Child Item

The Dropbox desktop app won't open on my Mac device

Application Affected
Dropbox
Device
macOS 13.3
Operating System/Browser (if using the web)
Ventura
Dropbox App Version (if using the app)
cant open app, installed latest version today

Question or Issue
Opening Dropbox from the Applications only opens a finder window. It doesn't open an app or put anything in the menu. It is running via the activity monitor but not when I open force quit applications. I have no way to back up anything at the moment

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Haliph

Application Affected
Dropbox
Device
Macbook Pro
Operating System/Browser (if using the web)
Mac 13.3
Dropbox App Version (if using the app)
Cant Open App, Installed Latest Version Today

Question or Issue
Dropbox won't open the app, only the finder window. I can force it to open dropbox backup from the website but it doesnt appear to be backing up anything. I can see it running in activity monitor but not in force quit applications. Without automatic backups working and the access to the application there is no point in the service.

Rich

Haliph wrote:
Dropbox won't open the app, only the finder window.

What icon are you clicking on? If Dropbox is already running and you click the icon to launch it, it opens the Dropbox folder in Finder. Make sure you're clicking on the small Dropbox icon located in your menu bar, near the clock, to open the app itself.

Haliph

unfortunately there's no dropbox icon in the menu. I did figure out however that when I turn off NordVPN it works so something between the two is incompatible.

Rich

Haliph wrote:
I did figure out however that when I turn off NordVPN it works so something between the two is incompatible.

A quick search on Google gave a few results pointing to Nord's Threat Protection being the issue. You may need to add Dropbox to an allow list if you have Threat Protection turned on.

Haliph

yeah my searches led me to turn off ad and tracker blocker. still unsure why dropbox wont backup though. they say "done" but are sitting at 0 bytes.

Walter

Hey @Haliph - sorry to hear about this.

Can you try a reinstalling the app using the offline installer from this page directly and let me know if this persists?

Thanks!

Haliph

I'd found a thread that suggested this so I'd already done it. No luck

Currently even disabling my VPN won't open the dropbox app

Megan

Hi there, @Haliph!

A quick follow-up to our last message! Let us know if you still need assistance or if everything is working as expected.