Tor Lundgren

Q: Phantom iCloud accounts in Notes

My Notes app seems to have some 'phantom' iCloud accounts in it.  I removed Notes syncing from the things being 'synced' in the iCloud portion of systems settings, but there are still two iCloud 'accounts' showing up in Notes.

notes.png

 

Is there any way to completely 'clear' the Notes application so that I can resync from iCloud?

 

Thanks!

Posted on Feb 27, 2013 3:39 PM

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Q: Phantom iCloud accounts in Notes

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  • by sberman,

    sberman sberman Feb 27, 2013 3:52 PM in response to Tor Lundgren
    Level 8 (39,062 points)
    Feb 27, 2013 3:52 PM in response to Tor Lundgren

    I wrote a "User Tip" because I had a similar problem - though not quite as massive as yours!

     

    Anyway, this should help you:

                     Repairing Notes Folders and Accounts

     

    I hope that solves your issue!

  • by BocaBoy,

    BocaBoy BocaBoy May 26, 2013 7:20 AM in response to sberman
    Level 1 (34 points)
    Apple Music
    May 26, 2013 7:20 AM in response to sberman

    Unfortunately, I have this same problem and the solution offered by Sberman didn't work for me.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root May 26, 2013 11:28 AM in response to Tor Lundgren
    Level 9 (70,011 points)
    iTunes
    May 26, 2013 11:28 AM in response to Tor Lundgren

    Do a backup.

     

    Try going to System Preferences/iCloud and deselecting the sync Notes. Check Notes to see if both iCloud Notes are gone. If so, select sync Notes again and see if the issue has been cleared.

  • by BocaBoy,

    BocaBoy BocaBoy May 26, 2013 11:38 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (34 points)
    Apple Music
    May 26, 2013 11:38 AM in response to Eric Root

    I did as you suggested, although I've done this before as well. Unfortunately, the second account stays glued in place. My best guess is that there is a phantom instance of iCloud on the computer that is creating this only in Notes. I don't see this manifested anywhere else in the OS, including Mail or Contacts.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root May 26, 2013 11:51 AM in response to BocaBoy
    Level 9 (70,011 points)
    iTunes
    May 26, 2013 11:51 AM in response to BocaBoy

    Were both iCloud accounts gone when you deselected sync?

     

    Are you syncing to more than one iCloud account (had to ask)?

  • by BocaBoy,

    BocaBoy BocaBoy May 26, 2013 12:32 PM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (34 points)
    Apple Music
    May 26, 2013 12:32 PM in response to Eric Root

    I found the solution!

     

    First, let me answer your questions. When I deselected sync, one account (the phantom one) remained. And no, I am only syncing one iCloud account.

     

    I had manually deleted the ~/library/containers/com.apple.Note folder but it made no difference in Notes. After searching on Google, I came across this post buried on the second page of results. It deletes that folder via Terminal, and the problem disappeared instantly! Here are the steps.

     

    1. Disable Notes in your  iCloud account;
    2. Quit Notes app;
    3. In Terminal type the following: rm -rf ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Notes/
    4. Start Notes app;
    5. Enable Notes in your iCLoud account.

     

    I want to stress that this worked for me with the problem I was experiencing. If you're not familiar with Terminal, be careful and do a backup first. Also, do the steps in the order they're listed. At first I was going to switch the order of 4 and 5 but stuck with the instructions as written and it worked.

     

    Hope this helps anyone else who trips across this post who has two iCloud accounts listed in Notes.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root May 27, 2013 9:45 AM in response to BocaBoy
    Level 9 (70,011 points)
    iTunes
    May 27, 2013 9:45 AM in response to BocaBoy

    Didn't this delete all your Notes?

  • by BocaBoy,

    BocaBoy BocaBoy May 27, 2013 11:12 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (34 points)
    Apple Music
    May 27, 2013 11:12 AM in response to Eric Root

    It deleted them from my Mac but they still remain on iCloud. Once I reenabled Notes in System Preferences/iCloud they came right back on to my computer. Are you experiencing the same problem?

     

    notes3.jpg

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root May 27, 2013 11:32 AM in response to BocaBoy
    Level 9 (70,011 points)
    iTunes
    May 27, 2013 11:32 AM in response to BocaBoy

    No, I'm not.