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Dropbox can't sync files due to selective sync conflicts and unsupported file types on Mac

Hello.

I'm running Dropbox on Mac OS 15.5, and have been happily using File Provider with Dropbox on an external drive for a few months. Suddenly, two things have happened:

I have dozens of files thrown (from random folders) nto my Dropbox root, with "(Selective Sync Conflict)" appended to their names. Most of these are files I haven't touched in years. If they've been moved, it's going to be a pain to get them all back in the right places.

And - I've been kicked out of File Provider. The error says "Your Dropbox folder contains some file types that are not supported". The only file types the article mentions are Photo Libraries, FCP projects and Adobe lock files, none of which I use. Can someone assist? thank you!

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Comments

Jay

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

Did you make any recent upgrades to your Mac device, or use a migration program?

Was the external drive with the Dropbox folder on it disconnected at some point while the app was running?

This will help me to assist further!

lokimac

Hi Jay

No recent updates but yes, the external drive did disconnect several times - had a loose cable which I've now secured in the Mac.

Thank you

Matt

Jay

It's possible that this is what caused the issues you're experiencing, since if the Dropbox folder can't be detected by the desktop app, then unexpected issues could occur, such as data corruption, permission issues or even data deletion.

In this instance, there were selective sync conflicts, and you mentioned that your account is no longer using the File Provider system.

Does the external drive meet the requirements as listed on this page?

Walter

Hey @lokimac - just circling back to see if you were able to sort the issue with the Selective Sync conflicts in the end. If so, please let us know what worked for you. If not, you can reply back with the information Jay requested so that we can assist further.