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[Solved, Ubuntu 22.04] Dropbox is always "Connecting..."

leoheck

Hi, Dropbox tray icon says it is "Connecting..." forever.

I cannot see the list of the latest modified files as it used to show or use the tray, actually.

I am using Linux Ubuntu 22.04 (but it like that since the 19.10, I suppose)

The currently installed version of Dropbox is 149.4.4568

I also don't have the "Early releases" enabled as you can see in the following screenshot.

I also tried to remove `.dropbox` and `.dropbox-dist` manually to reinstall them cleanly.

You can check the date and time it was reinstalled here.

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leoheck

Hey folks,

I found an extension that solves this issue for me. It worked immediately as soon as I installed the extension. No reboot or logout was required.

I just have to point out I am using Ubuntu 22.04.

https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/615/appindicator-support/

I was and still also using this extension to display old tray icons. Maybe it is also important.

https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/2890/tray-icons-reloaded/

Now I am happy again, here is the proof to make you happy too.

Mod note:

Please note that Dropbox is only supported on vanilla builds of Ubuntu 14.04 or later, or Fedora 21 or later.

We don't officially support forks or variants of these operating systems, or other flavors of Linux at this time.

You can learn more about our supported distros for Linux here.

All comments

Nancy

Hi @leoheck, and welcome back to our forum!

As a first, can you please clarify if you have any type of antivirus/firewall on your device that could be preventing the Dropbox app from connecting to our servers?

Also, did you have any updates recently on your device that could have affected this? When did you start noticing this issue approximately?

Let me know, and we’ll take it from there.

leoheck

I don't use any antivirus. I don't use any proxy. I use my computer in different networks and everywhere this "connecting..." is always there.

It is like this since a while. Let's stay for months or a year. I have changed computer already and updated the Ubuntu from 21.04 to 21.10 to 22.04 and the issue is always there.

I have no idea what is causing this an how I can fix it.

The files are being updated correctly. But I am constantly worried since I don't have much info if the files are getting updated since the correct information is not being displayed in this outdated tray.

alanpmuscat

Hi All

I also have this issue since I upgraded (full clean install) from Pop!_OS 20.04 LTS to Pop!_OS 22.04 LTS. After installing Dropbox (Version: 149.4.4568) on the upgraded OS the app is constantly stuck indicating "Connecting" even though the Dropbox folder has updated and synced normally.

Once I realised the issue I followed the instructions found at: https://help.dropbox.com/installs-integrations/desktop/advanced-reinstall. I performed the instructions twice, both attempts were unsuccessful. Second time around I even deleted my Dropbox folder and reinstalled it from backup just in case there might be some flags or markers set which may be upsetting the tray app.

I do not have a firewall and do not use a proxy. The Dropbox folder is installed on a BTRFS partition under my /home directory. I am also fully compliant with the requirements found at: https://help.dropbox.com/installs-integrations/desktop/system-requirements

I have an instance of the Dropbox app (same version as the one causing the problems) running on another Computer with Pop!_OS 20.04 LTS and this is functioning well and normally.

We really need a solution for this. Please!

Thanks.

Здравко

Hi guys,

Nobody have posted the status command result. There could be some additional info or direct guidance (sometimes). Check result coming from following command executed in terminal:

dropbox status

I believe, you can figure what's going out. If some doubts, post the result.

Sometimes troubles can be seen (and evaluated) within messages provided on standard err output on startup. You can see it by running Dropbox application in terminal instead of graphical shell. At the beginning make sure the application is off by following command:

dropbox stop

After that, run it anew using:

dropbox start

Startup and initialization steps list will follow. There may be some message showing mistake. If you can't direct yourself to the trouble on this base, post the entire output, so can be some people able to provide ideas.

Hope this gives direction.

alanpmuscat

As requested here is a screenshot of the commands....

Здравко

Everything seems normal in your post @alanpmuscat. You files are in sync, at least.

If I have to bet this is some type of escalation of old problem related to tray icon and menu. Nobody from Dropbox development took care! There are bugs in haw Dropbox application "communicates" to the desktop environment. It always has been on border of stability.

Let's hope somebody will take some more care, finally (when already behind this border of stability). Let's hope...

alanpmuscat

Thanks for the quick reply.

@dbox_ given the above response I kindly request that the Tray Icon and Menu issue be escalated so that a solution is found.

Thanks in advance.

leoheck

Hey @Здравко I did not post the status command because it is ok, working.

Actually, I had an issue where 3 old folders were not syncing. And the status was indicating "Downloading 13 files..." forever.

And the folders were appearing with this sync icon. This was happening for a long time ago, let's say, more than a year. Or at least this is when I started to note it. The related files inside these problematic folders were mostly ".png" images, probably exported from an old app on an old OS during my Ms.C. Other files in the same folder (mostly .csv and .pdf) were Ok. Also, the filenames were not using any kind of non-utf8 format.

Well, I managed to solve this somehow, by removing these folders, deleting the Dropbox app, and adding them back, on the last day. So, the "dropbox status" is "Up to date" now.

I am a dropbox user for a long time, and I haven't seen any improvement for Linux. This tray icon is the worst thing I saw, including the old blurry icon. In the beginning, (many years ago) it was good and also useful. Today, it is always stuck at "Connecting..." and it definitely looks abandoned.

Also, installing dropbox on Linux/Gnome is really complicated since there are many non-nofficial ways of doing it and all of them are not good or outdated.

Also, on Gnome, I am using this extension allowing dropbox to be visible in the top menu.

https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/2890/tray-icons-reloaded/

This is an example of how outdated this tray icon is.

Also, I am not even mentioning that there are still some deprecated issues with the dropbox script... Most of the time I see dropbox complaining about something.

The last one is this isSet, that is is_set now. It happens in line 614.

Здравко

Hi @leoheck,

Yes, you are as expressive as possible. I can't add too much. Unfortunately I can't disagree. 🤷 Linux is NOT first class citizen here.

About 'isSet' method deprecation, it's just one more example. This planed move didn't reflect in the control script, as you mentioned. Fortunately, this method is not dropped yet. Let's hope Dropbox will update the script before Python's interpreter drop it completely.

In meantime (till possible Dropbox' fix), you can patch your script using following command:

sudo sed -i s/isSet/is_set/ /usr/bin/dropbox

The above will just update methods name. 😉

Hope this helps to some extent.

leoheck

Thanks, however, I already patched it some days ago since I cannot live with a huge load of messages coming for me every day. haha

leoheck

Hey folks,

I found an extension that solves this issue for me. It worked immediately as soon as I installed the extension. No reboot or logout was required.

I just have to point out I am using Ubuntu 22.04.

https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/615/appindicator-support/

I was and still also using this extension to display old tray icons. Maybe it is also important.

https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/2890/tray-icons-reloaded/

Now I am happy again, here is the proof to make you happy too.

Mod note:

Please note that Dropbox is only supported on vanilla builds of Ubuntu 14.04 or later, or Fedora 21 or later.

We don't officially support forks or variants of these operating systems, or other flavors of Linux at this time.

You can learn more about our supported distros for Linux here.

alanpmuscat

Hi Leoheck,

Great to hear that you found a solution to the "always connecting" issue. In my case, on Pop!_OS 22.04 LTS, the two GNOME extensions you suggested as possibly providing a solution did not work.

So @dbox_ still waiting for a fix to this issue. Kindly escalate a solution ASAP.

Thanks.

le_avion

I am also on POP OS! 22.04 and having the same exact issue and installing the two shell extensions did nothing except duplicate some of the icons.

alanpmuscat

@dbox_ please flag this thread as UNSOLVED, as it is not solved for everyone yet. Thanks.

Megan

Hi @le_avion & @alanpmuscat, thanks for posting here!

Could you confirm with me the version of the app you're using on your end?

Also, how long has it been in a "connecting" state?

Keep me posted, and we'll take it from there.

le_avion

v150.4.5000

It never gets out of the Connecting... state it sits there for days on end. However syncing works fine, only the status never changes and the rest of the information is missing (like level, percentage used, recently changed files, etc.)

Jay

Hi @le_avion, how many files do you have in the Dropbox account overall?

Is it over 300k files for instance?

le_avion

@Jay much more than 300k. More like 1.2M.

Avi

Walter

Hey @le_avion, sorry to jump in here, but could you try to lessen the app's load by using selective sync on some of your folders, preferably ones you don't need locally available to your computer.

If you do and the app is still stuck, please send us a screenshot of the app's exact status so that we can have a visual too.

le_avion

@Walter

1. It isn't really stuck. It syncs fine but the status it displays is stuck on Connecting... and as I mentioned before it doesn't display the normal statistics as it does on my Ubuntu 20.04 installation.

2. Since Dropbox has not implemented Smart Sync for Linux I'd rather have all files available locally otherwise it kind of defeats the purpose.

alanpmuscat

@Walter

I have exactly the same issue as le_avion.

Dropbox is syncing all files and folders however the status display is permanently stuck on connecting and no statistics at all are shown.

le_avion

When I run "dropbox status" from the command line I can see the status changing but not in the GUI:

Starting...

Syncing...

Syncing 2 files • 20 secs
Uploading 2 files (4,593 KB/sec, 20 secs)

Up to date

So the problem is not with the main program but with what is displayed when clicking on the Dropbox indicator icon.

Walter

Thanks for the additional details @le_avion and sorry to hear you're also affected by this @alanpmuscat

Could you please clarify the affected device's exact OS and distro?

Is this happening on a supported desktop environment?

alanpmuscat

In my case the device on which I have issues is a System 76 Gazelle Laptop with Pop!_OS 22.04 LTS. Dropbox Version 150.4.5000.

Thanks for helping out.

Megan

Hi @alanpmuscat, happy Friday!

Do you have any antivirus, firewall, security program, proxy or VPN blocking the Dropbox desktop client by any chance?

Can you try whitelisting Dropbox as shown here? Also, please temporarily disable any antiviruses to continue troubleshooting.

You can also have a look to our Help Center article here.

le_avion

System76 Leopard Extreme running POP OS! 22.04 (based on Ubuntu 22.04):

$ cat /etc/lsb-release
DISTRIB_ID=Pop
DISTRIB_RELEASE=22.04
DISTRIB_CODENAME=jammy
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Pop!_OS 22.04 LTS"

$ cat /etc/lsb-release.diverted
DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=22.04
DISTRIB_CODENAME=jammy
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 22.04 LTS"

No firewall, no AV, no proxy on machine.

Jay

Thanks for the info, I'd recommend getting in contact with the support team directly for further assistance.

Once you get a ticket ID from the automated response, please let me know the number here so I can locate it in our system.

le_avion

I did open a ticket on 6/21/22 and it was suggested to me by support to check this thread. I hope this is not where the ticket handling ends.

Megan

Hi @le_avion, happy Monday!

Can you send me the ticket number reference, so I can locate it on our system?

Thanks!

le_avion

Ticket #17553453

Thanks.