Handwritings and drawings in Freeform not syncing properly to my device

I tested sharing then removing access and re-sharing but still had an issue. Was "testing" with a iMac running Ventura 13.2.1 (latest). The iMac already had the last OS so not sure if that makes a difference.

Most of the Freeform boards I use aren't shared - just want to be able to view/edit from my devices (iPad Pro latest, iPhone 14 Pro and MacBook Air M2).

I'll open a ticket w/ Apple with the hopes it will raise awareness if they are getting complaints.

but glad it worked for you!!

Thanks!

Just an fyi...I use the "lasso tool" (via the apple pencil) to cut and re-paste the handwritten text on my iPad that isn't showing up correctly on my Mac and iPhone and after re-pasting it does show up correctly on my Mac and iPhone. Interesting. Not sure what that means but I did get all of my handwritten notes "fixed" on my Mac and iPhone albeit having to do several cut and pastes.

This issue certainly needs to be addressed by Apple. In the interim, I noticed if I made a duplicate copy of a Board on my iPad when the duplicate synced on my Macbook Pro, all of the handwritten annotations and notes were there.

iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation), iPad OS 16.3.1

M1 Macbook Pro, Ventura 13.2.1

Guys, I found a “kind of” temporary fix!

I noticed that when I write on the iPad, it shows up fragmented on all other devices. BUT, when I had the board open on the Mac and basically watched myself write, it synced perfectly while it wouldn’t sync on the phone. BUT then when I had the same board open on the phone, it started Syncing perfectly and instantly.

so I know it kinda sucks and Apple need to fix, but this could help in the meantime.

open the board on all other devices simultaneously and it might sync.

I am experiencing the same thing. Free form works awesome on my iPad 11 Pro with the Apple Pencil 2, but after I move to the M1 Mac then most of the hand written portions are erased. Hand written notes are completely unusable if I try to work on another device.

Welp: 16.4 seems to have FINALLY fixed it.

I tried to add a handwritten note and that did NOT force enough of an update to fix previous notes so I just cut the entire board an waited for it to be reflected on my Mac. Then pasted it and everything was correct.

It's a little ugly as solutions go but it's working so I'm over it.

Hope you're all seeing the same thing.

Best~

Hi, I just ran the update on Mac and iPad today. Unfortunately on MacOS with Ventura 13.3 the issue still exits. Freeform on Mac is still buggy with displaying (sync) the hand drawing parts correctly. It still looks like in the screenshot from "oldwebble" at Jan 29, 2023 4:38 AM

Is this a Mac-only bug?

Did you try this:

on the device with the correct and complete drawings, select all (ctrl+a) and cut (ctrl+x) the entire board.

Wait until the empty board is synced to your Mac. Then paste it back in and wait until it’s updated on your Mac again.

Simply adding a new drawing to an existing board didn’t correct the old ones but forcing it to sync the entire board again worked perfectly for me.

…and new boards work perfectly.

but every update on the iPad isn't synced properly. again and again. furthermore cropped and replaced content is grouped and not longer easy editable.

No solution at all. I guess I have to go back to miro.

I appreciate if apple tries to do something better, more easy than competitors. It works a bit with maps, but freeform has a long way to go - unfortunately because in general I love it.

Where did your document originate? Do you have one device - any device - where the document in question is 100% correct? I know this isn't a "fix" as you still have to doink around with it but cutting the entire document and waiting a minute or so until the empty document is shown on all devices - then pasting back in worked perfectly.

Likewise, starting a new document and drawing in it should see it sync perfectly now.

With 16.4 and 13.3 are you not experiencing the same thing?

The original is on the iPad (on which I also do most of the editing) and it's perfect. On all other devices the result is - let's say shuttered. More important than on my Macbook (M1 Air) iPhone, on team members' devices.

The copy paste solution only ever helps for a moment and cannot be considered a "solution" to the problem.

I also think to myself, the "markup" of such a complex tool is "demanding".

And we didn't even work on it at the same time.

I have also not yet tried hardcore to reproduce the previous errors.

But the old fragmented contents are still fragmented and the old document.

Even after editing something on the board.

And I haven't yet done a test with a newly created document.

best,

Felix

Same problem for me, which is clearly an issue based on feedback in this forum — seems strange for Apple release a product that seems to be incomplete, has a solution been found yet?

iPadOS 16.3.1

MacBook Pro Ventura 13.2.1 — Freeform 1.1 (123)

I have the same problem (April 2023), problem still persists. I can see the original notes on the iPad, but when trying to open on iPhone / Mac – the same thing happens.

Is there any feedback on how to solve / manage this?

Similar problem also happened in my devices. Handwriting incorrectly displayed amongst my Mac, iPhong and a participant's iPad, exclude my initial device which created this board.

And I just found a little solution that can fix this temperately, that is to select all elements on the board and make a duplicate move it aside and delete the original portion.

I'm increasingly beginning to believe this is an API issue with iCloud, and that Freeform is using the same handwriting sync API as Notes. Notes has the same issue where handwritten notes will disappear mid-stroke, or just stop syncing (which means you could lose hours of notes without knowing it simply by closing out Notes). Whatever code they're using for Freeform is also being used in Notes, hence the similar problem.

Very frustrating. Remember that Tim Cook's email is public as well -- flood Apple with bug reports and Tim with emails and maybe they'll get around to fixing this. It's disappointing since Microsoft has been able to do this kind of syncing with OneNote for 10 years now without a single issue.