Persistent "Syncing 2 files, 110 B" - phantom items, invisible to search

Question

Dropbox desktop client shows "Syncing 2 files, 110.00 B" that never completes.

What I've verified:

* Three UUID-named files appear in my web "Last 30 Days" view but return zero results when I search for them on dropbox.com: 0f8ab7ac-c7d1-4f2d-8a98-aed12c0e5b17.meta.json, 0f8ab7ac-c7d1-4f2d-8a98-aed12c0e5b17.user.js, dadd6646-3097-4156-9a6d-492f3d5e91e5.meta.json, fb2e64bc-30f8-4374-b8f9-df5f3aa570fb.meta.json
* Client's "View sync issues" reports "You have no sync issues"
* Files are not present in my local Dropbox folder (find returns nothing)
* Issue survived a full machine transition (2019 MBP → new M5 MBA, no Migration Assistant, fresh macOS and fresh Dropbox install)
* No third-party apps currently connected to the account [confirm this once you check]

The fact that two clean clients on different hardware produce identical behaviour points to server-side account state. Could a moderator help investigate? Happy to provide client logs and account email via private message.

Walter · Answer

Can you send us a couple of screenshots so that we can have a visual too @JazzyGuy ?

JazzyGuy · Answer

Thanks Walter. Details below.

OS versions:

* New machine (M5 MacBook Air): macOS Tahoe 26.4.1
* Previous machine (2019 MacBook Pro): macOS Tahoe, likely 26.4 (on auto-update; retired 2 weeks ago)

Dropbox client: 248.4.3576

Screenshots available (how to upload? DM?):

* Menu bar showing persistent "Syncing 2 files, 110.00 B"
* dropbox.com "Last 30 Days" showing three UUID-named files that do not appear in search

Diagnostics performed:

* Search. The three UUID files visible in "Last 30 Days" return zero results when searched on dropbox.com: 0f8ab7ac-c7d1-4f2d-8a98-aed12c0e5b17.meta.json, 0f8ab7ac-c7d1-4f2d-8a98-aed12c0e5b17.user.js, dadd6646-3097-4156-9a6d-492f3d5e91e5.meta.json, fb2e64bc-30f8-4374-b8f9-df5f3aa570fb.meta.json.
* Sync mode toggle. Switched folder setting from "Leave files offline" to "All available offline" to force local materialization. Status briefly showed more files syncing (content downloading), then settled back to the same "2 files, 110.00 B" residue.
* sudo find / -type f $ -name "0f8ab7ac*" -o -name "dadd6646*" -o -name "fb2e64bc*" $ 2>/dev/nullZero output — the files do not exist anywhere on the Mac.
* Sign out / sign in. Unlinked the Mac via Preferences → Account → Sign out, then signed back in. Waited for full re-indexing to complete. Status immediately returned to "Syncing 2 files, 110.00 B".

Summary of all findings:

* Files visible in web "Last 30 Days" with metadata (sizes, timestamps, ~25 days old)
* Zero results for their names in web search
* Not present anywhere in local filesystem (sudo confirmed)
* Client "View sync issues": reports none
* Status independent of sync mode (online-only vs all-offline)
* Status survives sign-out / sign-in / full re-index
* Persists across clean machine transition (new hardware, fresh macOS, fresh Dropbox install — no Migration Assistant used)

Every diagnostic points to account-level metadata referencing items with no backing storage. Could you investigate server-side? Happy to provide my account email via DM.

Walter · Answer

Hey @JazzyGuy - thanks for letting us know about this.

Just to make sure we're on the same page, can you clarify the exact OS version of the affected devices and send us a couple of screenshots so that we can have a look too? Specifically, I'd appreciate a screenshot of the app's status as shown in your menu bar and how those files you mentioned look in your recents as well.

Have you tried signing out of the account through the app's preferences and then back in since you first noticed this?

Let us know more and we'll take it from there.