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Greg T.16's avatar
Greg T.16
Helpful | Level 5
6 years ago

Smart sync icons missing

The venerable "missing smart sync icons" problem. MacOS Mojave 10.14.2  Dropbox 64.4.141.  (Professional Acct) Have reinstalled DB several times (including via full desktop download). Tried the ...
Setting up the apps
  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    6 years ago
    Hi Greg, as you’re on a Mac, you can check if a third-party application is causing this issue with the following steps:
     
    1. Save any files and quit ALL programs.
    2. Completely quit and close any third-party cloud service applications such as Google Drive, OneDrive, or others.
    3. Quit Dropbox:
    4. Relaunch Finder using the following steps:
      1. Click on the Apple icon in the top left of your screen
      2. Click on "force quit"
      3. Select Finder then click "Relaunch"
    5. Restart the Dropbox application.
     
    If the issue is resolved at this point, it may be due to the third-party applications running on the computer.
     
    If the issue persists, or you see that a new application is causing issues please let me know.
cbarberjust's avatar
cbarberjust
Explorer | Level 3

Hi, Jay -- I followed these five steps, but to no avail; I still can't see the Smart Sync icon. I'm running macOS Mojave, 10.14.2.

  • cbarberjust's avatar
    cbarberjust
    Explorer | Level 3
    6 years ago

    Hi, Jay -- I have Dropbox Plus. I didn't realize that gave me access to Selective Sync but not Smart Sync. I enabled Selective Sync and now I'm all set. Thanks for following up. 

    • Jay's avatar
      Jay
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
      6 years ago
      No worries, have a great evening!
  • skydogpictures's avatar
    skydogpictures
    New member | Level 2
    2 years ago

    When you say "smart sync icons" do you mean the little green check marks next to your folders that let you know you're syncing from your desktop to the on-line Dropbox?

     

    I'm a very new Macbook Air using Ventura OS and I can't seem to see those icons. In fact unless I go on line to my dropbox account and actually upload folders, they won't sync from my desktop. I am on a Dropbox Plus plan not professional or Business. Could this be the problem as to why I am not seeing those icons or why my files are not syncing automatically to the on-line dropbox page?

     

    Thanks.

    • Walter's avatar
      Walter
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
      2 years ago

      Hey skydogpictures, sorry to hear you;re having issues with this.

       

      Can you please send us a screenshot of the app's exact status and version as shown in your menu bar at the moment? 

      • DV87's avatar
        DV87
        Helpful | Level 6
        2 years ago

        I'm having this issue too. Seeing the history here, it seems like a persistent problem, and it really hinders the usability of Smart Sync. I recently switched to a new computer (Mac Studio with M2 Ultra chip running MacOS Ventura 13.4.1 (c)) and this is a fresh installation of the latest Dropbox app. I was able to get the sync icons to come back once by going to System Settings > Privacy and Security > Extensions > Added Extensions > Dropbox — and then unchecking the checkboxes associated with Dropbox... Then I relaunched Finder and rechecked those same checkboxes. However, every time I restart the computer the sync icons disappear again, and I haven't been able to get them to come back again since that first time. I've tried all of the highlighted solutions in this thread — but none are working anymore. When I right-click a file, I am able to see the finder options to "make available offline" and/or "make online only" — so clearly the functionality is there. I just don't see the sync status icons. I suspect this might be some sort of issue pertaining to this Apple operating system since it's still relatively new... But given that this thread dates back more than a year, it appears to be an ongoing problem for Apple users. 

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