Child Item

"Your device couldn't connect to the server" error on the desktop app

Device
iMac 2024
Operating System/Browser (if using the web)
Tahoe 26.2
Dropbox App Version (if using the app)
v241.4.4853
Syncing Status
"Up to date"

Question or Issue
I recently set up my existing company Dropbox account on my new iMac. All the folders/files appeared to sync fine and I can open individual ones with no issues. However, if I right click on anything and selected "Make available offline" from the Dropbox actions I get an error message stating the following:

"Your device couldn't connect to the server. There may be a problem with the server or network."

I'm regularly accessing individual files from the team account with no issues by just double-clicking them to open, but when I try to download a whole folder, this is what I get every time.

I do not have a VPN set up, I have not installed any security software, my date/time are correct, and I'm definitely connected to the internet.

I've tried logging out and back in, restarting, shutting down/restarting the iMac, stopping and restarting sync, and deleting the Dropbox application entirely and reinstalling. (I'm currently on my second attempt of that process.)

Any suggestions? I'm completely at a loss here.

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Comments

Hannah

Hi there, @heathersadeg, sorry to see that you're having issues with our desktop app.

Other than the desktop app, I'm assuming that you can access the Dropbox website as normal, right?

One thing you should also ensure, is that your local network connection settings allow access to Dropbox domains.

If you are on a corporate network, you may need to contact your company's network administrator or IT to make sure that the Dropbox domains are accessible on this network.

You can see more about the Dropbox official domains here.

Let me know what you find!

heathersadeg

Hi, Hannah. Yes, the Dropbox website works fine. I have two other computers on the same home network that do not have this issue. Both the Windows laptop and my older iMac can access the Dropbox folders and sync folders and files to offline. It is only this new iMac that is having the problem.

I am not on a coporate network.

Nancy

Hi @heathersadeg! Let me jump in here, too.

One more thing to clarify; you’re only getting this error when trying to make folders/files online-only, correct? Do you see the same message, if you right-click on your folders/files and select another option from the drop-down menu?

Other than that, I’d like to know the number of files located in your desktop app. You can locate this by right-clicking on your local Dropbox folder directly and going to the “Get info” section (feel free to send me a visual of the next window you’ll see).