Why Is OneNote Not Syncing in Windows 11/10 & How to Fix It Fast

Understanding of OneNote Not Syncing

Microsoft OneNote, a free digital note-taking app, is integrated with Microsoft’s Office 365. It is designed for capturing, organizing, and sharing notes, drawings, images, and audio across devices, including Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android.

However, this tool sometimes doesn’t work properly, and sync issues often occur. Many users have reported OneNote sync problems in forums such as Reddit and Microsoft.

There are 2 common scenarios:

1. OneNote not syncing across devices
2. OneNote Notebook not syncing

Why Is OneNote Not Syncing

The OneNote app not syncing could have happened under a number of circumstances.

• The OneNote will automatically store notebooks or files in OneDrive when the network is connected. Therefore, the internet connection problem could be the potential cause.
• When more than one person works on a notebook online, the syncing progress could be delayed.
• An outdated OneNote version may have an impact on syncing other Office members’ files to OneNote.
• There is too much data to save in OneNote without enough storage space.
• OneDrive or SharePoint servers may be temporarily down or busy.

Luckily, fixing the OneNote sync error is quite easy and next, we will discuss how to fix OneNote not syncing Windows 10/11.

Quick Fixes for OneNote Not Syncing Windows 11/10

1. Check for Updates
2. Try a Re-Login
3. Sync Notebook Manually
4. Free up Storage Space
5. Solve Content Sync Issues
6. Adjust the Sync Settings

Identify the Problem

Before trying to fix OneNote sync issues, check what’s actually wrong.

#1. Check Sync Status

Step 1: Open OneNote.

Step 2: Go to File > Info > View Sync Status.

Check for error messages or whether notebooks are not syncing.

#2. Test Notebook in Web Version

Open a browser and access the OneNote web version.

Follow these steps:

Step 1: Open OneNote, select the File tab, and click the Info option.

Step 2: Right-click the link under Notebook Information and choose the Copy option.

Step 3: Open your Web browser, paste the link into the address bar, and press the Enter key to view this notebook online.

If your notes appear online but not locally, the issue is caused by the desktop app. Try to update the app.

If OneNote doesn’t sync anywhere, this indicates there is an account. In this case, signing out and back in may be effective.

How to Fix OneNote Not Syncing

Fix 1: Check for Updates

If you are experiencing OneNote not syncing across devices, your first need is to ensure the OneNote is up to date. As said above, the outdated OneNote version could cause a syncing problem. Take the following steps to check for updates.

Step 1: Open the OneNote app on your Windows 10/11.

Step 2: Sign in if you haven’t before. In the right corner of OneNote, click your account and choose the Office user info link from the pop-up window.

Step 3: Find the Update Options section and click it to choose Update Now from the drop-down menu.

When completing the update process, run the OneNote app again and see if the OneNote not syncing is fixed.

Fix 2: Try a Re-Login

Sometimes a re-login can fix OneNote syncing glitches or bugs. You can try to sign out the OneNote account and then log back in. Here’s a re-login tutorial.

Step 1: Launch the OneNote notebook app or any other Microsoft Office program.

Step 2: Click the File tab and click Account.

Step 3: Click on the Sign out option. Read the warning prompt carefully and then click Yes to confirm the process.

Fix 3: Sync Notebook Manually

In fact, the automatic syncing feature may not function as expected under the influence of a system bug or glitch. In such a case, you can try to sync the app manually to address the OneNote notebook not syncing issue. This way is suitable for use especially when you are working on a shared notebook with others.

Here’s a step-by-step tutorial on how to manually sync a notebook in OneNote.

Step 1: Launch OneNote, click File and choose the Info tab.

Step 2: Find the View Sync Status button on the right side of the Information window and click it.

Step 3: Check the Sync manually option in the Shared Notebook Synchronization window to perform the manual syncing process.

After finishing all the above steps, your notes will be synchronized to OneDrive. If syncing manually cannot fix this issue, you can continue to read the following fixes.

Complete Guide: How to Disable OneDrive in Windows 11/10?

How to disable OneDrive in Windows? Will there be any impact if it is turned off? Refer to this article to get more information.

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Fix 4: Free up Storage Space

If you encounter OneNote not syncing Windows 10/11, you should check the storage space to determine if any is available. When your device’s space is insufficient or the notebook you want to sync is too large to sync successfully, you will see an error code 0xE00015E0.

In order to fix the OneNote sync error, you need to optimize files and manage your storage space. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Optimize files

1. Launch OneNote, choose the File option and then click the Options tab.

2. Select the Save & Backup section from the left panel.

3. Click the Optimize All Files Now button under the Optimizing files section. The optimizing process will take some time so you need to wait.

Step 2: Remove your unnecessary backup files.

1. Press the Win + R key simultaneously to open the Run dialog and type %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneNote\ in the box and hit OK to continue.

2. Double-click the folder with the corresponding version number you have installed in the popup window.

3. Choose the Backup folder to delete the unnecessary files or folders.

Fix 5: Solve Content Sync Issues

The OneNote not syncing issue may be caused by a content sync conflict. If more than one user wants to edit the same section of one page at the same time, the version conflict messages will appear. In this case, OneNote will make multiple copies of his page so as to prevent data loss and an error message will pop up on the yellow information bar.

Follow the steps below to resolve the content sync issue resulting in OneNote not syncing.

Step 1: In the OneNote window, click the yellow information bar at the top of the page.

Step 2: Copy the content from the temporary page displaying the error and paste the content on the primary page.

Step 3: Right-click the error page and delete it.

After that, check whether the syncing problem is still here or not.

Fix 6: Adjust the Sync Settings

If your OneNote notebook is not syncing, you should also check the sync settings for the program, ensuring the Sync notebooks automatically feature is enabled. The steps are very easy.

Step 1: Go to OneNote and click the File tab.

Step 2: Look for the Options section and click on it.

Step 3: Click the Sync option to make sure the Sync notebooks automatically option is ticked.

Protect Your Notes from Data Loss

To prevent losing important notes, it’s recommended to regularly back up your OneNote files. This can ensure you always have a copy even if syncing fails.

For this purpose, use the PC backup software, MiniTool ShadowMaker. It can create backups for files, folders, disks, partitions, and the entire operating system.

Follow these steps to back up OneNote files.

Step 1: Download, install, and launch MiniTool ShadowMaker.

MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Step 2: Under Backup, click SOURCE > Folders and Files, select the OneNote files, and click OK.

Step 3: Select DESTINATION to choose a drive to save the backup image file.

Step 4: Click Back Up Now to execute file backup.

Bottom Line

In summary, this post answers Why OneNote is not syncing in Windows 10/11 and how to fix this issue, with several helpful solutions and easy-to-follow steps. If you come across the same issue, just try to take advantage of the mentioned fixes above, which can help you get rid of it to a large extent.

Besides, we also recommend you try the best sync software – MiniTool ShadowMaker, which enables synchronization, backup, restoration, and so on.

If you have any suggestions or problems with MiniTool ShadowMaker, please send an email via [email protected] to contact us and we will reply to you as soon as possible.

OneNote Not Syncing FAQ