onenote notebook not syncing certain sections

Em 0 Reputation points
2026-09-06T23:10:44.8233333+00:00

Hi everyone!

I wanted to see if anyone on here had any advice for me on sycning my Onenote, as I have't been able to get much help from my institution's IT deparment and Onenote support.

One of my recently created notebooks on Onenote is not syncing the majority of the sections (meaning I cannot see the sections on other devices other than the device it was made on. . As such, I cannot access thse sections on the online or on other devices. There is a secton within the same notebook that is syncing as normal, as are my other notebooks.

Things I've tried: ensuring my autosync is toggled on all devices, reached out to the support team, tried sharing direct section links to other devices (the only thing I haven't done that the support team has recommended is to sign out of my microsoft account, as I am concerned that I will lose my data.

Any help is appreciated!

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneNote | For education | iOS
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  1. AI answer

    2026-09-06T23:11:02.8+00:00

    Since one section in the same notebook syncs normally, this is most likely a section-level sync problem rather than a full notebook issue.

    Recommended steps:

    1. Check the notebook sync status in the OneNote desktop app.
      • Go to File > Info > View Sync Status.
      • Look for a notebook icon with a yellow warning triangle.
      • Select it to identify which section is failing.
      • Select Sync Now next to that notebook.
    2. If only certain sections or pages will not sync, create a new section in the same notebook.
      • Copy, but do not move, all pages from the affected section into the new section.
      • Right-click each page and select Move or Copy.
      • After copying, press Shift + F9 to manually sync the notebook.
      • If the new section syncs correctly, delete the old section and rename the new one.
    3. Check the Notebook Recycle Bin for a corrupted section.
      • In the notebook, go to History > Notebook Recycle Bin.
      • If the problem section or page is there, copy its contents to another section or page.
      • Then delete the original item from the Recycle Bin if it is no longer needed.
    4. Open the notebook in OneNote for the web to determine whether the issue is with the app or the server.
      • In the desktop app, go to File > Info.
      • Right-click the notebook URL under the notebook name and select Copy.
      • Paste it into a browser and open it in OneNote for the web.
      • If the missing sections do not appear there either, the latest changes likely never finished syncing from the original device.
    5. Avoid signing out or reinstalling OneNote before protecting unsynced notes.
      • Microsoft warns that signing in or out of OneNote, or removing and reinstalling the app, is not recommended during sync troubleshooting because it can result in data loss.
      • Before closing or reopening a notebook, copy and back up any recent unsynced notes from the device that still has them.
    6. If the notebook is stored on SharePoint, contact the institution administrator to troubleshoot the service side.
      • If it is stored on OneDrive, check the Microsoft 365 service health page for outages.

    If the notebook opens in OneNote for the web and the missing content appears there, closing and reopening the affected notebook can help reset the sync connection. Before doing that, back up any unsynced recent notes first.

    If these steps do not resolve it, report the issue through Help > Feedback or use the OneNote forums on Microsoft Answers.

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

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  2. Jade Ng 15,480 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-09-07T00:24:42.6433333+00:00

    Dear Em,

    Based on your description, I understand how frustrating it must be to have portions of your notebook available on only one device, especially when the rest of your notebooks and at least one section within the same notebook are syncing normally.

    For better assist, please let me know some information:

    1. Which version of OneNote are you using?
    2. On the device where the missing sections are visible, do you see any sync errors, warning icons, or messages when you right-click the affected sections and check their sync status?
    3. Are the affected sections stored in a section group, or are they regular sections directly within the notebook?
    4. I noticed that you mentioned contacting the support team. Do you mean that you worked with your institution's IT administrator and they contacted Microsoft Support on your behalf? If so, could you let me know how far the support team was able to assist and what troubleshooting steps or findings they have provided so far?

    In this case, could you please try the following steps?

    1.Open the notebook in OneNote for the web and confirm that all content is visible. If the affected sections are not visible in OneNote for the web, this may indicate that they have not yet successfully synced from the original device. In that case, please use the original device to manually sync or upload the affected content until it becomes visible in OneNote for the web before proceeding with any sign-out or account-related troubleshooting.

    2.Close the affected notebook in the OneNote desktop app.

    3.Return to the web version, open the notebook, and select Open in OneNote to re-establish the connection between the desktop app and the cloud notebook.

    4.In OneNote, go to File > Info > View Sync Status, then select Sync Now for the affected notebook.

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    5.Check whether OneNote displays any sync errors, warning icons, misplaced sections, or conflict pages.

    Additionally, I recommend reviewing and following the troubleshooting steps in the article Fix issues when you can't sync OneNote, as it contains several targeted troubleshooting methods for scenarios where a notebook, section, or page does not fully sync or load in the OneNote desktop app. This includes checking sync status, reopening the notebook from OneNote for the web, recreating affected sections, and addressing potential sync conflicts.

    If you encounter any difficulties while following the steps above, please let me know which step you are having trouble with, and I'll be happy to clarify further.

    Thank you for your patience and cooperation, and I look forward to your update.

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