Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Box Drive for Mac Still Not Working Properly With macOS Big Sur and M1 Macs

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
67,577
37,962


Nearly three months after Apple publicly released macOS Big Sur, a growing number of users have expressed frustration that the Box Drive app is still experiencing issues on the latest version of the operating system. Many users rely on Box as a cloud storage provider, similar to iCloud, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, and Google Drive.

box-drive-app.jpg

On both Intel-based and M1-based Macs, users have reported receiving the following error message after attempting to open the Box Drive app: "Box Drive's system extension failed to load. Please make sure it has been enabled in System Preferences > Security & Privacy and then restart your computer."

While enabling the app's system extension and rebooting as advised should resolve the issue for most Intel-based Mac users, this is not always the case, and the solution does not work at all on Apple's new M1-based Macs. As a result, M1 Mac users have been forced to use the web or mobile versions of Box while waiting on a compatibility update.

A few months ago, Box said that it planned to release a beta version of the app with M1 support in early 2021 for enterprise customers. However, the company has not provided a more specific timeframe since then, leading some users to grow impatient and consider migrating their individual or corporate accounts to rival services.

"We're going to start looking for alternative products that do the same and work on M1 machines," wrote one user in the Box support forums.

In a statement shared with MacRumors today, Box reiterated that it is "actively updating" the Box Drive app to be fully compatible with macOS Big Sur and M1 Macs, but the company did not provide an update on timing.

"We're actively updating our Box Drive desktop application to be compatible with the new M1 Macs and Big Sur," said Box. "We'll share more information on this release, including timing, as soon as possible. In the interim, all users can continue to securely access Box through the web and on the Box mobile apps."

macOS Big Sur beta testing began in June 2020, and the operating system was released in November, the same month that M1 Macs launched.

Article Link: Box Drive for Mac Still Not Working Properly With macOS Big Sur and M1 Macs
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2021/02/01/box-drive-macos-big-sur-m1-mac-issues/
I've noticed it. I use Box Drive for work and I've been forced to use it only on my PC lately.

Adobe Creative Cloud doesn't work on Big Sur for me either. Causes huge CPU spikes that make me Force Quit every time I start up my MacBook. I Googled and found other people have this issue too (at least on the 16" MBP) and supposedly a fix has come out, but it hasn't solved my issue.
 
  • Like
Reactions: EmotionalSnow and johnmarki
OneDrive is terrible on Big Sur, regardless of architecture. It constantly freezes up, relaunches, asks you to sign in again, tells you your index is corrupt, etc.

The lastest version is 20.169.0823.0006 from October 16, 2020.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: jonnysods
This is a nightmare of mine... losing access to something I rely on so completely. Now days with remote work, cloud is so very necessary. Everything I do is on Sharepoint for work. Everything I do personally is in the cloud too. Maybe most of Box's users are Windows based so management doesn't think this necessary?
 
ThisBougieLife said:
I've noticed it. I use Box Drive for work and I've been forced to use it only on my PC lately.

Adobe Creative Cloud doesn't work on Big Sur for me either. Causes huge CPU spikes that make me Force Quit every time I start up my MacBook. I Googled and found other people have this issue too (at least on the 16" MBP) and supposedly a fix has come out, but it hasn't solved my issue.
Click to expand...
Just the creative cloud app is causing the spike or the applications opening? Have you tried clean installing CC? I removed all the apps (preference files and any application support folders) and when I did, those CPU spikes went away. I know it's not ideal but it's a fix.
 
TimTheSheriff said:
Google Drive Stream doesn’t work on the M1 Macs either (unless I’m doing something wrong). Dropbox, however, works flawlessly. OneDrive seems to work well too.
Click to expand...

AppleTO said:
OneDrive is terrible on Big Sur, regardless of architecture. It constantly freezes up, relaunches, asks you to sign in again, tells you your index is corrupt, etc.
Click to expand...
OneDrive is a hot mess on all MacOS releases. I have never been able to use it reliably.
 
  • Like
  • Disagree
Reactions: chemenski, Silencio and AppleTO
AppleTO said:
OneDrive is terrible on Big Sur, regardless of architecture. It constantly freezes up, relaunches, asks you to sign in again, tells you your index is corrupt, etc.
Click to expand...
I've been pretty lucky with OneDrive on my Big Sur. Granted, on first install, it locks up 100% and syncs everything (On-Demand) - have to let that go for awhile (depending on how much data you have in OneDrive) - then you can work with the application after it syncs EVERYTHING. Been working ok for me - I use it with personal Office 365 and Work Sharepoint.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mgymnop
edgonzalez32 said:
Just the creative cloud app is causing the spike or the applications opening? Have you tried clean installing CC? I removed all the apps (preference files and any application support folders) and when I did, those CPU spikes went away. I know it's not ideal but it's a fix.
Click to expand...

It's the background processes CCXProcess and CCLibrary, according to the Activity Monitor.

I'll try clean installing.
 
I'm totally shocked that Box was (a) caught by surprise by M1's impact and (b) that they haven't taken quick action.
 
That’s exactly why you don’t replace mission critical hardware with new architectures until you’re absolutely sure all of your software/peripherals work. Should a company like Box already have a compatibility update out? Yes, but don’t cry because you took the leap and updates are still catching up. Same thing goes for OS updates. Don’t just blindly fire them off on your business machines when they come out until you’re sure it’s not going to break compatibility with anything. I can’t tell you how many of my clients do this and have things break. They ask me why said things broke and my first question is always “did you update to the latest os or get a new computer?”
 
  • Disagree
Reactions: Buran
AppleTO said:
OneDrive is terrible on Big Sur, regardless of architecture. It constantly freezes up, relaunches, asks you to sign in again, tells you your index is corrupt, etc.

The lastest version is 20.169.0823.0006 from October 16, 2020.
Click to expand...
OneDrive is just horrific - late last year I tried to move all my files from Dropbox to OneDrive - after poor performance and multiple attempts to fix it over a month, I had to go back.
 
Does anyone know if Box Sync works? I've been using that on my Intel Macs, but will be jumping over to M1 soon.
 
I’ve been having problems with a number of software products in Catalina, so I’m not in a hurry to move to Big Sur on my Intel iMac. My M1 Macbook Pro, of course, does run Big Sur, but I haven’t put any of that software on it. A lot of the problems are with software like my Logitech control, USB Overdrive, which I used for many years before. Both apps are supposed to work, but I encounter the same problems of the security panel. I do what it says, but it doesn’t work.
 
I think it uses the same system extension as Google Drive File Stream which hasn't worked on my M1 Mac ever. It was really flaky with the Big Sur beta on my Intel MBP. Seems to require the same accepting of a non-existent dialog.

If they had been told about it being deprecated, I'm very surprised a fix wasn't created months before launch, but then again I have had to switch away from the M1 version of Chrome due to it crashing every 30 mins
 
jonnysods said:
OneDrive is just horrific - late last year I tried to move all my files from Dropbox to OneDrive - after poor performance and multiple attempts to fix it over a month, I had to go back.
Click to expand...

I subscribed to the 200GB iCloud Drive just about a month ago and moved around 150GB of my most used stuff from OneDive. At least I don’t need the desktop app anymore...
 
  • Like
Reactions: BigMcGuire
Both Box and Google should have had their apps ready to go. Can't believe Google File Stream isn't working... and apparently it'll be a couple more months until it's ready.
 
4jasontv said:
I haven't used it on M1, so I can't speak for that, but when it's running on my 2018 MBP it sounds like a Helicarrier at full throttle.
Click to expand...
To be clear, this is on a 2013 MBP with a multi-gig OneDrive with thousands of files.
 
gerjomarty said:
Does anyone know if Box Sync works? I've been using that on my Intel Macs, but will be jumping over to M1 soon.
Click to expand...

I read in the Box support forums that Box Sync does still work.

There is also an App Store app called CloudMounter that is supposed to work with Box on M1 Macs, but I haven't started my demo period yet.
 
I have zero patience with developers who don't have their apps updated in time for new releases of Apple's OSes given that there are months and months of developers' preview versions. That's the entire purpose Apple releases them.

The worst offender I've found so far is ASIX. Their AX88179 driver (for a popular USB Ethernet chip) is still a beta and requires you to disable SIP to install it. It's now February. 🤦‍♂️
 
  • Like
  • Disagree
Reactions: amartinez1660, techfreak23, Silencio and 1 other person
nsayer said:
I have zero patience with developers who don't have their apps updated in time for new releases of Apple's OSes given that there are months and months of developers' preview versions. That's the entire purpose Apple releases them.
Click to expand...
In the case of Box is it too much to assume this was a management decision?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back