OneNote sync says “Up to date” on old PC, but notebooks are incomplete on new Windows 11 PC (also cannot export/backup)

Florian Ripp 10 Reputation points
2025-12-26T20:36:38.91+00:00

Hello, I’m dealing with a critical OneNote sync/data integrity issue across devices.

Summary

Old PC (Windows 10): OneNote shows no errors and reports “Everything is synced / Up to date”.

New PC (Windows 11, latest OneNote from Microsoft Store): the same notebooks are missing sections/pages or are incomplete.

OneNote still reports “Everything is synced”, so it looks like a false-positive sync state.

Backup/download/export is not possible or fails, so I can’t recover/migrate manually.

OneDrive storage for the notebooks is very confusing/unstructured; it’s unclear which file/folder represents the “main” notebook and whether everything is truly in the cloud.

Impact This has blocked me from using my new computer for about 2 months (private + work). I strongly suspect parts of my content are not actually uploaded to the cloud although OneNote claims everything is synced.

Repro steps

On old PC open OneNote → sync status shows “Up to date / completed”, no errors.

On new PC sign in with the same account and open the same notebooks → sections/pages are missing or incomplete.

Sync status on the new PC still shows “Everything is synced / Up to date”.

Expected

Full synchronization of all notebooks/sections/pages/attachments across devices

Clear diagnostics when something did NOT upload (which items, why)

Reliable export/backup even for large notebooks (or clear documented limits with a list of affected items)

Actual

Sync reports success even though content is missing

No clear indication which items are not synced and why

Export/backup fails, making recovery/migration hard or impossible

Questions / what I need help with

How can I verify what is actually in the cloud vs only on the old PC (and identify missing items)?

What are the best steps to force/repair a complete sync to the new PC (Windows 11 Store app)?

How can I reliably export/backup large notebooks, and are there known limits (size/attachments/file names/structure) that could cause silent sync failures?

Environment Old PC:

Windows 10 Pro, Version 10.0.19045 Build 19045

OneNote for Microsoft 365 MSO Version 2511 (Build 16.0.19426.20218) 64-bit

Session ID: 750b3993-b810-4c30-badb-434a6288db5b

New PC:

  • Windows 11

Latest OneNote for Windows 11 (Microsoft Store)

Any guidance from moderators/engineers or proven troubleshooting steps would be highly appreciated.Hello,

I’m dealing with a critical OneNote sync/data integrity issue across devices.

Summary

Old PC (Windows 10): OneNote shows no errors and reports “Everything is synced / Up to date”.

New PC (Windows 11, latest OneNote from Microsoft Store): the same notebooks are missing sections/pages or are incomplete.

OneNote still reports “Everything is synced”, so it looks like a false-positive sync state.

Backup/download/export is not possible or fails, so I can’t recover/migrate manually.

OneDrive storage for the notebooks is very confusing/unstructured; it’s unclear which file/folder represents the “main” notebook and whether everything is truly in the cloud.

Impact
This has blocked me from using my new computer for about 2 months (private + work). I strongly suspect parts of my content are not actually uploaded to the cloud although OneNote claims everything is synced.

Repro steps

On old PC open OneNote → sync status shows “Up to date / completed”, no errors.

On new PC sign in with the same account and open the same notebooks → sections/pages are missing or incomplete.

Sync status on the new PC still shows “Everything is synced / Up to date”.

Expected

Full synchronization of all notebooks/sections/pages/attachments across devices

Clear diagnostics when something did NOT upload (which items, why)

Reliable export/backup even for large notebooks (or clear documented limits with a list of affected items)

Actual

Sync reports success even though content is missing

No clear indication which items are not synced and why

Export/backup fails, making recovery/migration hard or impossible

Questions / what I need help with

How can I verify what is actually in the cloud vs only on the old PC (and identify missing items)?

What are the best steps to force/repair a complete sync to the new PC (Windows 11 Store app)?

How can I reliably export/backup large notebooks, and are there known limits (size/attachments/file names/structure) that could cause silent sync failures?

Environment
Old PC:

Windows 10 Pro, Version 10.0.19045 Build 19045

OneNote for Microsoft 365 MSO Version 2511 (Build 16.0.19426.20218) 64-bit

Session ID: 750b3993-b810-4c30-badb-434a6288db5b

New PC:

Windows 11

Latest OneNote for Windows 11 (Microsoft Store)

Any guidance from moderators/engineers or proven troubleshooting steps would be highly appreciated.

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneNote | For home | Windows
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  1. COOLak 1 Reputation point
    2026-08-26T22:46:43.1133333+00:00

    I reproduced a more severe form of this false-positive state on OneNote for Microsoft 365 16.0.20326.20100 / Windows 11 10.0.26200.9168: two known non-empty OneDrive notebooks appeared as empty shells, a third was missing, and Sync All still said “Up to date.” File > Open said it could not reach the notebooks.

    The failure was endpoint-family-specific. api.onedrive.com and d.docs.live.net worked over IPv4 but reset over IPv6, while general IPv6 connectivity worked. Deleting the OneNote cache alone simply recreated the empty “Up to date” shells.

    Keeping IPv6 enabled but raising the Windows IPv4-mapped prefix ::ffff:0:0/96 precedence from 35 to 45 (above ::/0 at 40), then deleting the cache again and relaunching OneNote, restored all three notebooks and their real content. Final status was 3 up to date, 0 syncing, 0 not connected.

    This confirms an application defect: OneNote is not reliably falling back to reachable IPv4 and is reporting “Up to date” even though notebook hierarchy/content retrieval failed. Microsoft should add robust dual-stack fallback and must never represent unavailable metadata as an empty, successfully synced notebook. Sign-out/reinstall advice is dangerous in this state because the UI looks exactly like data loss.

    I submitted the complete reproduction and engineering requests here: https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/idea/dd326ebc-9da1-f111-85ce-7c1e529382f4

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  2. AI answer

    2025-12-26T20:36:57.6966667+00:00

    To address the sync and data integrity issues you're experiencing with OneNote across your old and new PCs, here are some steps and considerations:

    1. Verify Cloud Content: To check what is actually in the cloud versus what is on your old PC, you can log into your OneDrive account through a web browser. Navigate to the OneNote section and see if all your notebooks, sections, and pages are listed there. This will help you identify any missing items.
    2. Force/Repair Sync: To ensure a complete sync on your new Windows 11 PC:
      • Open OneNote and go to the File menu.
      • Select Info and then click on View Sync Status. Here, you can see if there are any sync errors.
      • If there are issues, try clicking on Sync Now for each notebook individually to force a sync.
      • If problems persist, consider signing out of your account and signing back in, or uninstalling and reinstalling OneNote from the Microsoft Store.
    3. Export/Backup Notebooks: For exporting or backing up large notebooks, you can try the following:
      • Use the File menu, select Export, and choose the format you want. If you encounter failures, check for any large attachments or sections that might exceed limits.
      • Be aware that OneNote has a limit on the size of files that can be synced, which is approximately 50 MB for a single file. If your notebooks contain large files, this could be causing sync issues.
      • If export fails, consider breaking up larger notebooks into smaller sections before attempting to export them.
    4. Known Limits: There are known limits regarding file sizes and structures that can cause sync failures. It's essential to keep your notebooks organized and avoid overly large files or attachments that could hinder the sync process.

    By following these steps, you should be able to better understand the state of your OneNote data and work towards resolving the sync issues across your devices.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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