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This computer isn't linked to an account

I am using a Mac and recently noticed that my dropbox is no longer connected. I have click on Account and [Unlink This Dropbox] is greyed out so it appears to be linked therefore I can't sign in again? I have tried deleting the app and reinstalling it but same issue.

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Lara1

Hi Mark,

Did you already do an advanced reinstall? If not, it might be worth trying it by following these instructions:

Stop Dropbox (If needed):

Click the Dropbox icon in the menu bar at the top of your screen
Click on the gear icon in the Notifications panel and select 'Quit Dropbox'

Download the newest version:

www.dropbox.com/install

Open your Terminal app (Located at /Applications/Utilities/Terminal)
Copy and paste the following lines into the Terminal, ONE AT A TIME, and press ENTER after each one. PLEASE make sure you copy and paste these commands (don't type them by hand), as getting them wrong could cause some harm. You'll be prompted for your computer's admin password (not your Dropbox password) after entering the first command. Keep in mind that the password field in the terminal will remain blank as you type your password. After you type it, just press ENTER.

sudo chown "$USER" "$HOME"

sudo chown -R "$USER" ~/Dropbox

sudo chmod -R u+rw ~/Dropbox

sudo mv ~/.dropbox ~/.Trash/dropbox.old

sudo chmod -N ~

sudo mv /Library/DropboxHelperTools ~/DropboxHelperTools.old

Open the .dmg file from step # 2 and double click the Dropbox icon to install Dropbox.
Restart Dropbox from the Applications folder, then please sign in and apply any Selective Sync settings you may have had prior to the reinstall during the sign in process. Your account will take a few moments to reindex the files and sync any pending changes.

MikeStone

I had this same problem. I tried every suggestion here. the only thing that finally worked was to change the proxy setting from 'auto detect' to 'no proxy'. Only then was I able to re-enter my credentials on the dropbox sync app on MAC (to link my account) . then dropbox did a massive sync of 1000's of files.

the biggest hassle is I had many files with the name "conflicted copy". I had to go and change the name of ALL those files back to the original names. this was because the files with the words 'conflicted cpoy' where in fact the latest copy.

All comments

Lara1

Hi Mark,

Did you already do an advanced reinstall? If not, it might be worth trying it by following these instructions:

Stop Dropbox (If needed):

Click the Dropbox icon in the menu bar at the top of your screen
Click on the gear icon in the Notifications panel and select 'Quit Dropbox'

Download the newest version:

www.dropbox.com/install

Open your Terminal app (Located at /Applications/Utilities/Terminal)
Copy and paste the following lines into the Terminal, ONE AT A TIME, and press ENTER after each one. PLEASE make sure you copy and paste these commands (don't type them by hand), as getting them wrong could cause some harm. You'll be prompted for your computer's admin password (not your Dropbox password) after entering the first command. Keep in mind that the password field in the terminal will remain blank as you type your password. After you type it, just press ENTER.

sudo chown "$USER" "$HOME"

sudo chown -R "$USER" ~/Dropbox

sudo chmod -R u+rw ~/Dropbox

sudo mv ~/.dropbox ~/.Trash/dropbox.old

sudo chmod -N ~

sudo mv /Library/DropboxHelperTools ~/DropboxHelperTools.old

Open the .dmg file from step # 2 and double click the Dropbox icon to install Dropbox.
Restart Dropbox from the Applications folder, then please sign in and apply any Selective Sync settings you may have had prior to the reinstall during the sign in process. Your account will take a few moments to reindex the files and sync any pending changes.

Ryan N.

I am having the same problems - on my girlfriend;s user acount Dropbox is running fine.

On my user acct I get the No Internet Connectionmessage and my account details are greyed out.

I;ve been through all the forums, followed all the step, including the above but still not working.

I;m a paid user and also use a business acct for work. I;d appreciate any help ASAP

David G.52

Those with the "This computer isn't linked to an account"

error message might do well to check if a proxy setting has been left active in

Settings>Network>Proxies.

I had entered a proxy for another location on laptop and forgot about it completely.

Problem solved!

Tom_H

I have also seen the message Dropbox is not linked to an account. In my case it came from our Internet connection being offline. For some reason the Mac didn't connect to the airport like it should have. Once I fixed the WiFi issue, Dropbox was able to start properly.

After it successfully connects to the servers the unlink box returns to active or its able to be clicked and the preferences show it is indeed connected to an account.

Tim D.9

Advanced reinstall just worked for me to resolve this issue.

dlh2109

This helped me. I went into Settigs>Network>Proxies and saw that Proxy Settings was set to "Auto-detect". I changed this to "No proxy" and DropBox linked/connected immediately. Seems to be working fine now. Not sure why I had to do this but it did the trick.

Marc19

Tried this, and it also worked for me,...BUT,.....
When I restart my Macbook, the same problem occurs again.

Any Ideas?
Please Help.

MikeStone

isaacbalbin

Note that this may occur is you were using a proxy to get out to the internet (eg at Work) and then decided to use a VPN which your work proxy would then reject as foreign. In that case, turning off the proxy works fine.

subhro

Thanks! It worked for me as well after wasting much time trying to figure out why sync was stuck and network not connected while the account name was greyed out.

ivelin117

Proxy settings is what caused trouble for me as well. The defaul Auto-detect stopped working. After switching to No Proxy, Dropbox linked the account automatically and synced.

Would you mind taking a minute of your time to fill out a survey sharing your experience using our Dropbox Community? You can access the survey here: http://bit.ly/2lNKIxT

Thank you!

[This thread is now closed by moderators due to inactivity. If you're experiencing a similar behavior, feel free to start a new discussion in the Dropbox Community here.]