My Onenote pen tool is glitching out

Dear @IceburghLettuce,

I completely understand how frustrating this is, especially when you rely on OneNote for handwriting.

Based on what you described, many users have also reported the same symptoms: when a page becomes large or complex, OneNote may struggle to render pen strokes in real time. When that happens, it can delay the ink input and only register the start and end points, drawing straight or incorrect lines instead of your actual handwriting.

At the moment, there isn’t any official troubleshooting documentation from Microsoft that specifically addresses this inking behavior in OneNote for Mac.

In the meantime, I recommend trying the following general steps, as they can sometimes help with performance or rendering issues:

Step 1: Make sure your macOS / iPadOS (if applicable) is fully up to date

Step 2: Uninstall and reinstall the OneNote app, then sign back in and reopen your notebooks

Step 3: Reset the OneNote app:

Go to Settings > Apps > OneNote > Look for the Reset OneNote option > Enable Delete all notebooks and Delete login credentials > Then reopen OneNote and sign in again

Step 4: Create a new notebook on another device or sign in with a different account, then test handwriting there to see if the issue still occurs. This can help determine whether the behavior is notebook‑specific or account‑related.

Additionally, please check whether your tablet’s local storage is nearly full. Low available storage can sometimes impact app performance, including handwriting and inking responsiveness in OneNote.

If storage is limited, try freeing up space by removing unused apps, files, or media, then restart the device and test OneNote again.

To help narrow this down further, could you please confirm a few additional details:

• Are you using a personal Microsoft account (@outlook.com/hotmail.com) or a work account (@company.com)?
• If you create a brand‑new notebook and page, does the pen behave normally there?
• Does the issue occur immediately, or only after the page has more handwriting or images added?
• Are you seeing the same behavior when using OneNote on another device, or signing in with a different Microsoft account?
• Approximately how much free storage space is available on your tablet? (Low local storage can sometimes affect app performance.)
• Are you using OneNote on iPad while opening OneNote on macOS or the web?

Note: Please understand that as a forum moderator, my role is to provide general guidance and troubleshooting support. I don’t have access to internal systems or backend tools, and I appreciate your understanding of these limits.

I hope the information shared helps point you in the right direction. Please try the steps above and let me know if they work. If not, we can continue working together to narrow this down.

The first response may not always resolve the issue right away, but with your help and more details, we can work toward a solution.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. I'm looking forward for your reply.

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