I lost my files in Finder and Dropbox after updating to macOS 15.3.2. Why does updating macOS cause data loss? How can I recover the lost data?
A system update itself shouldn’t delete your data, but a few things can go wrong during the upgrade process:
iCloud/Dropbox re-sync issues. After an update, cloud services sometimes rescan your folders. If something glitches during the sync, files can appear missing or get removed from local storage.
Finder index corruption. The update might have rebuilt Spotlight or Finder’s database, making files temporarily “disappear” even though they’re still on disk.
System bugs cause the data to be wiped.
Maybe your files are permanently lost, or maybe not. You can try these tricks to see if your data can be restored.
Check iCloud Drive/Dropbox online
Sometimes the files are still in the cloud, even if Finder isn’t showing them locally.
Look in the “Deleted Files”/“Version History” section of Dropbox online
You can often restore anything deleted within the last 30–180 days.
Search with Spotlight
Occasionally, the files exist, but Finder lost track.
Use a data recovery tool to search for the missing data
I suggest you shut down your Mac immediately to stop the lost data from being overwritten and use a data recovery tool to rescue the files.
You can use the special iBoysoft Mac Recovery Mode. It lets you boot into macOS Recovery and launch iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac from iBoysoft’s server without installing it on your Mac to scan the internal drive.
This can avoid the lost data being overwritten and can recover your missing files to a large extent.