely unusable after an update. Total failure the CEO had to step down!

Thanks for your help and time.

Nancy

To be frank, the 300k file soft limit has existed for a very long time; while it’s not necessary that you’ll face performance issues on the Dropbox app, if you have more than 300k files in your Dropbox folder, it can be a contributing factor.

In any case, I’d like you to give these steps a go and let me know if you see any difference to your Dropbox app’s syncing, now that the number of files within the Dropbox folder has indeed dropped.

Okay. I have now basically emptied my Dropbox—there are only 70,468 files still synchronized. And it still doesn’t work! Dropbox is still syncing, but when I create new data, like a screenshot, it gets uploaded. That seems to work, but the synchronization never fully completes.

Hey @muestik, I was able to locate your ticket number on our system.

I had a and I completely understand how frustrating it can be to wait for a resolution.

I want to assure you that our specialized team is actively looking into this. Since this issue requires advanced tools and expertise that aren't available to us here on the community, your case is in the best possible hands with them.

While we can't intervene in their process, I've gone ahead and raised the priority of your communication to "High". In any case, we're here to support you and answer any other questions you might have.

Thanks a bunch!

Thank you for your response! I appreciate that the issue is being looked into now. Hoping for a quick resolution, and I truly appreciate your support. 😊

Don't even mention it @muestik! It's our pleasure. 😇

Feel free to update the thread, and let us know more about the case once you hear back from our Team.

It’s unbearable. The support team gave me a solution that only made things worse. Now I no longer have access rights to my files. Every time I move or copy something, I have to enter the password—this can’t be serious! I haven’t been able to work for four days, and support isn’t responding anymore. I’m furious and completely outraged by how this whole situation is being handled. You can’t just release such a massive bug as an update!

Hannah

Hey @muestik, thanks for the additional info and thanks for your feedback here.

I understand that some issues can be very frustrating, but since you're already in contact with a specialist, I'd suggest expressing any concerns or questions to them.

Since the priority of your ticket was raised, your concerns will be addressed the soonest possible so you can get to the bottom of this.

Again, apologies for any inconvenience.

Here I just add a new piece of information, which might be related to this issue.

I'm having the same problem right now after upgrading macOS to 15.4. But, the sequence of events was a bit different:

I just noticed that online files under Dropbox were not available: Filenames were there but trying to open them failed with various strange errors like "time out" and "unknown error 60".
Then, I noticed that Dropbox was stuck at "Connecting Components".
I restarted the machine, and it was now stuck at "Syncing..." without showing the number of remaining files.
Finder > Get Info on Dropbox showed the number of bytes and the number of items under "Size" . . . Looked fine.
I finally bit the bullet and logged out of, and logged in to, my Dropbox account.
Then, Dropbox first went "Indexing #### files" and now doing "Syncing #### files".

I hope this will end well.

At the moment, I'm not asking for help. I just wanted to report this new "Connecting Components" error.

Hey @ryofurue thanks for the heads up, and for keeping an eye out!

I'll be one post away if you need any help! 🤓

Unfortunately, I may need help.

After the last message of mine, Dropbox went down to "Syncing 5 files". But then, it went into a sort of cycle with "Syncing N files" where N kept changing in 4 < N < 20. In the meanwhile, the Activity Monitor indicated that "fileproviderd" kept using ~140% of CPU. It was as if some process was updating some files under Dropbox.

I quitted all apps except for Activity Monitor. Nothing changed.

I then restarted the machine. Dropbox is now "Syncing ##,### files", where "##,###" is a 5 digit number.

Initially, it was counting down, but now it's cycling through "16,460", "16,454", "16,452", "16,451", . . ., "16,450".

"fileproviderd" is using ~110%.

I'll now shut down the machine and I'll come back in several hours.

If I recall, I had opened a ticket on my end for you, in order to have a more in depth look about this issue with our Specialized team, right @ryofurue?

Was the issue ever resolved on your end? If so, when did it come back?