DTTG 3.8.15 syn doesn’t work!!! neither through Bonjour nor through iCloud (CloudKit).
Device: iPhone 15 Plus, iOS 26,2,1
iPad mini, iPadOS 26,2,1
Imac m1, macOS 26,2
- Did you set up a sync location?
- If so, did you tap the sync location and enable databases to sync?
yes, after I have turned off and on again, there has showed a copy of the original database, but included nothing. Then this empty Database has synchronised with my database on iCloud. now the original database on my Mac is empty
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That would be highly unusual and we have no other similar reports.
In DEVONthink on the Mac, hold the Option key and select Help > Report Bug.
Addendum: This is, unfortunately, a bug we introduced in DEVONthink To Go 3.8.15. We have already uploaded a maintenance update which is now waiting for Apple to release it to the App Store. We apologize for the inconveniences.
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This bug appears to be critical. I attempted to force a sync in DTTG by turning the sync store (Dropbox) off and back on, which resulted in the deletion of many files on my Mac. This behavior was very unexpected; I have never had such an issue in the past five years since I began using DT.
Fortunately, I have another Mac that contains physical copies of my databases, so now I am recovering the data.
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As has already been mentioned, 3.8.16 was submitted for review and is awaiting App Store approval.
which resulted in the deletion of many files on my Mac.
I can’t reproduce this issue here. Are you using a shallow sync in DEVONthink To Go?
Also, don’t mess about in 3.8.15. Wait for the 3.8.16 to be approved then update and check the state of things.
Fortunately, I have another Mac that contains physical copies of my databases, so now I am recovering the data.
Why don’t you have backups on both Macs if the data is critical to you?
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I can’t reproduce this issue here. Are you using a shallow sync in DEVONthink To Go?
Also, don’t mess about in 3.8.15. Wait for the 3.8.16 to be approved then update and check the state of things.
Yes, I am using a shallow sync. After encountering the issue, I just deleted DTTG 3.8.15 to prevent further data loss.
Why don’t you have backups on both Macs if the data is critical to you?
Of course, I do have multiple layers of backups. However, at the time of the issue, the most recent databases were on my other mac, so I simply chose to start from there.
i´m not happy about that. Please check before you make an update. sync is killing my data. 
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same with me.
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Same issue for me. Very unhappy about that.
Did someone experience data loss by just opening DTTG 3.8.15 and trying to sync? Or only by taking further steps (deleting and reinstalling DTTG etc.)?
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Yes. Just lost all data (except Recently Modified) on my iPhone when I synced a few minutes ago. It also duplicated all the databases even though they were empty. So I’m not syncing DTTG on my iPad, and I’m not going to try reinstalling anything yet. It also looks like syncing has affected the data on my Mac, judging by the big drop in file numbers, but I’m still trying to work out what’s missing. (I have that backed up to before the sync, thankfully, so I’ve paused my four-hourly hard drive back-up to preserve the last intact version. I realise this is a gripe list rather than a solution, but I mention it to indicate the scale of the problem.
Update: Looks like the file count on my Mac has fallen from 15,348 to 6,390.
Are you using a shallow sync in DEVONthink TO Go?
Is it possible to experience data loss through this known bug when solely using Dropbox sync (and no shallow sync) by just opening the DTTG and DT Mac apps? My Mac (DT 3.9.17) seems to sync everything finde and the DTTG apps just won’t do anything after I open them. But I need to know now if my sync could be corrupted!
The original databases were set to Always but the duplicate new ones appear as On Demand.
- Are you importing or indexing into the database on the Mac?
- If indexing, from where specifically?
- I haven’t been able to reproduce any “data loss”.
- I wouldn’t be worried about the “sync being corrupted”. Sync data is not your database and sync is not a backup. If your data is important, you should have proper, primary local backups.
PS: Version 3 of our apps is in maintenance and will be retired from development and support at some point. Version 4 is the active focus of development. We highly encourage people to upgrade sooner rather than later.
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Thanks for the answer.
I did not say I don’t have a backup. But I would very much appreciate it if I could avoid the effort to check all my synced databases (in total around 18770 pdf files) for missing files and in case replace them from my TimeMachine backup, because this would be very time consuming and time is the one thing I don’t have too much of. Or is there a simple way to check for missing files if not manually?
File > Verify & Repair Database.
I always import everything to the Mac except one specific bank’s statements, because the bank only has a mobile app, so I have to open their app and download the document to DTTG to capture it. For all other files, I either drag them into the folder via the dashboard or the sorter, or create a new file and then add content. There are no files in another location, other than within DTTG on the iPhone and iPad, which are my “mirror” versions and intended as back-ups . I’ve never knowingly indexed. Rightly or wrongly, I only use DT as a virtual filing cabinet, and I don’t make use of the advanced stuff.