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Forum Discussion
Disaster: Dropbox removing external disk support for Mac users :(
In case anyone's unaware... if you're a Mac user storing your Dropbox on an external drive, you'll shortly lose that ability.
https://help.dropbox.com/installs/macos-support-for-expected-changes
Just confirmed this with DB support (see below). Gutted - been with Dropbox for years and our entire video team flow is based around it 😕
>Hi there, I read today that you are scrapping the ability to store the Dropbox folder on external disks, on OSX. I'd like to ask more about this please.
> Hello Jon, and thank you for contacting Dropbox Support. My name is Joseph, and I will be more than happy to look into your request, right away.
That is correct Jon, as part of the Dropbox for macOS update, the Dropbox folder must be located in ~/Library/CloudStorage.
>This is a showstopper for us, and will mean we have to move to another service. We have a large distributed team using DB for video work, no way it'll fit within internal drives.
Is there a workaround?
> I totally understand and I apologize for the inconvenience. Unfortunately, there is no workaround on this as changing the location of your Dropbox folder is no longer supported by macOS.
>This change doesn't seem to have hit us yet - we're running a variety of machines inc Ventura
What will trigger its enforcement? Can we stay on an earlier OS or Dropbox version?
>The updates happening automatically every time the Dropbox app is restarting, for example if your device never restarts it should maintain the older version but we can't guarantee full functionality on older versions of the application.
>So what will happen - if we have a Dropbox folder on an 8TB drive and a tiny internal drive - will it try to clone stuff across and eat up the space? What's the mechanism?
>That's right, it will try to move the content on your internal drive until it has no space and gives you an error.
>Is Smartsync still supported? I.e. will it move stuff to being online only if it won't fit?
>It is, however it is now known as online-only.
I haven't tried this, but it looks like you can still move your user folder to an external drive on Ventura.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/ventura-cant-move-user-folder-to-external-drive.2378144/Moving your home directory from an internal SSD to a "spinning rust" HD is going to have a massive performance hit on everything you do. This is not a good option.
I'm really confused over this. If I've got most of files and folders current set for DROPBOX online only how is this going to affect me? Does it? I don't have the Dropbox app on an external. ie it reads users>Homefolder>Dropbox>xyzfolder. So, if this is the case, when does this issue affect me. I'm certainly not going to choose "Okay" or "start" until I know what's going on. I want to "downsize" my 2014 Mac Mini (1TB) to a 2023 Mac Mini2 (512gb), and planned on putting the videos in dropbox and pull them down to work on them; do I need to now just put them on an external instead? I basically use DROPBOX for storage so how does this change my situation? Any insight is appreciated.
On Friday, Dropbox posted this comment...looks like they are pausing the rollout until they implement a solution.
While Dropbox works on making external drive support official, as KzDbx kindly informed us about, I'd like to share an insight that was given to me by one of Dropbox Germany's support agents, Stephanie, who I asked for help with a concern I had regarding moving my Dropbox folder to an external drive, and not wanting to have to download all files again.
The solution she gave me seems to also be relevant to all those of us who already have all of our files on external storage and want to keep it that way...I re-wrote her instructions to hopefully be more clear:
• Quit the Dropbox client
• Download the newest client from http://dropbox.com/downloading
• When installing it, it may have the option "All Files Offline" greyed out (not enough disk space), so continue with "All files Online"
In the next step, choose "Advanced Options" and point the location of the Dropbox folder at your current location (the root of which your Dropbox folder resides in, not the Dropbox folder itself!)
• Dropbox will start and re-index all of your files, without downloading them again, which could take a while, depending on the number of files in your Dropbox
Once finished, your Dropbox folder will be on your external storage and, according to KzDbx, remain there until Dropbox finds an official solution.
Now stop threatening Dropbox with cancelling your subscriptions...they are obviously aware of how important this issue is, and can't afford to fall behind other cloud storage providers who are supporting external storage already!
Thanks KzDbx for letting us know, and please ask your overlords to do a better job communicating your progress to us foot-soldiers.
It doesn’t affect you.
Dropbox needs to get on implementing this feature ASAP.As of 2023, with newer versions of MacOS 12+, it's not longer possible to store dropbox mirrored files on a separate disk!
It's insane, on the web, there are sooooo many of us using external drives that can match the capacity of the DB account.
When will this implement?
I've been using DB for a long time, but I'm looking now elsewhere for a different could provider, as this is a deal-breaker functionality that needs to be there forrecent OSX Mac users. Scout the web, and there are a gazillion of frustrated and angry users.
I just got a new mac mini, and sadly found out that I cannot move the dropbox folder elsewhere.
And using the "sync" only feature ain't cutting it for me.I am currently running Mac OS 13.2.1 and Dropbox version 163.4.5456 and it's working fine with my external drive. Which OS update has disabled moving the files to an external? I got asked to update my Dropbox app but I keep saying NO for now. Not sure how long before it just updates it automatically and tries to move all my files to my startup disk which has very little room left.
mymgraphics you can see the upcoming changes here: https://help.dropbox.com/installs/macos-support-for-expected-changes
But here's the main one everyone is moaning about:
- Changing the location of your Dropbox folder is no longer supported by macOS.
This we know is not true and is a "Dropbox is unable to support external drives". The reason we know it's not true is that there are other cloud based file sharing companies that do allow you to change the location of their folder in the new macOS 12.3+. I am looking at one right now (sync.com) and test bedding it.
dropbox you could at last clarify the language below:
But here's the main one everyone is moaning about:
- Changing the location of your Dropbox folder is no longer supported by macOS.
This we know is not true and is a "Dropbox is unable to support external drives". The reason we know it's not true is that there are other cloud based file sharing companies that do allow you to change the location of their folder in the new macOS 12.3+. I am looking at one right now (sync.com) and test bedding it.
Woah! I was just looking at the update and was about to ask about this, this is not good news I don't want my hard drive full of files I use extensive externals and soon a raid, the hard drive is just for Apps and some current projects.
Dropbox will lose customers if they force this on clients, I have a pro account and would look for alternative if this was to happen.
leeharris Thanks for registering your concerns. This is a loooong thread, and practically everyone feels similarly. Happily, until we hear otherwise, we’ll be able to continue using our external drives, as long as we’re happy with using the old API. If anyone has a contrary experience, we’d like to hear from you.
Yes, I think I feel a little more relaxed; misery loves company!
I've been using OSX Catalina since I bought a Mac Mini a couple of years ago. The hard disk is only 250 GB, so the Dropbox folder has been located on an external 2 TB disk. This has worked perfectly.
But because Catalina is being phased out by Apple I decided to update to Ventura. Only after the installation did I discover that I could no longer use Dropbox on the external drive. So I used TimeMachine to go back to Catalina. I expected everything to work as before, but no, Dropbox wouldn't open at all. I was forced to update the Dropbox app and then I got the same problem: Dropbox could not be located on an external hard drive. All files were forcibly transferred to the internal disk, but now as “online-only”. At the same time, the Dropbox app informs me that there are currently problems opening online-only files, but that they are working on a solution. This is of course because many more customers have their files online-only now, and Dropbox does not have the capacity to deliver all the data. In addition, I get the question that I hate the most about Dropbox, whether I want to take a backup of the machine. It is not possible to click "NO, never ask that question again", only "not right now". The next time I plug in an external drive, the same annoying question comes up.
Then I have to start with "selective sync" to get the most important folders offline so that I can actually use them. Online-only files only cause the programs to freeze or crash with a spinning wheel. Dropbox then begins indexing. This should sort of happen in the background, in the same way as a TimeMachine backup, but it happens in the foreground. The fan on the Mac Mini is running full blast and I can barely open another program while Dropbox indexes and indexes endlessly. This is the big problem with Dropbox. The program tries to take over the entire machine. I can't find any solution other than to switch to another file sharing service, but which one?- It sounds like I left just in time. I went with Sync and since I got it set up, it’s been fairly seamless. Good luck.
This is my first and only post here. I have a successful business with exactly one employee. (The flexibility is great, but the boss is kind of an ass.) I've used Dropbox for well over a decade, maybe close to two. I've followed this saga for a few months now, after picking up a Mac Mini M2 back in February. (Recommended, by the way!)
I am bewildered by the posters who are certain Dropbox has an ulterior agenda. I guess it's possible, but I don't see any evidence of it, and I try to take people at their word. I believe the folks at Dropbox are frustrated too, and that Apple has screwed this up — they tend to guard their software aggressively, and to place strict controls on the way people can use their OS. It's entirely believable that Apple changed the API's, and that was the spark of the current conflagration. Mac software developers are at Apple's mercy.
I won't speculate on the reason that Dropbox has offered little or nothing in the way of adaptation and solution. Maybe they are really flummoxed by Apple's shifting gears. Maybe they've made a calculated decision that we solo power-users and the video houses that store 30TB in Dropbox aren't enough of a market to put in all the time to find a way to make it work for external drives that's not kludgy. Google seems to have found a way, but c'mon, Dropbox doesn't have Google's resources. Whatever the reason, Dropbox is moving too slowly for me in helping those of us who use Dropbox not just casually, but as an integral part of our work.
It's not just that they're moving slowly — their communication could hardly be worse. There are 47 pages in this topic alone, filled with desperation, anger, and frustration, and Dropbox has only posted a couple of times. I don't get that — unless it's part of their corporate strategy to let this corner of the market atrophy from neglect.
My files aren't huge — about 2TB total. As of today, I've moved everything from Dropbox to Google Drive, and it seems to be working correctly on an external drive. I'll keep Dropbox for a week or two just in case something goes wrong, but I'm just tired of waiting with no credible reply from a company whose products I've used with no hiccups for about 15 years.
That's my story. I wish it were different, because I've really enjoyed the seamlessness and utility of Dropbox. But I guess everything changes, right?
have you seen this post from another user further down this thread...>>
"
However a Reddit user came up with a possible workaround:
"It is linked to your home user folder location. If you move your home folder to an external drive, dropbox goes with it. And for that matter, so do google drive, one drive, box etc."
thoughts?
I'm frustrated and disappointed by this, and wanted to add my voice too. Gosh, many relatable stories.
So far my Dropbox hasn't tried to update and force me to move files onto internal storage. 🤞 I see this message:
However, another Mac I'm on that only uses internal storage was forced to update, or Dropbox would quit.
Like others, I've long relied on a professional path that depends on trusting Dropbox for file-sync integrity, but this sounds confusing and messy — the right thing to do here is to have a solution/workaround IN PLACE before removing the old pathway. That's called making a smooth migration, and not having it is simply not responsible.
Dropbox risks destroying much goodwill with longtime customers. The lack of communication is even more detrimental, during a time where we and our workflows would benefit from reassurance and updates.
- Hi there, Ive received an email re the new MacOS FileProvider version of Dropbox.
I have 2x partitions on my MacBook internal drive, one for the system and one for Dropbox. This allows me to quickly erase/reinstall the system without having to copy terabytes of work off the drive - basically nuke any system issues quickly.
The FileProvider email links to notes which state it won’t support external drives and I assume this also means partitions?
And if so, is this temporary or the future of DropBox on Mac?
BTW sorry if this isn’t the right forum, the link just dumped me at the default forums home page.
Any help/ideas much appreciated. Cheers, Ben.Ben S.31 Have you put that two-partition system to the test? Because unless something has changed, I don’t believe Dropbox allows you to point a new software install at an existing Dropbox folder to avoid resyncing all those files. Every time I’ve ever re-installed Dropbox, it demands that I do a new sync to an empty folder.
And yes, you are correct, the new Dropbox version will not support non-boot partitions. The reason is that Apple has forced cloud file providers to store their files in a folder within your user profile. In some aspects this makes sense - think of a shared computer and the need to keep your personal cloud files private and separate from the other users - but it also creates a huge gaping problem for anyone needing to sync more data locally from their cloud provider than will fit onto Apple’s internal drive offerings (physically or financially).
Some folks here have mentioned just moving your user folder to an external drive (or in your case, the other partition), which should in theory relocate the cloud storage folder along with it, thus solving this whole issue. But poking around one will find many, many stories of this workflow backfiring on people, as any OS updates will break this setup and potentially lock you out of your computer. It’s super risky and, in my view, not a viable solution at all.
For now, one good option is to invest in a NAS and store your files there instead of Dropbox. This can completely bypass the need for on-demand syncing of local files to save precious drive space, and gives you so much more control over your own data. If Dropbox is important to you, Synology has a cloud sync application for their NAS that will sync with Dropbox, which I am currently using but honestly will probably not bother going forward. The reason is that this setup has so much storage available that there is no need to fuss with setting files to local vs online-only to save space, and the built-in feature set of Synology Drive is good enough to render Dropbox almost completely redundant. From here, you can back up your entire NAS to the cloud for protection via Backblaze, if you use their backup service which offers unlimited backup space. Not to be confused with Backblaze B2 which is like Dropbox and, because of the expanded feature set, is way more expensive.
Lots of great inforation, thank you for taking the time to explain things so clearly.
My issue currently, is that I and my team share large (200gb projects) using dropbox, and so we need to syc to our local machines, as any one of us may need to work on any particular project at any one time. Get 3 or 4 of these projects on the go for ay individual, and they will quickly run out of hard drive capacity.
I'm praying there is a software developer who has developed a workaround....!
I keep getting notifications about the new "better app" that uses the new Apple API. And then if I click on the info line below I get a huge list of all the things that will no longer be possible when I upgrade, as well as all the known limitations!
https://help.dropbox.com/installs/macos-support-for-expected-changes
Just a wild idea - maybe also tell users what the benefits will be with some actual examples other than it "integrating more deeply with the OS" 😜? Otherwise literally the only benefit listed is "fix issues related to opening online-only files in third-party applications".
Thanks
Greetings,
I'm wondering if you have found any working alternative? Has Dropbox fixed anything or have you found another service?
Thanks for any suggestions!
I'd like to get back to work.
Josh
