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smccorkle13 Author

Level 1

74 points

Notes not syncing or uploading to iCloud After iOS 13 Update

I'm having an issue where, after updating my devices to iOS 13, notes from the Apple Notes app are either not syncing, randomly syncing, or syncing only after a prolonged delay (e.g. days) between my iPhone and iPad. I've tried signing out and back in to iCloud and have removed and reinstalled the Notes app on both devices. I've ensured that the OS on both devices has been updated to the current version. Interestingly, If I have the notes app open on my iPhone, I still get the notification in the dock on my iPad that the notes app is open on my phone, but the notes still fail to sync, or at best, some notes randomly sync hours or days later, between the two devices. I noticed that if I create a note in the notes app through the iCloud website, the note downloads to both my devices immediately, but notes created on my devices fail to upload.

Has anyone else had this issue and found a solution? Is this a known bug in iOS 13, similar to one with the Reminders app (which I don't seem to be having)?

Posted on Oct 8, 2019 3:55 AM

Top-ranking reply

pg2001

Level 1

19 points

Posted on Oct 31, 2019 6:12 PM

Hi all,

I have resolved the issue.

I have had the same problem as everyone - Notes not syncing between my iPhone, iPad, MBA - all with the latest OS. I tried everything recommended and ended transferring all my notes to sit on my iPhone - then deleted all notes out of the iPad and MBA and switched iCloud off for Reminders and Notes on all three devices.

I then backed up my phone so at least I had a copy of my notes (I used iexplorer to look into the backup to make sure all of my Notes were there).

I periodically switched iCloud back on in the iPad and iPhone and attempted to create notes and see if they would sync. They did not. My wife created a note on her phone and shared it with me - and that synced as we both made changes, although it was not instant as it had been prior to the iOS upgrades.

So until yesterday things were still not working.

Then I did the following:

switched off iCloud again on all devices.
deleted all notes on the iPad, MBA and deleted any notes in the 'recently deleted folder'.
logged into the iCloud account to access Notes via the browser and deleted all notes/folders - including notes in the recently deleted folder.
The only notes left were the 480 notes I'd transferred to the 'On my iPhone' folder on my iPhone. If you don't have this option in Notes you have to go to Settings/Notes and switch it on.
Then I did this (this is what I think resolved the issue). I went to Settings/Passwords & Accounts/iCloud/iCloud/Manage Storage - and I looked down the list to see how much data Notes had stored in iCloud (obviously it should be zero as I had deleted all Notes out of iCloud). It was 2.2GB - ranked 5th after iCloud Drive, Photos, Messages, Backups. Obviously something was jammed in there.
So I swiped left and the option comes up to Delete Data. I hit that option and I think it says 'This will delete all Notes in iCloud and on you iPhone' - I say yes or OK or whatever it asked. It didn't delete the Notes I had 'On my IPhone' - but I guess it deleted whatever was stuck in iCloud.
I waited for 30 minutes. Then switched on iCloud on my phone, and tested making notes on my phone, and in iCloud via the browser and it all synced immediately. I then added my iPad - and the same - all synced immediately - then added my MBA and notes synced immediately between all four. I then copied a folder from my 'On my iPhone' folder - to the iCloud folder - and it immediately synced the folder and all the notes it contained between all my phone, iPad, MBA and iCloud. I then copied all the folders - and all other notes have now synced between all devices. Each account has 480 notes.
If you are going to follow these instructions the only thing I would do differently is use my MBA to hold all the notes in the 'On My Mac' folder. If you don't have this folder you have to switch it on in Preferences. It is easier to use a mouse to move folders around.

I'll report back if I have any problems, but it seems I have resolved this issue.

Good luck all.

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537 replies

guguii

Level 1

54 points

Aug 11, 2020 1:14 AM in response to cheeriegirl

Hi it finally solved for me, I realized that over WIFI they synced, so I went to cellular data in iPhone preferences, and switching OFF and ON again cellular data. then went to notes and they start syncing again

so don't trust it even if it says ON, just switch it OFF and ON again

Aug 21, 2020 8:51 AM in response to smccorkle13

Incredible that this is still an issue. Zero transparency from Apple. No way whatsoever to troubleshoot this mess. And if you manage to get a senior tech on the line, they will ultimately resort to the nuclear option of toggling iCloud off on all devices and then signing back in everywhere, which is a huge pain in the *** and doesn't address the core issue: iCLOUD IS UNRELIABLE.

Aug 31, 2020 3:39 PM in response to smccorkle13

IOS Notes not syncing to iCloud - I had same problem as mentioned above. Mac notes go to ipad and iPhone xs max, but not vice-versa. Twice in last 8 months after major apple os upgrades. I tried all of the above and spent probably 4 x 2 hr sessions w support. Last support person indicated I should in addition to above suggestions about logging out and back into apple cloud to to

SETTINGS>GENERAL>SCROLL DOWN TO RESET> RESET NETWORK SETTINGS.

Then it took about 6-8 hrs for my 2400 iOS notes w attachments to sync.

They work great now, without sluggish syncs, on Mac, iPad Pro 11" iPhone Xs Max - all w current updated OS's . Thanks to the forum and the patience at Apple support

Oct 12, 2020 11:10 AM in response to brentsdad

Yes I use my Gmail and consistently have had trouble with Syncing my Gmail notes on iOS across devices. It’s been going on recently for over a week but I have had this problem many times in the past. I get the feeling that Apple may want people to move to their platform

Baransam

Level 1

4 points

Oct 17, 2020 10:13 PM in response to smccorkle13

The problem went away when I upgraded to iOS14. But it was quite pathetic to see that Apple did not have any official response to such a wide-spread problem. Not even on its own discussion board.

I love Apple hardware and its aesthetics.

I wish the software and user-experience was at least 50% as good as their hardware/aesthetics.

Nov 17, 2020 4:43 PM in response to smccorkle13

Hi everyone, I had the same issue and I was on the phone with a senior apple customer service employee. Here is the solution that took 2 minutes:

Root cause: Problem with the local keychain files that created a bug which blocked the syncing of notes and several more components from icloud to macbook.

Downside: Your saved passwords in the keychain will be deleted (you can make a local copy though)

Solution:

0 Log out of Icloud (System Preferences > Apple Id > Overview > Sign out (bottom left)

1 Go to main desktop

3 Press "Alt key" and Click on "Go" at the same time (This enables viewing extra sections)

4 Click on "Library" (After "Home" before "Computer")

5 From Library Folder Find "Keychains" Folder (After "Keyboard Services" before "Language Modelling")

6 Select everything within this folder (1 folder with a funny id, 2 or 3 login.keychain files)

7 Right click and selected items and choose "New folder with Selection" (This is where you are creating a local copy for backup)

8 Name the file however you want and save it where ever you want

9 Delete the selected items (not the newly created copy folder)

10 Shut Down your computer

11 Turn your computer on again

12 Sign into icloud from system preferences

And thats it!

I asked if I should move back the backup folder that I created back to the keychains folder and he advised me not to do it. Which makes sense right, that was the root cause of the problem.

I had my passwords saved on google cloud as well, so I was able to get them back easily.

I hope this helps!

Best of luck

cat-girl

Level 1

16 points

Nov 24, 2020 10:40 AM in response to serbay224

I don't use Keychain. I wonder whether your solution would work in my case. I've got the same issue with my brand new MacBook Pro 2020 and my iPhone XR. I haven't checked my iPad, but I bet it's got the same issue.

Nov 24, 2020 2:14 PM in response to cat-girl

I think keychain is embedded in the mac os, maybe you arent using the keychains icloud services.

In any case, I would suggest you to call the customer service, your mac still has warranty and maybe your issue can be solved with an easier solution. There were many other things we tried with the customer service before reaching to this last resort.

Best of luck!

Dec 1, 2020 8:44 AM in response to smccorkle13

THE PROBLEM: My iPhone and my iPad Notes won’t sync. Or sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t.

Others have this problem. The “fix” is crazy, too involved,, many steps, must protect your data “just in case,” upload, download, uninstall, reinstall.

It should not be like this.

We have all paid lots of money for these devices and apps and subscriptions.

This is broken.

I think the Big Reset should include Apple fixing these silly problems. For free. We have already paid.

Jan 3, 2021 12:48 PM in response to webdevel

I feel your frustration, but answering forums doesn’t affect their bottom line. It’s true that their service is a paramount Apple feature, but forums are... forums. Kind of unreasonable to think of the millions of threads here someone is going to personally write a response to every issue. People are still going to buy their products and services, regardless a minor inconvenience affects a handful (myself included) of people. Is it not convenient enough that you can try to find answers for yourself online from your home? Forums are forums and I doubt they’d notice if you decided to jump ship to Android. If you really want answers maybe go to the store and schedule an appointment. It’s a business that is trying to make money, not wipe your ***.

cat-girl

Level 1

16 points

Jan 4, 2021 12:59 PM in response to andromeda9098

Guess what? On a whim, I tried toggling iCloud off and on again on my XR, and voila - syncing Notes. I was POSITIVE I'd already tried this multiple times (and maybe I had), but this worked this time. Good luck, everyone.

pyronAxe

Level 1

4 points

Feb 12, 2021 6:05 AM in response to smccorkle13

Had this issue as well on my MacBook pro even now in 2021 ffs.

Anyway, what I did was toggling off the iCloud and notes setting on my MacBook. For those of you who are not familiar with the steps, you can go to system preference > iCloud > Uncheck the boxes for iCloud Drive & Notes. Wait for few minutes, and then check the boxes again. Gotta makes sure your wireless connection is good enough coz sometimes syncing does get affected by your network speed.

My notes were all synced between my iPhone and MacBook after these steps.

Hope these steps work for those of you who are currently having this problem.

Mar 18, 2021 10:18 AM in response to smccorkle13

First, following similar instructions provided by Apple Tech Support, I lost years of Notes. She claimed that moving the notes to a folder called On My iPhone then redownloading from iCloud would restore the missing notes. It did not. Now even the recent notes I have added appear in iCloud, but not on my iMac or on iPad or iPhone. Apple is getting worse and worse with every new OS upgrade.

mdeonte

Level 1

9 points

Oct 8, 2019 1:52 PM in response to smccorkle13

Open the reminders app - an upgrade is required that for some reason, blocks the sync of notes. Soon as I clicked upgrade within Reminders all my notes pushed through.

snoone

Level 1

51 points

Oct 8, 2019 3:17 PM in response to smccorkle13

I am having the same problem after updating to catalina..... I don't see where there is an update prompt within the applications as someone else mentioned

Notes not syncing or uploading to iCloud After iOS 13 Update