Notes sync between Sierra and IOS is faulty

Question

Notes sync between Sierra and IOS is faulty

Notes created on IOS are syncing with Sierra.

Notes created on Sierra are not syncing with IOS. The account "On My Mac only" is not enabled.

How can this issue be resolved? It's frustrating to create something on my Mac, expecting it to be there when i hit the road, only to find that it is missing.

iMac, macOS Sierra (10.12.1)

Posted on Nov 30, 2016 9:49 PM

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Answer 1

judysings

Community Specialist

Dec 2, 2016 10:28 AM in response to humphreyfromrancho palos verdes

Good morning humphreyfromrancho palos verdes,

Thanks for your question. I understand the notes you create on your iMac are not syncing with your iOS device. Are you trying to sync with an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch? Is the device updated to the latest iOS which is currently 10.1.1? When you create a note on your iMac, does it appear in your iCloud account? Have your notes ever synced between your computer and your iOS device?

If you have not already done so, the resource below explains how to Upgrade your Notes app, and check to see if the notes are syncing with your iCloud account online.

Upgrade your Notes app

If you’re signed in to more than one iCloud Mail account on your iOS device or Mac and have notes syncing turned on, you can only use the new Notes features with your primary Apple ID account. You can see your primary account in Settings > iCloud, or System Preferences > iCloud.

Humphrey, please reply back to this post with any additional information that you can about your issue and we'll investigate further with you.

Take care.

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Answer 2

Dec 3, 2016 4:40 AM in response to judysings

Thanks for replying.

Below are the answers to your questions in order.

I am syncing notes between iMac (late 2015 model), iPhone 7 and iPad Air 2, all with the latest OS updates. Syncing has worked until the most recent MacOS Update. Now sync partially works as follows:

Notes created in iMac do not sync to iCloud

Notes created in IOS (Phone and iPad and in the browser notes app on iCloud.com) sync to the iMac Notes app.

I don't see the option to upgrade notes - I have version 4.3.1 (696.22)

I have restarted my computer and the issue was not solved. I am tempted to sign out of iCloud from my Mac and then sign in again, but I have a large iCloud Photo Library therefore am hesitant to try this.

Any ideas?

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Answer 3

i_rina

Community Specialist

Dec 4, 2016 12:02 PM in response to humphreyfromrancho palos verdes

Good morning Humphrey,

Thanks for the updated information. So, it sounds like the issue is with the iMac not syncing with iCloud after updating to macOS Sierra. Let's try an interim step before signing out of iCloud on your iMac.

1. Go to System Preferences > iCloud on your iMac.
2. Make sure the Apple ID / iCloud account is the same one that you are using on your iPhone and iPad Air 2.
(You'll see it right under your name, above the Account Details button).
3. Remove the checkmark from Notes.
4. Close the Window.
5. Restart your computer.
6. Go back into System Preference > iCloud and enable Notes again.
This should cause the Notes to resync again with iCloud .
7. Test by creating a note on your iMac and checking iCloud to see if it appears there.
8. Then create a note in iCloud and see if it appears on your iMac.
9. Finally, confirm both of the test notes appear on your iPhone and iPad.

iCloud: Notes overview

Take care.

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Answer 4

Dec 4, 2016 12:03 PM in response to i_rina

This worked except for the fact that I lost the notes that I had created on the iMac that initially failed to sync to iCloud.

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