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PaulSon's avatar
PaulSon
Helpful | Level 6
2 years ago

MacOS Sonoma 14.1 constant high CPU by process DropboxFileProvider

I'm using the latest version of Dropbox (v186.4.2607) on my MacBook Pro (2,4 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i9) that is running macOS Sonoma 14.1.
Lately I've noticed that Dropbox is having a high cpu (150 - 200%) almost all of the time. Dropbox is always syncing although nothing is synced because all is already synced.

The menubar icon always shows the sync icon and never the ready icon anymore.

This is very unpleasant and the MacBook Pro is now always very warm/hot with temperatures from 85 to 100 ºC and that is not how it should be.
Is there a solution for this issue?

  • SwampYankee's avatar
    SwampYankee
    Explorer | Level 4

    Recently the Dropbox Tray Assistant app is constantly taking up about 20% of the CPU, causing my computer to run warm with the fans constantly on, and slowing other things down noticeably.   Rebooting the computer doesn't help.   I can quit the Tray Assistant in Task Manager, but then I think syncing stops.  As soon as I start Dropbox again the CPU usage spikes again.   This is not ok in the long run.  Any idea why this is happening?  

     

    Another thing, the Dropbox tray icon is constantly showing the red warning flag and says that Dropbox is not syncing because I do not have enough storage space and prompts me to upgrade my plan from Basic (2GB) to Standard (5TB).  But I already have the Plus (2TB) plan and I have about 350 GB of files, so plenty of room.  When I look at my account info it shows that I have 2 TB of storage.  And my files are being synced despite the warning.    Why doesn't the Tray know what plan I have, how much storage I have, that my files are actually getting synced, and suggest that I get a much bigger plan than I need?

     

    Why isn't there any actual support phone line, chat, e-mail option to sort out things like the above issue? 

     

  • JCull's avatar
    JCull
    Explorer | Level 4

    Same issue on Ventura 13.6.1, Dropbox 186.4.6207. It's gotten to the point that I can't even touch the keyboard sometimes. I have to pause syncing or quit the app entirely to get the processor to cool down.

  • Megan's avatar
    Megan
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

    Hey guys, I hope you're all doing well, and sorry to hear about that! 

     

    Have you taken a look at this Help Center article for possible reasons why this might be happening and how to tackle it?

     

    Also, SwampYankee, could you confirm the Dropbox version you're using on your end, please? 

     

    Could you let us know what processor you're using, and the total amount of RAM on your machine?

     

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

    • PaulSon's avatar
      PaulSon
      Helpful | Level 6

      Megan wrote:

      Could you let us know what processor you're using, and the total amount of RAM on your machine?

      I have a MacBook Pro 16" 2,4 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i9 with 32 GB RAM.

       


      Megan wrote:

      Have you taken a look at this Help Center article for possible reasons why this might be happening and how to tackle it?

      What article? I think the link is missing.

    • Megan's avatar
      Megan
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

      Hi PaulSon, thanks for your speedy reply! 

       

      I reinstated it, could you try again, please?

      • PaulSon's avatar
        PaulSon
        Helpful | Level 6
        1. Dropbox is syncing a large number of files
          Nope, usually less then 50 files
        2. Other apps interfere with sync
          I don't have an anti-virus app. Time machine isn't running when the CPU is still very high.
        3. Files in your Dropbox folder have the wrong permissions
          Dropbox has Full Disk Access
        4. The Dropbox folder is installed on a NAS device
          No, the Dropbox folder is on the SSD in my MacBook Pro
        5. Your device doesn’t support extended attributes
          All metadata is available in Dropbox and the Dropbox folder is on a supported file system (APFS-formatted hard drive)

        According to the checks above everything seems to be ok but Dropbox is still having a very high CPU and won't stop syncing after all the files have been synced.
        I have paused Dropbox and will only let I run when the lid is open and I'm logged into the Mac.
        Very annoying problem!

    • SwampYankee's avatar
      SwampYankee
      Explorer | Level 4

      My computer is a Dell Precision 7510 with Xeon 2.9 GHz, 32 GB RAM running Windows 10.  Dropbox files are on the C drive, which is a 475 GB SSD with 47 GB free space.  I am not sure which Dropbox version I am using; the Tray shows Dropbox 186.4.6207 if that helps.  I will check the Help Center article you suggest.  Thanks.

    • Hannah's avatar
      Hannah
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

      Hey VitaliRadchankau, sorry to hear that.

       

      Which version of the Dropbox app are you using and what's the sync status of the app?

       

      You can hover over your Dropbox icon for this info.

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