After upgrading to Mac Catalina OS, I found 408+ of my files in dropbox now have .icloud extensions and won't open. Apple says it is dropbox's issue. I need the files. How do I retrieve them from dropbox?

Hi Jay, Thanks for this. In fact, I never moved these files out of Dropbox - they were safely in Dropbox when I had Apple clean-install Catalina. Somehow during the installation, Catalina added .icloud extensions to aliases already in Dropbox. I don't understand how the OS got access to them - that seems very wrong to me - but I know that they are aliases because when I couldn't open the files directly from dropbox, I dragged one to my desktop and it disappeared, "poof!" Apple thinks that the files are actually still in the Dropbox cloud, I just can't access them because they have .icloud extensions preventing them from linking up to Dropbox. They say the only way I can access the actual files (as opposed to just the aliases) is through you, Dropbox. Can you help? Thanks,Susan

Hi Jay, Thanks again for trying to help me. The Apple technicians say that there is no way to change or reverse the extension on the file that will make it so that I can retrieve the files themselves. Yes. It appears that iCloud went into Dropbox and replaced the Dropbox links with aliases, but they still say that the actual files are in the Dropbox cloud and not in the iCloud. So what I am asking you is where then are my actual Dropbox files now, and is there some way Dropbox can make them available to me? By the way, what I've discovered by rummaging the internet and iCloud is that these are called "icloud synchronization files," if that is any help. Thanks,Susan

Hi Jay, I don't understand. What change do you mean? The added file extension? Are you saying that somehow iCloud changed the extensions in my files that were in dropbox before I upgraded to Catalina? The files were opening fine before the upgrade; one of the upsetting things about this is that I keep all of the projects I'm currently working on in Dropbox, as a matter of convenience. So I'm using them all the time. If they aren't in Dropbox, where have they gone? Thanks, Susan

I'm dismayed that this bug is still screwing things up for people. I never resolved my issue; I sacrificed the files. When I went to Apple, as the Dropbox agent directed, they said it was Dropbox's problem. Eventually I found someone at Apple that told me the problem was that I was using two different cloud systems for storage, and that I should choose one. I chose to no longer use Dropbox. I'm sorry that you've lost so many files; sounds like they were important.

Hi slaxton, thanks for joining the Community! I'm sorry to hear about this. It sounds like the file that you're referring to seems to be a file generated by iCloud. It's possible that iCloud generated a placeholder of the original file when you moved it to iCloud originally. If this was the case, the placeholder file could have been created prior to you adding it to the Dropbox folder, in which case you copied over the iCloud placeholder instead of the original file. Please note that this behavior is an implementation that Apple made on iCloud since Sierra. I'd recommend trying to download your files to your machine from iCloud using their system, and then move them to your Dropbox folder. Hope this helps to clarify matters!

files with .icloud extensions not opening

gmath59
Explorer | Level 3
9 months ago
Same issue here, noticed it very late in the process. So all backups are overwritten. Paying a lot of money to dropbox to have trustworthy file management. I am now in the process to dig deep in my kept USB sticks and old drives to recover as much as possible. This is a real disappointment.
- Mark
  Super User II
  9 months ago
  gmath59 wrote:
  
  Same issue here, noticed it very late in the process. So all backups are overwritten. Paying a lot of money to dropbox to have trustworthy file management. I am now in the process to dig deep in my kept USB sticks and old drives to recover as much as possible. This is a real disappointment.
  
  Sadly the issue isnt a Dropbox one - its the fact that the files are stored on iCloud that is the issue. Dropbox IS backing up and storing files as it should - its just that the computer/you havent put the correct ones in there. It is backing up .icloud files because thats what is in the folder. Either they've not been downloaded from iCloud correctly before uploading OR you are trying to double sync
  - gmath59
    Explorer | Level 3
    9 months ago
    Thanks for making me the stupid one. Could very well be that the problem is not dropbox related, but I suffer from the results in dropbox. To be honest: I have never created .icloud files, I didn't. even know there is something like .icloud files. I also never have actively put files from my iCloud to dropbox. So what did cause this is a mystery to me.
    But as I already mentioned I'm old school have several old drives lying around to recover the lost files.
    I saw the problem is over 3 years old but never got a notice, that's what frustrates me the most.
Jay
Dropbox Staff
5 years ago
Hi slaxton, thanks for joining the Community!

I'm sorry to hear about this. It sounds like the file that you're referring to seems to be a file generated by iCloud.

It's possible that iCloud generated a placeholder of the original file when you moved it to iCloud originally. If this was the case, the placeholder file could have been created prior to you adding it to the Dropbox folder, in which case you copied over the iCloud placeholder instead of the original file.

Please note that this behavior is an implementation that Apple made on iCloud since Sierra.

I'd recommend trying to download your files to your machine from iCloud using their system, and then move them to your Dropbox folder.

Hope this helps to clarify matters!
- slaxton
  Helpful | Level 5
  5 years ago
  Hi Jay,
  
  Thanks for this. In fact, I never moved these files out of Dropbox - they were safely in Dropbox when I had Apple clean-install Catalina. Somehow during the installation, Catalina added .icloud extensions to aliases already in Dropbox. I don't understand how the OS got access to them - that seems very wrong to me - but I know that they are aliases because when I couldn't open the files directly from dropbox, I dragged one to my desktop and it disappeared, "poof!" Apple thinks that the files are actually still in the Dropbox cloud, I just can't access them because they have .icloud extensions preventing them from linking up to Dropbox. They say the only way I can access the actual files (as opposed to just the aliases) is through you, Dropbox. Can you help?
  
  Thanks,
  Susan
  - slaxton
    Helpful | Level 5
    5 years ago
    Hi Jay,
    
    Thanks for being in touch. When I try downloading the files from Dropbox, they completely disappear - it is clear that the "files" with iCloud extensions appended are merely aliases. I was on the phone with Apple yesterday for 2 1/2 hours and they couldn't find a way to fix the problem, though they acknowledged that the Catalina conversion probably caused the issue, as indicated by the "iCloud" appendage. Note that this is a double extension; the files in question read "filename.docx.icloud" etc.
    
    Apple says my only hope for retrieving the 408 affected files is to find out from Dropbox another way to access the actual files rather than simply the links to them. They can't do that for me, so I am wondering if Dropbox can. Note that of course the computer was backed up by Time Machine, but Time Machine (understandably) doesn't back up Dropbox files, only the software. I thought the files in Dropbox were "safe" from the clean reinstall of Catalina, and as it turns out, they were not. How did Dropbox let Apple into their system? I'd be worried about that if I were Dropbox.
    
    If you can't help me, can you direct me to someone who can? If I subscribe to a higher level of Dropbox, can I speak to someone on the phone for support?
    
    Thank you,
    Susan