Child Item

Sign in loop on the desktop app on my Mac. Stuck on "Waiting to be linked to Dropbox account"

Able to sign in on browser but the desktop app keeps saying "Starting..." but never logs in. Desktop bounces me to browser to log in so it's a loop.

Now it says "Waiting to be linked to Dropbox account" on dropdown menu. This is probably 6+ hrs after attempting to sign in on the desktop app. The Dropbox logo is still greyed out.

Application Affected
Dropbox desktop app
Device

MacBookPro16,1

Operating System/Browser (if using the web)
macOS 10.15.7
Dropbox App Version (if using the app)
no idea, doesn't allow me to see

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Accepted answers

anotherprofile

Hi Megan,

Thanks for the help.

You were correct about the devices. After a few recent reinstallations of the OS, it looks like the app retained duplicates of the same device and locked me out.

Once I removed the duplicates, I was able to get the app working.

Thanks again!

All comments

Megan

Hey there, @anotherprofile, let's jump right into this!

Do you have any security apps, like a VPN, antivirus, proxy or firewall that could be affecting the Dropbox app?

One more thing to keep in mind is that if you're using a Dropbox Basic plan, there is a limit of 3 devices that you can log into. Could this be the case here?

Also, could you try installing the latest version of the Dropbox desktop application using our offline installer?

Keep me posted, and we'll take it from there!

anotherprofile

Hi Megan,

Thanks for the help.

You were correct about the devices. After a few recent reinstallations of the OS, it looks like the app retained duplicates of the same device and locked me out.

Once I removed the duplicates, I was able to get the app working.

Thanks again!

Hannah

Thanks for keeping us in the loop, @anotherprofile!

I'm glad to see that your issue got resolved.

If you need anything else, don't hesitate to let us know.

Have a great day!

Theresa

Hi there @anotherprofile , and welcome back to the Dropbox Community.. it's always great to have you here! 😊

It’s great to hear you were able to get signed in properly again, and thanks so much for coming back to update the thread. That follow-up really helps others who might run into the same behavior!

By the way, I’m Theresa 👩‍💻, one of the community managers here at Dropbox HQ. Since you’ve been working through this on your Mac, I’d love to know… how do you usually use Dropbox? Whether it’s for work files, personal projects, or syncing across devices, I’m always curious to hear how people fit Dropbox into their day-to-day.

Looking forward to hearing more,

T 😺 (Dropbox Community Manager)