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Dropbox deleted all my local files and won't let me re-download them

I migrated to a new Mac today, and moved all my files over from the old machine. I have all my files in the Dropbox folder. When I resented Dropbox, I ticked all the folders to sync, and assumed it would just check all the files were there in the sync (like it has before) and didn't need to download them.

The blue refresh icon showed on all the folders - happy days.

Come back to my computer a couple of hours later, and all the folders have gone. Dropbox deleted all files and folders (200GB).

Go back into preferences and all the folders that were ticked, were no longer ticked. Really annoyed, but thought ok, I'll redownload from Dropbox.

So I tried just one folder. Ticked it. It synced, but just grey cloud. So I right click and select "Make available offline". After a while (not long) it gets a green tick and says "Available offline". But next to it, is a grey cloud that says "Not downloaded". How can folders, and the files within them, be both available offline and not downloaded at the same time? The dropbox desktop menu says "All files are up to date."

Screenshot 2023-03-17 at 16.41.42.png

Am I doing something wrong here? Or is there a problem with Dropbox?

I'm on the latest Mac OS Ventura, and Dropbox version 169.4.5684

I did try Dropbox support, but they didn't seem to have any answers - referring to another team but won't get a response until next week so wondering if anyone has any ideas?

Thanks!

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Walter

Hey @emjay2, sorry to hear you're having issues with this and thanks for the detailed description there.

Since you've already contacted our support team about this, could you share your ticket ID so that we can look it up in our system?

Thanks so much!

PS: Keep in mind these changes moving forward as it seems that you are running the updated version of the desktop app for MacOS.

emjay2

Hi Walter,

Two support chats:

1. When dropbox deleted all my local files #21797942

2. When dropbox won't download my folders and files #21798501

Thanks.

Walter

Thanks for the ticket IDs @emjay2 - much appreciated.

I can see that your ticket with ID 21798501 is already escalated to our experts for further review.

I've passed your comments on and they should be getting back to you soon, but please let us know if you have anything else to add in the meantime.

emjay2

Does Dropbox work on Mac Ventura? Since I turned my computer on today it's just stuck on "Syncing..." even though it has nothing to sync and I have unticked all of the folders in "Selective sync" and the Dropbox folder on this computer is empty.

When I uninstall the Dropbox app, the "Dropbox" location stays and cannot be removed.

So far since getting the new Mac - Dropbox has:

1. Deleted all the files I migrated

2. Not downloaded or only partially downloaded folders when I have ticked them

3. When I have unticked them all it removed all the files and folders but is stuck on "Syncing"

4. When I try to uninstall Dropbox (following the instructions on Dropbox for how to uninstall) it leaves the dropbox folder

5. When I reinstall Dropbox all the settings are the same - e.g. if I have paused syncing for half an hour, it still knows its paused for half an hour so it hasn't even been properly uninstalled

I'm paying a premium for Dropbox because I thought it was reliable, and now I am seriously concerned about wether it will even function on my new Mac. And I'll be unable to start using my new Mac because I can't sync my files, whichever way I try.

Hannah

Thanks for your feedback here, @emjay2.

Since your case was sent to our experts, you can definitely discuss all of this with them, so they can assist you in resolving these issues.

If you have any other questions, just let us know.

emjay2

Just to update this post - the expert support was to "Log out and log back in", and they closed the ticket.

I gave up after that (since I had already tried log out and log back in plus many other things but they clearly hadn't read the ticket). I've moved to another provider, and have had no issues since removing Dropbox.

Since I paid for the year with Dropbox, I am requesting a partial refund which I think is only fair as I had over 8 months left at the time of the issue(s) and Dropbox was unusable for me on my new Mac and were not able to provide support to resolve the issue(s) I was experiencing.

Megan

Hey @emjay2, sorry to hear about that!

I was able to locate your new ticket on our system about your refund request. I've passed your comments to the agent working on your case, and they'll be with you shortly.

If you need anything else, we'll be one post away!