Latest version of client and this is occurring more frequently - itâs a showstopper. Basically the Nextcloud client shows this:
But clicking on the icon does nothing. Whilst itâs in this state, File Explorer will not open. Run Stop-Process nextcloud and File Explorer immediately opens. Launch NextCloud again and same problem.
Iâve now seen this on five clients and the client is about to throw Nextcloud out! Windows 11, latest patches.
Then file a bug report here: Issues · nextcloud/desktop · GitHub, logfiles might be interesting for the developers (Appendix C: Troubleshooting â Nextcloud Client Manual 3.11.81 documentation)
Will do but havenât got time now so itâll have to wait a couple of hours. Fortunately, this is on a brand new Windows 11 computer that the client will be switching to so at least theyâre not been stopped from working.
My suspicion is that itâs something to do with accidentally creating documents in a group that the user only has read-only access to. They unzipped a printer driver into the read-only folder (which worked) but then Nextcloud said it couldnât sync (not hint about read-only) - so deleted the unzipped files and this problem.
The only fix I know is to re-install Nextcloud - which requires and VERY annoying reboot.
Iâm afraid this might be the final straw for Nextcloud at this client 
I canât believe Iâm going to be recommending OneDrive! Yes, Iâve very disappointed.
Iâve raised a bug report on Github:
https://github.com/nextcloud/desktop/issues/6422
Iâve just spent two hours on the finance directors laptop trying to diagnose whatâs going on - managed to grab some logs.
But I suspect itâs too late - this level of disruption is too high and Iâve been asked to join a call tomorrow to discuss alternatives. Iâm going to find myself suggesting they increase their M365 subscription to embrace SharePoint/M365 groups and OneDrive. Canât believe Iâm doing that
My gut instinct is that it was this operation that I carried out this morning thatâs caused the problem:
In the two cases Iâve managed to get onto today, I saw a partial copy of the unzipped folder in the userâs Nextcloud.
Interesting point there: this group folder is read-only for the effected users.
Sigh - this is a horrible one. Getting calls from users saying theyâre unable to work. About to start copying all their Nextcloud data to SharePoint. Itâs just totally unusable. Video of the problem. Launch client, starts sync and then hangs - causing all file I/O to freeze.
Itâs unclear to me: did this start occurring after a recent update of either the server or the client? Or is this a brand new deployment where you/this client just sort of jumped in?
Also, you mentioned Windows 11 and a brand new computer: are you saying this isnât happening on some other computers in the same environment?
I note youâre running the most bleeding edge versions of both the server and the client; for an enterprise environment Iâd generally suggest a more conservative with what you run. v28 of the server for example is under 60 days old. Both v26 and v27 are mature and well maintained with regular critical bug fixes as needed.
Couple other suggestions:
groupfolders app (temporarily) or the folder (via the Web UI) you suspect to be the culprit?nextcloud.log. Particularly with groupfolders, thatâs where the clues may beend_to_end_encryption app or server side encryption app? (Theyâre very different and also not compatible with each other)Itâs unclear to me: did this start occurring after a recent update of either the server or the client? Or is this a brand new deployment where you/this client just sort of jumped in?
Nextcloud server was updated to 28.0.2 on Sunday 4th Feb. These errors started on Tuesday 6th Feb. So they had a full working day without any trouble so whilst the upgrade is a possible cause, I would have expected it to occur Monday. I think itâs something to do with a read-only (for most users) group folder when I re-zipped a printer driver.
Also, you mentioned Windows 11 and a brand new computer: are you saying this isnât happening on some other computers in the same environment?
On Tuesday, I happened to be remotely provisioning a new laptop for an existing user and saw the problem first hand.
Both v26 and v27 are mature and well maintained with regular critical bug fixes as needed.
The upgrade process always gives you the latest version?
Can you try to eliminate some variables to troubleshoot this? Youâve mentioned group folders: does the problem go away if you disable the
groupfoldersapp
Not practical unfortunately as they use group folders for day to day work. This would require the entire company to stop working.
- Do you have a staging environment? If youâre going to self-host, youâre the service provider too, particularly if youâre not paying for support. If so, it would be informative if you can reproduce the issue in a more isolated setting and simplify the noise in the logs while youâre trying to isolate the cause
I have my own lab environment which isnât a copy of the client. Doubt it would be practical to clone it either as there is 500GB of data in the Azure VM. Iâm trying to repeat the problem in my lab but itâs a much smaller environment.
- What do the server logs indicate? That is, your
nextcloud.log. Particularly with groupfolders, thatâs where the clues may be
Iâll have a look. Not had chance to breath as Iâve been re-installing Nextcloud for each user as that appears to help. But for one the problem came back.
- Your bug report states youâre using encryption: would that be end to end encryption (the
end_to_end_encryptionapp or server sideencryptionapp? (Theyâre very different and also not compatible with each other)
To be honest, I wasnât sure of how to answer that.
Suspect it is moot as client has just asked me for the process and cost to migrate to Microsoft 365. Which isnât a lot as they already have Microsoft 365 apps licenses already so upgrading to standard is ÂŁ2/user/month.
Just hopped on the server and notice there are some warnings since the upgrade:
Note 315 errors since 1st Feb but when I look at the Logging tab, itâs blank. In fact, I think itâs been blank for a whileâŠ
Do I have to look on the server itself?
Later⊠yes, itâs in the data folder nextcloud.log.
The logging section is blank for the same reason youâre getting the mjs warning. Your environment is not setup properly.
For the mjs issue, search the Admin Manual: https://docs.nextcloud.com
It means your web server isnât configured with the suggested configuration for Nextcloud v27/v28. The built-in proactive checks for misconfigurations like this got better in v28, but would have still been an invalid configuration in v27.
EDIT: To clarify, Iâm not suggesting this is inherently related to the other matters being experienced with the desktop client connections. But it does indicate a misconfiguration in this environment.
Iâll get those resolved. It would be preferable if the update procedure reminded you to check the admin screen for new requirements like this. Not forgetting when you do the upgrade manually via the command line. Which is what I nearly always do these days. Been burnt by updates failing due to backup taking too long.
Later⊠for the record, on nginx, the following needs adding to the configuration file:
server {
âinclude mime.types;
âtypes {
ââapplication/javascript mjs;
â}
ââŠ
}
It would be nice if Nextcloud told us in advance about configuration changes like this so one could research implementation before upgrading.
I agree.
However, there are many things that are your responsibility as a server administrator, configuring nginx and keeping the configuration up-to-date is unfortunately one of themâŠ
I subscribe to changes in files in the docs regarding webserver config using the great Github File Watcher.
Then I test the changes in a smaller deployment and roll them out if the work as expected.
To be fair, if your clientâs work is mission critical and they need a 24/7 available setup, you were putting a lot of pressure on yourself in the first place. As much as I prefer self-hosting, it sounds like Office 365 is a better fit for them (or a subscription to Nextcloud Enterprise).
This was in the release notes for NC 27:
https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/stable/admin_manual/release_notes/upgrade_to_27.html
You go first to the latest version of your branch, and then it proposes an upgrade to the next major version. But it is up to you when to do it.
I have a second setup to play around a bit, test some apps, test new versions in an environment similar to my real setup. That way at least, I avoid that something I care about stops working, and to run some tests if I have doubt if the server is involved is easily possible.
If you donât have the support of enterprise subscription helping you out, and the business should run all the time, Iâd try to check as much as possible.
Ohh completely agreed. Putting their eggs in an unsupported (as in using free version) of cloud storage was always a risky strategy.
Sadly I had an onsite meeting with the client on Friday and theyâve decided to move entirely into the Microsoft 365 stack. My job this week is to start migrating to Microsoft 365 groups/SharePoint/Teams/whatever they call it this week. Not that OneDrive as a sync client is perfect but at least I wonât have to try and fix Nextcloud with one hand behind my back.
Iâve got one other very small client using Nextcloud (3 users) and theyâre fine but their use is much lower. I personally use Seafile but thatâs historical and I too might shift to OneDrive.
So I doubt weâll ever get to the bottom of this one. I transferred a critical shared folder from a personal account to my admin account using occ files:transfer-ownership over the weekend and now Nextcloud client is crashing for everyone who had access to that folder I must admit I wonât miss the stress.
I totally get your situation. When Iâm recommending proprietary software or services itâs not because I donât know about about the amazing stuff FOSS can do, but itâs because I do know how easily a solution can fall apart.
For some organizations that potential pain is okay, because it may be more sustainable for them in the long run or it might just fit their values better. But at the end of the day, software choices should not stand in the way of getting the task done, more like the opposite.
Anyways, I also had some major issues with sync clients on Mac these days and it just points towards that whoeverâs working on sync clients at the moment has had a gap in testing efforts before release. Not much we can do, but try to contribute our own time 
Lastly, letâs not forget that Microsoft fails quite spectacular sometimes, too. But in a business context, itâs much easier to point to the giant that failed than explaining why your bespoke solution failed, sadly.
Ohh completely agreed. My last big client had thousands of Microsoft 365 groups that they accessed via Webdav and network locations which worked fine with a few caveats: mainly file size limit and keeping File Explorer authenticated. Microsoft kept saying network locations were ânot supportedâ and they must move to OneDrive synchronising.
I left before they made this transition (supposed to be retiring!) but I heard from one of the directors that it had been a nightmare with everyone complaining that they spent all their time looking at âProcessing changesâ or âlooking for changesâ.
I miss good old file servers on the LAN 
Continue to battle with this client until we can get them migrated to M365 Each change of sharing seems to cause all sorts of problems. Thereâs only 15 users!
Nextcloud has brought one userâs computer to itâs knees. Preparing to sync and flat lining the CPU:
So all that happened last night was that a share on a folder shared by one user with four others was removed and they were added to a group folder.
Just checked with one of the other four users and Nextcloud is stuck âPreparing syncâ. When I look in the their Nextcloud folder, the old shared folder is still there and the new group folder hasnât appeared.
Fortunately for this user, Nextcloud hasnât crashed or caused all other file access to freeze so I was able to grab the logs if thatâs of any use. The folder in question is only 2.88GB big and contains 786 files.
Whatâs perplexing is that Iâm one of those four users and it works flawlessly for me. The older shared folder disappeared and the new group folder appeared.
Later⊠yes Nextcloud has now broken all four userâs computers. Client not responding and unable to access any files via File Explorer
From my own experience : Nextcloud Sync + Groupfolders = MESS (sooner or later).
I donât recommend using both. If Groupfolders is a must-have, donât sync Groupfolders.
I know one small company which was having problems almost every week of different sort. Files donât synching, timeouts, crashesâŠ
Theyâve stopped using the Sync client.
Since then, no more problems at all and collaborators found a perfect fit using both the Web GUI and Mountainduck (https://mountainduck.io/) which MOUNTS but doesnât SYNC everything in the background (sync is the keyword here - 2 ways - while MOUNTING is one way - from server to client). 2-ways sync is not always (almost never) necessary because clients wil scan ever and ever the server and the local client for changes.
This can have terrible behaviour (search the Github repos, youâll find cases where Sync client simply decides to delete all server dataâŠ).
I know this doesnât help troubleshooting, but it may help others avoiding problems in the future!
Well as the client specifically chose Nextcloud because of the group folder functionality, that would have been a bit of a showstopper
But I hear what youâre saying. As mentioned, currently copying 600GB into SharePoint (which is fun in itself) as theyâve had enough.
To show Iâm not trying to be glib here, Iâve just spend three hours repeating a problem of the client crashing when trying to sync/copy a relatively small number of files.
