Work around for iOS 9 Notes and iTunes Sync notes with Outlook feature removal

This is meant to provide an option to implement a work around to a problem.

Please keep the nature of this thread technical; (use other message threads to post complaints about the removal of this functionality by Apple).

Summary:

Up until iOS 9, iTunes provided the ability to sync (synchronize) Notes between the iPhone and Microsoft Outlook on Windows PCs.

This allowed those of us who are "cloud adverse" to use our Outlook data (Contacts, Calendars, Tasks, Notes, etc.) on the iPhone while retaining control and responsibility for the security and privacy of this data, whether this was for legal, corporate, personal, or other reasons.

In iOS 9 the Notes application was upgraded to include a variety of new functionality. New notes created in this application are incompatible with Outlook notes and will not sync with Outlook.

I propose an alternative or workaround of using the notes section of Contact records. While not ideal, this should allow the best of what we have to work with...sensitive notes can still be maintained only on devices you control and sync with Outlook (as Contacts), and the new Notes application can be used for other purposes. Oh, and no 3rd party applications (other than iTunes and Outlook) are required.

Detailed Workaround:

These steps make a couple of assumptions...

- That you are relatively technical and familiar with more advanced options of Outlook and iTunes. If not, find someone to assist you.

- That you still have a good copy of your Notes in Outlook.

I have performed these steps using Windows 7, Outlook 2007, iTunes 12.3, and while upgrading an iPhone 6 from iOS 8.4.1 to 9.0.2.

Install the latest version of iTunes (12.3 or later).

Sync iPhone and create new backup.

I also recommend making a backup of your Outlook data file (.pst file listed under File > Data File Management).

Make a manual copy/backup of your Notes...

Backup Option 1 (Copy as Outlook folder)

View all of your Outlook items in the Folder List (File > Go > Folder List).

Right-click your "Notes" folder and select "Copy Notes..." selecting your root personal folder as the destination.

This will create a "Notes1" folder which you can rename (I named mine "Notes - backup").

Backup Option 2 (To files in Windows Explorer)

Open Outlook & open/view Notes.

Open Windows Explorer > Create folder to backup Notes to.

Select all Notes in Outlook and drag/drop them to the Windows Explorer folder.

This will create a .msg file for each note.

Double-clicking a .msg file should allow you to open/view the note.msg file in Outlook.

Optionally, Delete your original Notes...

In my opinion, this will provide the least confusing path.

If you do not, then...

- iOS 9 will attempt to upgrade your notes.

- The subsequent Sync may have varied outcomes, such as...

- It may appear to work initially, but work intermittently or be unreliable.

- If you've upgraded your notes, it may sync them to iCloud which may not be desired (for security, privacy, etc.).

- It may error or have other problems, such as loss of data.

- New Notes create in Outlook may be copied to the iPhone, but changes made on the iPhone not sync'd with Outlook.

My proposal is to Delete your original Notes from Outlook (not the backups of course).

Then follow these steps to delete the Notes from your iPhone:

- Open iTunes, connect your iPhone, and navigate to the "Info" section where the Sync settings are.

- Under "Advanced", "Replace information on this iPhone", check the "Notes" option.

- Sync your iPhone...this should remove all of your Notes from the iPhone.

- In the "Info" section in iTunes, under "Other", uncheck "Sync notes with Outlook". If prompted, select to "Remove Notes" from your iPhone.

- Sync your iPhone...verify there are no Notes on the iPhone or in the Outlook "Notes" folder.

If you haven't already, upgrade your iPhone to iOS 9 or newer.

Implement the work around: Create Contacts as Notes in Outlook...

Create a new Contacts Group "Notes as Contacts" to store notes...

View all of your Outlook items in the Folder List (File > Go > Folder List).

Right-click on the existing "Contacts" folder and select "New Folder..."

(I believe it must be a child/sub folder of the "Contacts" folder as iTunes appears to locate contacts by this folder name.)

To add a note to an existing Contact...

If you have an existing Contact that you want to add a note to, simply edit that person's Contact record and add the note to it.

To create a new Note as a Contact...

Select the new "Notes as Contacts" Contact folder.

Add a new Contact to this folder.

Set the "File as" field to the title of the note (you do not need to add other contact info such as First or Last Name).

- Optionally, I suggest prefixing "File as" with "Note - " to help with sorting/filtering them on the iPhone.

Add the Note to the "Notes" section and save.

Sync your iPhone and the new Contacts under "Notes as Contacts" should be available on your iPhone.

On your iPhone in Contacts, you should be able to use the "Groups" filter option to display only your "Notes as Contacts" group.

This appears to work for me. I hope it works well for you too.

<Edited by Host>