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c1000's avatar
c1000
Helpful | Level 5
7 years ago

Inability to Activate Smart Sync (remote management software & third party pointing device drivers).

Any luck?  I have a machine that I just updated to 10.13.4 and clicking "Allow" still does nothing for enabling the smart sync extension.    EDIT: I was trying to do this via VNC to a mac that di...
Security
Team admin
  • Ross_S's avatar
    Ross_S
    7 years ago

    Thanks Jay + Lancelot.

     

     
    We did end up getting to the bottom of this. This isn't a "bug", but a change in behaviour that only happens in certain circumstances.
    My guess here is that you have a graphics tablet or 3rd party mouse connected perhaps Lancelot?
    As this is designed behaviour by Apple, it's not something that we're currently trying to fix.
     
    The following will work and isn't too complicated, even if it may seem it:
     
    1. Restart your computer, holding down command+R to enter Recovery Mode
    2. Open your Terminal app (Located at /Applications/Utilities/Terminal)
    3. Copy and paste the following line into the Terminal. 

    spctl kext-consent add G7HH3F8CAK

    4. After this you can restart the machine, and let it load as normal. Once restarted, you can re-install Dropbox again. When Dropbox has finished installing, while it will not prompt you again to install Smart Sync, the required components will now be present on your machine.
     
    Hope this helps you!
     
     
    **********************************
     
    Here's a bit more context for the technically minded:
     
    As above, this isn't a bug, but infact designed behaviour by Apple. 
     
    To improve security on macOS, kernel extensions installed with or after the installation of macOS High Sierra require user consent to load. This is known as User Approved Kernel Extension Loading. Any user can approve a kernel extension, even if they don’t have administrator privileges. (Source: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208019)
     
    Unfortunately for us, Apple blocks certain GUI inputs from successfully clicking the approve button in System Preferences. There is no feedback to the user about why the approval fails. The two situations that this happens are:
     
    1. If the end user clicking the approve button is using remote management software like VNC or TeamViewer to access the system and perform the approval operation.
     
    2. If a third party pointing device driver -- like Logitech or Wacom -- is installed.
IIT's avatar
IIT
Helpful | Level 6

For anyone experiencing this issue we have now resolved it. The issue we experienced with nothing happening when we clicked the Allow button was due to the fact we were trying this using remote control tools.

 

OSX Sierra prevents 3rd party apps that emulate the mouse from pressing this button. As soon as we had the end user press the Allow button using the direct connected mouse/trackpad this enabled Smart Sync on the device.

 

Confirmed working on OSX 10.13.4 with Dropbox Client v47.4.74

usegnini's avatar
usegnini
Explorer | Level 4
7 years ago

Thanks, it worked... amazing. Once again the mysteries of code.

  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    7 years ago

    Just to jump in here, it's always best to state exactly how you're changing details on the machine. 

     

    If you're using VNC, remote logins, teamviewer, or any other software, this can conflict with the OS, as IIT said. If emulated mouse presses aren't allowed, then you're prevented from doing even the most basic of functions.

     

    Without telling us this aspect, you're preventing us from investigating the matter in further detail. Even though to you it might be insignificant to login to a user's machine remotely, bear in mind this isn't the standard method for our own troubleshooting, and it could indicate more issues than a simple mouse emulation.

     

    We're glad to hear that this has helped all the users so far in relation to clicking the Allow button. If however anyone is still experiencing problems, please let us know more!

     

    • IIT's avatar
      IIT
      Helpful | Level 6
      7 years ago

      Thanks for your update.

       

      Some feedback for your support (Dropbox).

       

      You never asked the question or were you (Dropbox) aware of this issue with remote access on Apple devices or you would have suggested it as a possible solution. I have found the support from Dropbox in resolving this issue very poor and whilst the community has been a significantly more helpful resource.

       

      The community has identified an issue and fix and I suggest it's added to your KB or documentation for deplying and enabling smart sync on Mac devices so other users don't waste days of their time looking for the fix and re-building machines.

       

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