Notes not syncing in background

Hey YanSay14,

As long as you’ve got an internet connection and you don’t have Low Power Mode enabled (as this disables syncing), your notes should sync to iCloud without issue from your iPhone.

Once they’re in iCloud, if you open the app on another device, such as your iPad, they should then sync to it. You don’t need to wait for them to sync from your iPhone, if they’re already in iCloud, as that’s where your iPad pulls them from.

Do you have Background App Refresh turned on for the Notes app? From Switch apps on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support:

Use Background App Refresh

After you switch to a different app, some apps run for a short period of time before they're set to a suspended state. Apps that are in a suspended state aren’t actively in use, open, or taking up system resources. With Background App Refresh, suspended apps can check for updates and new content. 

If you want suspended apps to check for new content, go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and turn on Background App Refresh. If you quit an app from the app switcher, it might not be able to run or check for new content before you open it again.

They would not sync from iCloud to your iPad if the app hasn’t been launched yet though. It should then only take a brief moment for them to then appear on your iPad.

We hope this clears things up and if this is what you’re experiencing, this is normal. If not, please explain further.

Take care!

Hello YanSay14,

Welcome to Apple Support Communities!

We want to help ensure your notes are syncing as expected.

Let's make sure iCloud Notes is enabled with these steps:

"Set up iCloud for Notes on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

1. On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud.
2. Do one of the following:

• iOS 16, iPadOS 16, or later: Tap Show All, tap Notes, then turn on Sync this [device].
• iOS 15, iPadOS 15, or earlier: Turn on Notes.

3. To view notes stored in iCloud, open the Notes app. In the Folder list, select All iCloud or a folder in the iCloud section."

This Apple Support page has the full details: Set up iCloud for Notes on all your devices - Apple Support

If the issue continues, do you have any pending software updates? Are you connected to your Wi-Fi network? Does a normal restart help?

We hope this helps to further isolate the cause of the issue so your notes start to sync as expected again.

Cheers!

Hi YanSay14,

To isolate the issue and determine your next steps, test to see if this also occurs in a new user. Change Users & Groups settings on Mac

This will help determine if the issue is related to the software or something on the specific user.

Best wishes.