One Note Crash

Question

One Note Crash

Fabian 0

OneNotes keeps crashing my iPad. I’m not sure what the issue is but I already updated my iPad, the app itself, clear storage, delete large files but it keeps stalling and closing itself. I’m not sure what to do.

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2 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Try this in order:

Wait for notebook sync to finish before using OneNote heavily. Initial or delayed sync can make OneNote on iPad or iPhone feel slow or unstable.
Reduce notebook load further:
- Split very large sections into a separate notebook.
- Reduce the number of sections in a notebook.
- Reduce the number of pages in a section.
- Reduce the amount of content on each page.
Close notebooks that are not currently needed:
- In OneNote for iOS, tap Show Notebooks until the notebook list appears.
- Tap and hold the notebook name.
- Tap Close Notebook.
- Exit and restart OneNote.
Check device storage used by OneNote:
- Open Settings on the iPad.
- Tap General > iPad Storage.
- Find OneNote in the apps list to see how much space it is using.
- Check how much local storage remains on the device.
If the iPad is shared or OneNote’s local data may be corrupted, reset OneNote. Warning: unsynced offline changes will be lost.
- Force close OneNote.
- Open Settings on the iPad.
- Scroll to the installed apps list and tap OneNote.
- Under Reset, tap Reset OneNote.
- Enable Delete All Notebooks and Delete Login Credentials.
- Restart OneNote and sign in again.
If notebooks are not syncing correctly, first verify whether the notebook opens in OneNote for the web. If it does not open there, the issue is likely server-side. For notebooks stored on SharePoint, contact the administrator.
If the problem continues even after update, storage cleanup, closing notebooks, and reset, use OneNote’s in-app feedback path: Settings > Send Feedback. A recent Microsoft Q&A answer also notes a known iPad-specific issue where OneNote can show a black screen and require force closing.

Answer 2

Heimerdinger 545 Independent Advisor

Hi @Fabian,

Sorry to hear you're experiencing this issue with OneNote on your iPad.

Since you've already updated iPadOS, updated OneNote, cleared storage, and removed large files, I'd like to ask a few questions to help narrow down the cause:

What model of iPad are you using?
Which version of iPadOS is currently installed?
Does OneNote crash immediately when opening the app, or only when opening a specific notebook, section, or page?
Are your notebooks stored in a personal Microsoft account or a school account?
Does the issue occur with all notebooks, or only one particular notebook?
If you sign in with a different account (if available), does OneNote still crash?
Approximately how large is the notebook that you're working with, and does it contain many PDFs, images, or attachments?

As an additional troubleshooting step, please try:

Force-close OneNote and restart the iPad.
From Settings > OneNote, check whether Reset OneNote options are available. If so, try Reset Sign-In Credentials and then sign in again. You could refer to this article : Reset Microsoft OneNote between users on a shared iPad or iPhone | Microsoft Support
Open OneNote while connected to a different network (for example, mobile hotspot instead of Wi-Fi).
If the crash occurs when opening a specific notebook, try accessing the same notebook through OneNote on the web to see whether the notebook itself may be contributing to the issue.

Please let me know the answers to the questions above. That will help me provide more targeted troubleshooting steps.

Thank you, and I look forward to your update. If the steps above don't help, please tell me the results and I'll continue troubleshooting with you.

Fabian 0 Reputation points

2026-09-16T14:45:40.22+00:00
Hi Heimerdinger,

To answer your questions:

iPad 10th generation

iOS 27

When I open the app

Personal account

All notebooks, when I open the app before anything even loads

It still does

PDF, images and hand written notes

I never had this issue before when I used my iPad for the last 2years during undergrad. This all started when I updated my iPad at the end of last spring to iOS 26. The device was practically in-operational and very slow. I even called apple customer support, they help with the glitching, lagging but couldn’t figure out OneNote. I tried everything from troubleshooting, resetting, offloading to YouTube videos but nothing works and I still need to be able to take notes, refer to old ones for school so any help will be greatly appreciated.
Heimerdinger 545 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-17T15:45:48.71+00:00
Hi @Fabian,

Thank you for providing those details. Based on your description, the fact that OneNote crashes immediately when opening the app, affects all notebooks, and continues even with a different account suggests the issue may be related to the local OneNote app data rather than a specific notebook.

Since this started after the iPadOS update and occurs before any notebook content loads, I would suggest performing a complete clean reinstall of OneNote. This is different from offloading the app or simply signing out and back in.

Please try the following steps:

Delete the OneNote app completely

On the Home Screen, press and hold the OneNote icon.

Select Remove App > Delete App.

Make sure you choose Delete App, not just "Remove from Home Screen."

Restart the iPad

Power the iPad off completely.

Wait about 30 seconds.

Turn it back on.

Reinstall OneNote

Download and install the official Microsoft OneNote app again from the App Store.

Sign in with your Microsoft account

Use the same personal Microsoft account that contains your notebooks.

Allow your notebooks to sync from OneDrive.

If possible, avoid restoring any local app data or backups so OneNote can create a completely fresh cache.

Thank you, and I look forward to your update. If the steps above don't help, please let me know the results and I'll continue troubleshooting with you.