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Forum Discussion
Request regarding MacOS X 10.10 (Yosemite) & 10.11 (El Capitan)
I just received a notice that dropbox will cease support for OS 10.10 and 10.11.
The notice, giving it the most leeway i can, indicated that i should consider upgrading my OS or use a web brows...
Hi justmeinNJ & Chern - thanks for dropping by our Community to share your feedback on this.
As you probably know, as of October 17th 2022, the Dropbox desktop app will no longer work on any Mac device running OS X 10.11 or older.
If you do not wish to or cannot update your operating system, all your files will still be available through other compatible computers with supported operating systems, through supported mobile devices, and on the Dropbox website. However, on October 17th, 2022, devices running Mac OS X 10.11 or older will no longer be able to log in and access content through the Dropbox desktop app.
Kindly note that we regularly release new versions of the Dropbox desktop app with additional features, better performance, and security enhancements and these are not always compatible with older systems.
Apple stopped providing security updates to OS X 10.10 and OS X 10.11 in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
We are ending our support of the Dropbox desktop app for these operating systems to keep our product offerings in-line.
Let me know if you have anything else to add or ask.
As of today 6 January 2023, the Dropbox app v164.x is Sierra+ only, so all syncing will stop on El Capitan because the app can't launch anymore.
BUT…
There's still a way! 🙂
Downgrade to v163 which is the last version to launch on El Capitan.
Get the offline installer here:
https://dropboxforum.com/t5/Dropbox-desktop-client-builds/Stable-Build-163-4-5456/td-p/644068
However, it requires a 3rd party app that can block specific network connections, like Little Snitch.
You will have to block dropboxstatic.com which is where the creepy autoupdate downloads new versions.
Also, you may need to prevent the autoupdate to install the desktop app into alternative locations.
That may require more advanced knowledge of how to handle the MacOS file system.
You may want to lock the first few top level folders inside the Dropbox.app package as well as the app itself so that they are not writable to anyone. That goes via Finder Info window, also via context menu if you're using e.g. XtraFinder.
The updater may also try to install the desktop app into ~/Library/Application Support/Dropbox/Dropbox.app.
To block it, delete this app instance and create a blank folder named exactly the same: "Dropbox.app". It will change its icon into a "nonfunctional application". Lock it as well so that no one can write to it.
I'm not sure what exactly ~/Library/Dropbox/DropboxMacUpdate.app does, but I blocked it the same way as the aforementioned app instance.
With these measures in place, syncing continues to work on El Capitan as of today.
~~~
That all said, today I have opened a pCloud account and migrated all content anyway. 😛
So, been using Dropbox for a while now, and was very happy with the software so far, until the notice to upgrade OS, which is no go, as even if I wanted to do it, I would not be able to. So simply switching to pCloud which still works like a charm. Had to say it, a legacy version would not kill anyone.
loukash's notes make it seem a legacy would be pretty trivial. Maybe we are still in an interim and it will stop as I kinda suspect they may redesign the file transfer engine as a result of kernel extensions being impossible(?) in newer macOS's - will have to wait a while to know.
I would lower my opinion of them if all it did need was for DB to allow old code to continue operating!
- Reading through all the replies above, I did keep some older version of Dropbox installers just in case.
That said, my 10.11 machine is running fine on pCloud, albeit a little slower due to encryption.
Would give the snitching tool and the "raising" of OS a appearance a try. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the dollars involved, it's always a commercial decision to decline further support and upgrades in the guise of obsolescence. Heck, some power plants still run on windows 98.
Thanks for the info, may finish trying that out. So far have found that I needed a newer 10.12 machine to download the offline (or any) installer - then move the file.
To bypass the MacOS system check, use an addon/extension like https://add0n.com/useragent-switcher.html to make your browser appear as if you were using Catalina or whatever.
yeah, wondered if some browser option like that might work. Had a running machine with Catalina by my left hand so turned that way! Many thanks and hope someone finds that useful!
Any updates if anyone still getting synch after a week now?
Colin W.1 wrote:Any updates if anyone still getting synch after a week now?
After successfully blocking v163 from updating last week – see dropboxforum.com/t5/648938/highlight/true#M48871 – I simply moved on with pCloud. So I don't even know if v163 still works. pCloud does almost everything for me that Dropbox did, and even more, and better.
Dropbox is now in use only for apps that are connecting to it directly via API, like certain browser extensions or password managers. pCloud apparently lacks that mechanism, or perhaps Dropbox rather became such a ubiquitous product that many 3rd party developers don't support anything else.(edit: it's called "pCloud", not "pDrive", haha…)
(or to paraphrase George Clinton's Parliament/Funkadelic: Make my cloud to pCloud, I want my cloud uncut! 😉 )
Hello, DB indeed stopped working on my desktop; the app in fact just disappeared one day (swoosh!) and no longer syncs when accessing the folders through a browser, which means no coordination between my work laptop and home desktop. This is beyond a serious nuisance as it impacts my work.
I appreciate the suggestions made on this thread, but while I am not a troglodyte (!) some of technical work-arounds are over my head (or beyond the time I can devote to the task). I consulted my tech person who basically thinks there is little way to avoid buying a new desktop--with the caveat that of course once I do so all sorts of other things won't work on the new machine (ie I have Adobe software suite pre-subscription mode, that I use a lot). Annoying...
Hi DrJ1,
Sounds like you are in the same boat as me, I want to keep Adobe pre-CC in use. There are other ways of synching files and I think those solutions will be cheaper than than 1 month of CC! I share some folders with others so DB is harder to replace there, as well as the 1Password synch that worked well for me...
