Force Reload of Notes From iPhone/iPad To iCloud?

Question

Level 2

242 points

Force Reload of Notes From iPhone/iPad To iCloud?

Note: I see other users with similar missing note problems, but not the exact issue I have here...

Hello,

How can I overwrite notes that are on iCloud and my Mac with the versions that are on my iPhone/iPad? Here is the rest of the story...

I recently noticed within the last month that ALL of my notes from early 2013 back to 2008 are gone on my MacBook Pro (with OS 10.10.1). Then I checked iCloud via browser access and it showed the same. However, all of my original notes are still intact on my iPhone/iPad. The few notes that are shared between my Mac/iCloud and iPhone/iPad synch well with changes back and forth. The missing notes from my Mac/iCloud that are still on the iPhone/iPad do not synch in testing. Logging in/out of iCloud, with a restart of my Mac in between, makes no difference.

Now, I have Time Machine and other third-party backups that I could manually repair the damage with, but am looking for a more efficient solution because of the date stamps. Forcing an overwrite of notes from my iPhone to iCloud would be the best. (Wasn’t this a user selectable feature in the .Mac and/or .Me days?) Maybe there is a preference file that I could delete before another iCloud sync?

In hindsight, I would suspect that booting up another Mac with a cloned copy of a previous version (OS 10.9) of the same startup volume that is on my MacBook Pro now caused this glitch. That version was only online about a minute before I remembered to sign out of iCloud. Yup, user error as usual...

Peace,

Dr. Z.

MacBook Pro (15-inch Glossy), OS X Yosemite (10.10.1)

Posted on Jan 19, 2015 12:16 PM

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Answer 1

Jan 19, 2015 12:40 PM in response to Dr. Z.

First check that all your settings are correct, that notes syncing (mail and notes on a computer) is checked on all devices (system preferences > iCloud on a mac and settings > iCloud on a iPhone, iPad or iPod).
Make sure the notes you are adding are added to your 'iCloud' account and not an 'On My Mac', 'On My Phone' or other non iCloud account (you can do this by checking in accounts on an iOS device, or the left side panel in mail on a computer), non iCloud notes will not sync.
If you are sure that everything is set up correctly and your notes are in the iCloud group, you might try unchecking notes syncing (mail and notes on a computer) in the iCloud settings, restarting your device and then re-enabling notes syncing.

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Answer 2

Dr. Z. Author

Level 2

242 points

Jan 22, 2015 11:56 AM in response to Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill,

I have done all that you suggested very carefully and in a controlled testing environment. Still no change with the older notes that are missing on iCloud and my Mac, but rock solid synching with the notes that all devices share. This issue just isn't making any sense yet.

Once again, is there a way to extract the Notes main file from my iPhone/iPad and install it onto my Mac? Then I could resynch with iCloud to get all devices up to date. I really would like to keep the date of when all notes were last updated unchanged and that is the reason I keep asking. I can certainly create each individual note one by one from text file backups (via a third-party application) if there is no other option.

BTW, England has really gone to the dogs since you left. HA!

Peace,

Dr. Z.

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Answer 3

Jan 22, 2015 12:26 PM in response to Dr. Z.

The problem as I see it is that if notes aren't syncing they are likely to be in another account and whatever method is used to move them to the iCloud account will likely change the modification date, which is the date used to organise notes.

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