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Updated Mac to OS 13.2 - Error Message that "Dropbox.app is damaged and can't be opened"

I just upgraded my Mac Studio to OS 13.2 Ventura (from Monterey). I had logged on as a local administrator to do this. Upon logging out as the local admin and logging back in as the user, I received a pop-up error message that states ""Dropbox.app" is damaged and can't be opened." Upon clicking the info icon on that error message, I get the attached information from the macOS User Guide.

Can anyone help me figure out what I need to do to get Dropbox working on my computer? Thank you. Screenshot 2023-02-01 at 10.29.36 AM.jpg Screenshot 2023-02-01 at 10.28.59 AM.jpg

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BaliThai

So to just complete this thread - the advanced uninstall/reinstall didn't work - in that the terminal commands did not work. Our IT department finally got involved and we finally just did an uninstall (steps 1 - 2 of the advanced instructions for Mac), had to go into Activity Monitor to manually force quit the Dropbox.app again, did step 3, skipped step 4 and just downloaded Dropbox for Mac, installed it and it is now working. No one was sure why step 4 did not work for us, but at least I have it up and working! Thank you for all of your help.

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Jay

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

Is this a company-managed device by any chance?

Could you try re-installing the app from your local account using this link?

Keep me updated with any progress!

BaliThai

Jay, Thank you for your reply. This is a company computer, but I have local admin rights to uninstall and install applications, and have updated my Mac OS many times without an issue. The Dropbox account is my individual account.

I installed the app from the link you provided. However it does not work. When I click on the app icon, the error message "“Dropbox.app” is damaged and can’t be opened." pops up and the Dropbox.App and DropboxFileProvider show up on the Activity Monitor (with zero precent usage of the CPU). The error message keeps popping up every time I press cancel on the error message and does not go away, unless I force quit those two processes in the Activity Monitor. And I am editing this because that error message popped up again at random, and the Activity Monitor does not show those two processes (or any process containing the word "drop").

Jay

Thanks for the info. If you're not on a Dropbox Basic plan with more than 3 devices connected, could you try an advanced reinstall of the app using the steps in this link?

BaliThai

I do have Dropbox Basic with 3 devices connected. Is there another link for advanced reinstall for that setup?

Jay

Is the device you're having issues with one of the 3 devices, or is it a separate one?

BaliThai

Yes. For my three devices, I have my work computer, my home computer and my phone. It is my work computer that is having the issue. I have not yet updated my home computer to Mac OS Ventura 13.2.

Jay

Okay, then it shouldn't make a difference in this instance, since uninstalling the app would result in it being removed from the devices list.

I'd recommend uninstalling it from the admin account just in case, since it was installed from there.

BaliThai

Any recommended ways to go about uninstalling the app? I read some discussions here about concerns about uninstalling the app might delete files or there could be difficulties in uninstalling the app? Since I can't access the desktop app, I do not know if I had the automatic computer backup selected (which appears to be the issue some of the time). I also don't know enough about this to know if any of these scenarios could be a problem for me.

Thank you!

https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Delete-edit-and-organize/Dropbox-Uninstallation-Issue-on-Mac/m-p/437495/thread-id/18103

https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Apps-and-Installations/I-can-t-uninstall-the-Dropbox-application-says-extensions-are-in/m-p/565692#M36708

https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Delete-edit-and-organize/Not-able-to-open-files-after-uninstalling/m-p/632134#M34482

https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Integrations/Unable-to-Uninstall-Reinstall-Dropbox/m-p/440489#M4487

Jay

You can check if your backups are enabled from this page on your account.

An advanced reinstall would be the best way to go about this, since it would fully remove the app from your device and unlink it at the same time, allowing you to reinstall it under the user account.

Once the app is installed, the files on the site would sync down to your machine again in the Dropbox folder in the user account.

BaliThai