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The dark mode for Dropbox resets on my macOS desktop app whenever I restart my device.

Hello Dropbox people. I see the setting is now in the Mac App but it doesn't work until you open the settings. So this means if you reboot your computer, or quit and restart DropBox, it goes back to using the light theme even if you picked dark. It's kind of annoying to have to go into settings each time to fix this.

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Megan

Hey there, @Aurora S. let's jump right into this!

Would you mind clarifying your OS, along with the Dropbox version that you're using? You can find this by hovering your mouse over the little Dropbox icon on your menu bar, next to your WiFi.

Have you tried uninstalling, or reinstalling the app by any chance?

Let me know more, and we'll take it from there!

Aurora S.

Hi. I uninstalled, reinstalled, it does the same thing. Everything is light until I open Preferences and then it goes dark like I wanted. I see this on 2 computers that I work with.

macOS 15.6.1, dropbox 235.4.5905

Jay

Hi @Aurora S., 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?

Aurora S.

Hello. These steps make no difference. After the uninstall and setting everything up again, the interface is dark. But if I quit Dropbox and re-open it, it's light again. The setting does not take effect until I open Preferences just like before.

Aurora S.

See here: screen recording

Jay

Do you have it set on the dark theme, or the system setting in the Dropbox desktop application preferences?

Aurora S.

I tried both ways, makes no difference. My system is dark.

Jay

When performing the advanced reinstallation did you follow the Terminal commands to clear any previous configuration files?

Aurora S.

Yes. As stated above, after the uninstall, when I reinstalled I had to set everything up again and everything had to be downloaded again. The interface was dark. But as soon as I quit and reopened DropBox, it went light again, as shown in the screen recording.

Nancy

Thanks for bearing with us, @Aurora S.! Since this is a bit odd indeed, I’ve gone ahead and opened a new ticket for you.

You can reply to it and we’ll investigate this internally.

amok_san

Same problem here.

Walter

Hey @amok_san - sorry to hear about this.

Can you clarify your device's OS version and the version of the Dropbox desktop app as well?

amok_san

It's Dropbox version 236.4.5918 and macOS 15.7.2.

Walter

I see, thanks for the clarification @amok_san - much appreciated.

I've just sent you an email to have a further look internally, so take a glance at your inbox and we'll take it from there.

jobace78

Same here (macOS 26.1 / Dropbox 237.4.5655)

Megan

Hey @jobace78, I'm happy to investigate further.

I just reached out via email. Reply back to me, and we'll take it from there. Cheers!

tonekitchen

Same here; is there a starting point troubleshooting procedure available to tackle this?

Hannah

Hi there, @tonekitchen, sorry to see that you're also having this issue.

There are a few troubleshooting steps in this thread; I'd start with uninstalling the Dropbox app, restarting the computer and then reinstalling it.

Can you try and let us know if it helps?

tonekitchen

Uninstalling and reinstalling didn't change the behavior. It still reverts to light mode with every login.

Megan

Hey @tonekitchen!

I'm going to need to gather a few more pieces of info and get closer into what is happening.

As a first step, could you clarify the app's current syncing status and version that you're using along with the device's OS? You can find the version, and syncing status by hovering your mouse over the little Dropbox icon in your menu bar next to your WiFi.

While you're at it, I'd love to have a visual of the behavior that you described. Can you send us a couple of screenshots, please? You can either attach them by clicking the camera-like icon when replying back to me, or by copying and pasting them here.

I'll be waiting for your update!

tonekitchen

macOS Tahoe 26.2, Dropbox 238.4.6075

Dropbox is fully synced, all files up to date.

After login, dropdown is light (sc1). Just opening the Preferences dialog without changing settings turns it dark (sc2).

Megan

Hey all, I hope you're doing well!

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Our team is aware and actively working on this. We'll update this thread once we have additional info.

Thanks a bunch!

Nancy

Hi again! Is anyone still having issues with this, by any chance?

If yes, please let me know, so that I can also inform our team.