OneNote on iOS not syncing synchronizing - how to fix:

Question

OneNote on iOS not syncing synchronizing - how to fix:

Joe Conner 20

After being stuck (again, though not often enough to remember how I fixed it), my iPhone (and iPad) iOS devices stopped successfully synchronizing OneNote data.

Here's how I JUST fixed it, with effectively no risk to your saved data:

On my iPhone (noting OneNote on iPad iOS is different in many ways, and these steps are not tested this latest time on my iPad):

Open OneNote.

Click the "<" upper-left until you're all the way to the Notebooks screen, with your "accounts" aka "notebooks" listed. "More Notebooks" is listed as well.

Slide left on the notebook having sync. trouble, and select Close. You'll see a warning/confirmation. That explains you're not deleting anything - a big comfort compared to other steps I've seen on the internet!

Click More Notebooks, and follow the steps to add that problem notebook back into your list.

Done! Give it a minute to synchronize - be patient while everything is downloaded to your iPhone again. It took less than a minute for me, but a nervous minute until pages started becoming available.

My recent changes made on other devices now appear.

Some unorganized steps I've found online that didn't help:

Clicking away "... Sync Now" from within an open notebook page. I believe the same can be done by scrolling to the top, and pulldown. A "synchronizing circle" appears that way, no indication whether it did anything, but in my case it didn't.

iOS/Settings/Apps/OneNote/Reset OneNote/Delete Login Credentials (with OneNote not open btw) did cause the process to login again fresh to my Microsoft account, but did not help Sync. issues.

Force closing OneNote, restarting iPhone, and every other steps I could find on my iPhone and within OneNote did not help.

Updating the OneNote app, iOS updates, Etc. no help.

Tecchas 5 Reputation points

2025-11-24T17:32:33.6833333+00:00

Thanks Joe Conner, & God bless!

After dealing a bit of trepidation & misunderstanding on my part, your instructions worked wonderfully. [Had trouble understanding which of four (4) notebooks showing up after closing the one, to get the job done!] Finally have all device Notebooks synched appropriately, - including the previously missing three months on my iPhone's Notebook.
Julie Brandt 0 Reputation points

2025-12-29T21:27:37.8433333+00:00

Thank you so much, a simple and effective solution!
My 0 Reputation points

2026-02-20T23:19:11.35+00:00

Thank you so much! This saved me so much heartache and pain of having to delete and convert to PDF.

5 answers

Your answer

Tecchas 5 Reputation points

2025-11-24T17:32:33.6833333+00:00

Thanks Joe Conner, & God bless!

After dealing a bit of trepidation & misunderstanding on my part, your instructions worked wonderfully. [Had trouble understanding which of four (4) notebooks showing up after closing the one, to get the job done!] Finally have all device Notebooks synched appropriately, - including the previously missing three months on my iPhone's Notebook.
Julie Brandt 0 Reputation points

2025-12-29T21:27:37.8433333+00:00

Thank you so much, a simple and effective solution!
My 0 Reputation points

2026-02-20T23:19:11.35+00:00

Thank you so much! This saved me so much heartache and pain of having to delete and convert to PDF.

Answer 1

Joe Conner 20

Open OneNote.

Click the "<" upper-left until you're all the way to the Notebooks screen, with your "accounts" aka "notebooks" listed. "More Notebooks" is listed as well.

Slide left on the notebook having sync. trouble, and select Close. You'll see a warning/confirmation. That explains you're not deleting anything - a big comfort compared to other steps I've seen on the internet!

Click More Notebooks, and follow the steps to add that problem notebook back into your list.

Done! Give it a minute to synchronize - be patient while everything is downloaded to your iPhone again. It took less than a minute for me, but a nervous minute until pages started becoming available.

IH_ERR_404 0 Reputation points

2025-11-07T20:22:23.15+00:00

Hey this isnt quite applicable to devices that you want to sync and not lose the changes made on that device.

So I need to sync my changes made on my IOS device, not lose them by removing and losing the content.

Has anyone else got this problem and if so how did you resolve it?
IH_ERR_404 0 Reputation points

2025-11-07T20:26:28.5933333+00:00

Just to confirm that your instructions lose onenote sections, so please if you have the same issue as me do not follow these instructions and close the notebooks, then sign out and in again.

So unfortunately this might get things to sync from online account back to the device, but it will not sync the device updates back online.

Answer 2

Dear @Joe Conner,

Thank you sincerely for taking the time to share your valuable post highlighting a solution for the OneNote on iOS synchronization issue. Your thoughtful contribution and generosity in documenting the steps you followed are truly appreciated.

Your effort not only helped resolve your own issue but also provides a clear and practical reference for others who may encounter similar problems. It's contributions like yours that make this community stronger and more supportive.

Therefore, I would make a brief summary of this post so that other forum members could easily find useful information here:
Issue Description:

OneNote on iOS not synchronizing properly
User experienced sync issues on both iPhone and iPad, where OneNote stopped successfully synchronizing data.
Assessment:
The issue appears to be related to how OneNote handles notebook connections on iOS. Sync failures may persist despite attempts to manually trigger synchronization or reset app settings.

Resolution Steps: (Tested on iPhone)

Open OneNote on your iPhone.
Tap the “<” icon in the upper-left corner until you reach the Notebooks screen.
Locate the notebook with sync issues, swipe left and select Close.
A confirmation will appear, reassuring that no data will be deleted.
Tap More Notebooks and re-add the closed notebook.
Wait briefly for synchronization to complete.
Pages should begin appearing within a minute.

After following these steps, recent changes made on other devices were successfully synced.

More information:

Other Methods Attempted: (Not Effective)

Manually triggering “Sync Now” from within a notebook.
Using iOS Settings > Apps > OneNote > Reset/Delete Credentials.
Force closing the app, restarting the device.
Updating OneNote and iOS to the latest versions.

Your post is not only informative but also reassuring for users who may feel stuck or uncertain. The clarity of your instructions and the emphasis on data safety are especially commendable.

As other users will also search for information in this community, your valuable vote will definitely also help other users who have similar queries easily to find the correct channel and useful information more quickly.

User's image

Thank you once again for your patience, generosity, and for bringing this to our attention. We truly value your contribution!

If there are any issues related to the Office applications in the future, feel free to post in this Q&A forum.

We will be here to help you.

Have a nice day and stay healthy.

Ruby-N 13,320 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-09-24T18:09:07.74+00:00

Good day @Joe Conner,

Hope things are running smoothly on your end.

Following up on the support thread we've been working on. I hope the information I shared in my previous answer resolve the issue you were facing. If you are still facing the same issue or need assistance with anything else, kindly respond to this email, and I will be happy to help.

We want to make sure everything is working as expected and that your experience remains uninterrupted.

Thank you for your patience and understanding throughout the troubleshooting process.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Daveypez-4194 5 Reputation points

2026-03-17T12:04:40.9233333+00:00

This is just such bland nonsense from Microsoft - trying to take the credit for a user’s advice when they have failed.

This answer doesn’t work. Using IOS 26.3.1 when a notebook is selscted and you swipe left (3rd bullet above) it does not show ‘Close’ it only iffers ‘Delete’. Use that and you lose your files. Buck up Microsoft!
Joe Conner 20 Reputation points

2026-03-17T19:52:59.5933333+00:00

I see the recent posts that my solution no longer works. I currently don't have the synchronization issue to test with. But I'm now on iOS 26.3.1 on an iPhone (iOS recently updated, I don't recall which iOS version I had running at the time of my original solution post). The OneNote app, as of this writing, is up to date.

My steps appear the same. Left "arrow" at the upper-left as much as you can. Right now, I can slide left on the "account" and a [Close] button still appears.

At this time, I didn't proceed because I couldn't test whether that would still resolve the sync. issue. But at least the steps appear the same today.

For those of you posting updates that this "no longer works", what are you seeing? What isn't working?

Answer 3

Daveypez-4194 5

Does anyone have any up-to-date advice on this? Following Joe's initially helpful advice no longer seems correct - probably because of changes in IOS and iPadOS I don't want to steadily lose my OneNote contents by risking clicking on Delete where Joe says it previously gave the option to Clear.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

0 comments

Answer 4

Sc@nia 25

The typical MS answer, delete and reinstall, is just a laugh.

I use OneNote on my phone and to keep reinstalling large books on the road is killing my account.

If MS was interested, there must be a way to restart synchronization reusing existing files .

0 comments

Answer 5

None of the above are working for me. I was able to add sections/pages and edit existing and new titles to my notebooks from iPad just yesterday and now I am not able to do any of it. Per internets, said I can’t do this from the app and directed me to the website version for editing capabilities. Went to website and sections/pages I added today are not there. On iPad, the notebooks have a tiny, black triangle so when opened it says “OneNote is experiencing an error. Sync will resume later. You don’t need to take any action”. 7 notebooks with 7 different error codes associated with the above message. I’ve tried closing the notebook but it wont even do that. Tried cutting and pasting my pages to the online version but it will not paste. Hard pull refresh on app…nope. I’ve looked through all settings possible and nothing fixing it.