DropBox external drive no longer supported on MacOS... WHY!!!

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Level 1

18 points

DropBox external drive no longer supported on MacOS... WHY!!!

Im now getting messages from DropBox that MacOS no longer supports external hard drives... and relocation of syncing external drive folders/files.

I have way to much data to place on internal ssd/drive.
It now going to un sync with all my files, on my external drive.
When will there be a fix?
Is there a run around... Like "folder alias" that would trustfully work?
This affects thousands of high end users... Apple dont do this to us!!

See "9to5mac.com" article about it.

Please fix!!! Thanks

Posted on Mar 9, 2023 1:13 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

etresoft

Level 8

46,988 points

Mar 10, 2023 12:32 PM in response to GiosBronti

GiosBronti wrote:

but most of what Im reading is, even if the 3rd parties get the new macOS API working properly with their apps, it still can not store onto an external drive. With your understanding and knowledge on the issue, is this a correct statement or is the ball in the 3rd parties court to make this to happen?

Those are all correct statements.

I'm just saying that there is no requirement to use Apple's APIs. 3rd party apps are happy to avoid using Apple's APIs for years when it is a an inconvenience and hassle for the end user.

I'm certainly not saying there is anything wrong with using Apple's APIs. It's just that if I decided to add cloud sync to my app, I would probably take use Apple's APIs because I have no idea how to do that. This would be a new feature for my users, so nobody loses anything. They would only gain new capabilities.

But if I were already a large corporation with many years of cloud services experience across many different platforms, and a large install base, it would be an entirely different scenario.

Last question, do you think an "alias" link could be used back to a external drive?

You definitely don't want to try that. Never try to hack internals with aliases. There are legitimate, supported ways to either move your account to an external drive, or possibly expand your home directory. But you'll never see those methods mentioned anywhere on the internet. If you want to try, I try it out and give you more information. But from past experience, many people don't want that. I'm just letting you know there may be better options. They may require more advanced techniques and they might not eliminate all risk with respect to breakage in current or future operating systems. But literally anything is better than aliases.

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Answer 2

Rudegar

Level 10

171,012 points

Mar 9, 2023 1:21 PM in response to GiosBronti

This is a user forum, you are not addressing apple here just fellow users

you can try contacting apple Support -> Get Support (apple.com) / Contact - Official Apple Support

and or give them feedback -> Product Feedback - Apple

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Answer 3

GiosBronti Author

Level 1

18 points

Mar 10, 2023 6:18 AM in response to GiosBronti

My apologies everyone... I was login to both "Community" and "Apple Support" and mistakenly posted in the "Community". Will try to not let that happen again. Sorry again and Thanks :-)

For the Community, for those with the same issue... below helps with better understanding, of the issue, but is not a fix. This is from: https://9to5mac.com/2023/02/14/dropbox-macos-external-drives/

"Mac users who also use Dropbox have been experiencing some issues recently. That’s because Apple killed an old extension used by cloud services with macOS Monterey 12.3 and replaced it with a new API. Dropbox is finally working on a new version of its macOS app that works with this API, but it comes with a downside. Users will no longer be able to store their Dropbox folder on external disks.

macOS Monterey 12.3 was released in March 2022. But even before the update, Dropbox had been warning its users that the macOS app would lose some of its functionality due to the latest changes made to Apple’s operating system. For example, it’s no longer possible to open online-only files (placeholders) stored in the cloud.

Some of these compatibility issues will be fixed once Dropbox releases an update to its app to make it compatible with the new macOS API for cloud platforms. But there are some other limitations that seem more permanent.

New macOS API limits how Dropbox and other cloud apps work

For instance, Dropbox currently lets users store their Dropbox folder on an external storage. However, this will no longer be possible even after the update with support for macOS Monterey and macOS Ventura. This is because all content from cloud apps on macOS will now be moved to the ~/Library/CloudStorage folder for privacy reasons."

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Answer 4

etresoft

Level 8

46,988 points

Mar 10, 2023 6:39 AM in response to GiosBronti

GiosBronti wrote:

New macOS API limits how Dropbox and other cloud apps work

Just to clarify that this is not true. There is a new macOS API that provides cloud functionality. This new API requires that files be stored inside the user's home directory. Apple is discontinuing many legacy aspects and behaviours of macOS, and replacing them with iOS-friendly behaviours.

However:

1) There is no requirement that any 3rd party app use Apple's new API. 3rd party developers ignore Apple APIs all the time. Then, when their software doesn't work properly, the blame Apple. That doesn't mean Apple broke anything. That only means that Apple provides some functionality, the 3rd party developer chose not to use Apple's functionality, and the 3rd party developer is unwilling, or unable, to implement their own version. In most cases, it doesn't matter whether a 3rd party choses to use an Apple API or to ignore an API, the choice is the 3rd party developer's to make.

2) Advanced users can put their entire home directory on an external drive, or host just a portion of their home directory on an external drive. This is an advanced option. Most users can, and should, just use the defaults. But the option is always there.

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Answer 5

GiosBronti Author

Level 1

18 points

Mar 10, 2023 11:25 AM in response to etresoft

Thank you "etresoft" Yes, I understand about the 3rd parties need to get on the ball on their part... but most of what Im reading is, even if the 3rd parties get the new macOS API working properly with their apps, it still can not store onto an external drive. With your understanding and knowledge on the issue, is this a correct statement or is the ball in the 3rd parties court to make this to happen?

Last question, do you think an "alias" link could be used back to a external drive?

Thanks for your help and responses!

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Answer 6

MartinR

Level 6

19,387 points

Mar 9, 2023 1:39 PM in response to GiosBronti

You should voice your concerns to Dropbox, as it is their product that is the issue. Dropbox has struggled with adapting their product to macOS Monterey for over a year already.

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