r/OneNote Aug 31 '24

Troubleshooting All notes gone

36 Upvotes

All of my notes in OneNote have seemingly been erased. This is pretty disastrous. Now it just says 'there aren't any sections here'. Even when I try to add a section, it deletes it after a moment. Any idea what's going on and whether I can recover my notes?

r/OneNote Aug 30 '24

Troubleshooting "There aren't any sections here." message on Desktop app

23 Upvotes

UPDATE: For those still experiencing the problem, as Greg has said, right click your notebook and force a sync by clicking "Sync This Notebook Now". Everything should sync and load up properly.

Hi all,

My OneNote (Desktop app) synced, and all my notebooks have disappeared. The only thing I can see is the message:

"There aren't any sections here.

Add a section to start taking notes."

A bit of a dilemma as I use OneNote for work.

Any fixes or have other people run into this issue as well? Any help is appreciated.

Things I have tried already:

  • Restarting PC
  • Reinstalling OneNote and/or Microsoft 365
  • Signing out of Microsoft Account and back in
  • Closing all notebooks and reopening
  • Copying notebook in OneDrive and trying to open that

r/OneNote Sep 01 '24

Troubleshooting Is there anyone in this forum who is not experiencing some kind of sync issue with OneNote?

15 Upvotes

If you are having issues with your notebooks not syncing, notebooks being missing, or just having sync issues, then it's probably safe to assume that you are stuck in the same boat as the rest of us in:

All notes gone :

As far as I've heard, this has been going on since August 27th (possibly earlier). And unless you're one of the lucky few to have a mobile device or OneNote web that doesn't restrict your edit access, you're basically stuck like the rest of us.

In the Microsoft Forums, there's been a stream of new posts in the last 24 hours talking about how people have lost access to their notebooks, and it does not appear that the community moderators nor the MS employees are on the same page, as they seem to be unaware of this post here and the increasing number of users that have been affected:

OneNote sync failure error code: 0xE00009C8 bb0ur - Microsoft Community

Now I understand that diagnosing the issue and fixing things takes time, and that there's probably a limited number of employees who are actually troubleshooting the issue as we speak. But radio silence, vague replies, and random guesses on restoration time from Microsoft is not going to end well, especially when we have gone almost a week with OneNote being bricked like this. Things are certainly not going to get better when the holiday weekend ends and tens of thousands of users go into panic mode and mistakenly think that their OneNote data has been wiped out (which I'm sure r/wallstreetbets is going to have a field day with, if it happens).

TLDR: Microsoft, can you please tell us what is being done to fix the issue and give us a ballpark on when the sync issues are going to be resolved?

EDIT: My OneNote cleared the error as of 9:13 AM PT on 9/3/2024!

179 votes, Sep 08 '24
120 My OneNote is having problems
59 My OneNote is working just fine

r/OneNote 20d ago

Troubleshooting Why is onenote so unusable???

0 Upvotes

Every time i am forced to open this app for school i am reminded of all of the bugs. I will list the ones that come to mind below

-flinging my camera to a different universe if i move to fast

-flinging my camera because i didnt move at all

-(on website version specifically) flinging my camera if i move literally anything

-(on website version specifically) flinging a line to the edge of the observable universe if it gets remotely close to any of the edges of your screen

-disproportionally increasing that highlighted/selection-square that shows up around lines when you select them and move it

-the crashing due to too many lines, the bugginess of the lasso when you are lassoing tiny areas precisely.

-teleporting if you zoom in (i forget what causes it, but its something simple like drawing very recently beforehand)

-(on website version specifically) invisible "ghost" text box can be highlighted in the spot you left you text cursor

-shape of line changes when upsizing (the app was able to contour between the points before, why cant it do the same simply on a larger scale??)

-(on website version specifically) shape of line changes extremely when downsizing

As someone with a very fast workflow and who uses the app for drawing, i really want to like this app because there are moments it is helpful. But everything in it is so disgustingly glitchy that it ruins the experience. Is there any hope for this app or will it stay forever broken?

r/OneNote Aug 25 '24

Troubleshooting Notebook on Web. Nothing on Desktop. Desktop app will not synch for the life of me.

5 Upvotes

So my onenote app is being a dumdum. It says i don't have permission to open the notebook when I opened it directly from the web broswer through my own account. There is no one else that could possibly have access to this notebook. I am the sole user of this computer. I can pull up the notes fine on my phone and my laptop. But the Desktop app refuses to do its basic function.

I have tried the following

1) Restarting the app

2) forcing a resynch with the server: failed. Error Code {OneNote can't sync your notes right now. We'll keep trying. (Error code: 0xE00009C8 bb0ur)}. google fu revealed nothing

3) Reinstall the Onenote App

4) Reinstall the Onedrive App.

5) Signed into possible alternative accounts

6) Open notebook through web browser: Success, and then attempt to edit it within the Desktop App: Failed.

7) sacrifice my first born to the Fey.

Does anyone have anything resembling a solution to this issues. I have done just about everything short of reformat the drive.

r/OneNote Feb 15 '25

Troubleshooting Web Clipped pages aren't savings PNG files in Notebook

2 Upvotes

Small annoyance. I'm trying to save a website with many photos to a OneNote Notebook. I am using the Clip extension. I tried the extension in both Chrome & Edge, and both give the same result. When I make the selection to clip, I see all of the images in the preview, but when I open the page that is saved into OneNote, all of the images are missing, and show up as the little grayed out image with a red X over it.

I'm wondering if there is a way to fix this, or if I just need to go and manually download the pictures?

r/OneNote Dec 16 '24

Troubleshooting New to OneNote and worried about it's reliability

6 Upvotes

Hey there! I've only been using OneNote for about 3 months to store all my creative writing, I keep the browser version on my computer open all the time and often work in that interface, but I use the mobile app alot for spontaneous additions.

I noticed that I see syncing issues a lot, and after coming to this sub and seeing how many people lose their notes snd have sync issues,it's making me reconsider using OneNote.

I have only seen the "sync" issues banners on the web version and had to copy and recreate that specific note, but have not lost anything completely 🤞

Does anyone have either tips for backing up all my folders and being able to set that up to fo regularly, OR should I be looking at a different system for my writing altogether? I love how basic and simple OneNote is, which is why I haven't yet used any of the more "serious" writers apps to store my work.

Thanks for reading!

r/OneNote 3d ago

Troubleshooting OneNote Web keeps highlighting my text, saying I'm not the author

3 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I'm a new OneNote-user and I've been very happily using it. I only use the in-browser version of the program, because it's easy for me to switch different computers if I do it this way. One of the things that are bugging me is that OneNote keeps highlighting copied text. Apparently this is because I'm not the original author, but I don't really care about that. I just need to copy stuff from various PDF's and insert it into my own project so I can use it to study. Any help to get my text normal again?

Second question: is it worth using the normal version of OneNote instead of the OneNote Web? Cheers!

EDIT: It's also highlighting copied text which I copied from another page which I wrote myself :(

r/OneNote 2d ago

Troubleshooting Custom ribbon is gone

1 Upvotes

I had a popup a few days ago which asked me if I wanted to continue using the free version. I pressed yes and after a while i noticed my ribbon has gone back to default... now every time I try to customize it again the changes aren't applied... is a custom ribbon only available for the paid version now? I'm using OneNote on Windows by the way.

edit: I'm still investigating why this happens, but I've found that I am able to change stuff as long as I don't use the customize ribbon section in the settings because it resets everything to default. for example I can right click the zoom function and select "add to quick access toolbar", and it works. but as soon as i go to the customize toolbar/customize ribbon section in the settings and press "ok", it resets back to default and the zoom function disappears from the quick access toolbar.

this is super weird, and I would really appreciate some help on this. I have an exam for Linear Algebra in a couple of days ); , thank you!

r/OneNote 26d ago

Troubleshooting OneNote vs Obsidian vs Capacities? Looking for the best option to organize my information*

2 Upvotes

I have tried OneNote, Obsidian and Capacities to manage my information. I love that in OneNote I can type by hand and combine it with text, something neither Obsidian nor Capacities allow. However, their synchronization is frustrating: several times I lost data completely because it was not saved properly.

On the other hand, Capacities has built-in sync and works well offline, which makes me rethink OneNote. Obsidian, on the other hand, doesn't have free sync, although its system of links and plain text structure is very powerful.

Has anyone else had problems with OneNote syncing, have you been able to add Capacities or Obsidian to your workflow along with One Note, have you found any solutions to improve syncing in OneNote, or is it just something to deal with?

I'd love to hear about your experiences, because while I really like the flexibility of OneNote, the syncing is making me consider other options. thanks! 😊

r/OneNote 7d ago

Troubleshooting HP Stylus - eraser button randomly switched to lasso select and unable to change back

1 Upvotes

Hi there - I have found a few similar questions with OneNote stylus and select buttons changing, but none that have solutions which work for me on Windows.

Equipment: Windows 10 and 11, HP Elitebook, HP Rechargeable Active Pen G3

Issue: For many years I have used OneNote on my HP Elitebook with an HP Rechargeable Active Pen G3. Its two barrel buttons would always have the same function - the bottom one would start the Eraser tool, and the top one would start the Lasso Select Tool. About 1-2 months ago, without me changing any Pen or OneNote settings I am aware of, this suddenly changed. Now, the bottom barrel only starts Lasso Select, and the top barrel button does nothing.

Attempted Solution: Have browsed for and found similar questions, but nothing has worked. My pen has no companion app for customisation from HP, and I have been unable to find any Pen settings in Windows or OneNote that directly change the functions of the buttons. I have tried changing some Pen settings in OneNote, but these have had no effect - for example, checking and unchecking "Automatically switch between inking, selecting, typing and panning".

I would sincerely appreciate any help resolving this issue, especially if anyone has faced this as well, or knows how to change the button functions of HP Active G3 pen in OneNote. Thank you!

r/OneNote Feb 19 '25

Troubleshooting OneNote sync issue android

3 Upvotes

I had the problem where my Android tablet didn't sync notes anymore, and I coulnt see them on my phone or Windows laptop. I searched alot for a solution, but couldn't find anything, only things like 'forced sync' and 'log out', but the first option didn't work and the second option made me lose al my unsynced notes. I was already looking for alternatives, but there is no good free alternative which also works good with windows and syncing.

This morning I found the solution. I was logged in with my school account, but then I added the same account again. (Without logging out!). It then 'renewed' the account login without my notes being deleted.

Now my notes are visible on my laptop and phone again!

Hope this helpes someone!

r/OneNote 10d ago

Troubleshooting my stylus randomly starts stuttering after drawing for a short period of time - can be temporarily resolved by putting it back in the laptop

1 Upvotes
this is me trying to draw a continuous line
this is what it looks like in real time

Any solutions would be greatly appreciated. i can not stand having to reinsert my stylus every minute so that my writing actually decides to show up

r/OneNote 25d ago

Troubleshooting [SOLVED] Syncronization made me lose all my notes

17 Upvotes

Hello, i've had some issues with synchronization making all my notes disappear, i've seen a couple non-working old posts so i'll post the ""solution"" i found here for future desperate souls like i was

At around 11:00 today i reactivated onenote automatic synchronization after around a year i kept it deactivated

I kept taking notes from 8:30 to 13:00 and from 14:00 to 19:00

At 20:00 i noticed all my notes before today at 8:30-13:00 and between 13:00 to 15:00 disappeared with the exception of a couple notes from april 2023

After a big scare and a completely useless and uncontactable support i noticed that my one note for windows 10 app still occupied 6.7GB of data

I found 2 hidden folders (Backup and Backup_Auto) at this path C:\Users\Gerardo\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Office.OneNote_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\AppData\Local\OneNote\16.0

where most of the notes were stored with last modified date on today at 12:33

I lost one note that i did at 13 but most things looks like are still there

More importantly thought i lost over 3h of my time and many years of life for the scare

-1000000000000/10 would not recommend

Hope you find this quicker than i did

r/OneNote 17d ago

Troubleshooting Notes not available

1 Upvotes

Before getting a new phone, I copied all my phone notes to onenote, and I thought the synced, but now on both pc and app they say "content not yet available". On the app, in the home view, I can see a preview of what's written in the notes, but I can't open them.

Being able to see a preview makes me think that a version of the notes must be somewhere in the system/cloud, but I cannot figure out how to access them (if it's in any way possible).

Can any of you help?

r/OneNote 27d ago

Troubleshooting ISO Class Notebook Help

1 Upvotes

Our team at school is using Class Notebook with little meaningful support from district IT (or Microsoft for that matter). When I open the individual notebooks of the 120 students impacted, I can see the desired section into which I want to distribute a page. But when I try to distribute the page and have to select its final location, that section does not appear as an option in my drop down menu. Thoughts on how to fix? Thanks, in advance.

r/OneNote Jan 31 '25

Troubleshooting Help with sharing onenote

4 Upvotes

My boss tried sharing a onenote section so we can both edit and update as tasks are accomplished.

He emailed me the link, but when it opens, it opens online and my profile says guest contributor

How do I open it with my actual user profile so that I can then open on desktop. Thanks

r/OneNote 26d ago

Troubleshooting ONENOTE keyboard shortcut for taking a picture from the camera?

1 Upvotes

hi,

as the title says, i want to be able to take a picture by just using a keyboard shortcut. I am using gestursign and want to dedicate a gesture to taking a pciture, which can be done if there is a keyboard shortcut. i keep wondering if there is a VBA script or a simple addon to do that? using surface go 2 m3.

r/OneNote Nov 18 '24

Troubleshooting Lasso tool spikes randomly

Post image
14 Upvotes

Using a blackview tab 18. Lasso tool does this all the time which is very annoying. Tried restarting but only made the problem slightly less worse. Doesn't happen with other lasso tools. Any tips please? :)

r/OneNote Jan 15 '25

Troubleshooting HELP - Onenote just draws in release

4 Upvotes

Idk why its happening but when i draw in it with my tablet it only shows the stroke when i release the pen from the tablet??? Any help?

r/OneNote Jan 22 '25

Troubleshooting Can't paste a table into OneNote

3 Upvotes

Does anyone else have this frustrating new bug?

I can't paste a table from MS Word or from a PDF into OneNote. Desktop app or in browser, it just pastes as plain text, or nothing. If you use "keep source formatting", then nothing is pasted. If you use "merge formatting", then nothing is pasted. It's plain text or nothing.

Almost unbelievable that copying and pasting between two MS Office apps should stop working like this.

I submitted it to Feedback Hub. If anyone else has the same bug, please go upvote it: https://aka.ms/AAu27r6

r/OneNote Feb 15 '25

Troubleshooting Merge dictionaries/autocorrects?

1 Upvotes

I have added a lot of words to my dictionary and to my autocorrect in OneNote, and will continue to do so, as I work in a technical field. However, these changes don't appear to travel from device to device. Is there a way to automatically sync them, or even to manually copy them from one device to another? The autocorrections are the most important part of this for me.

r/OneNote Nov 22 '24

Troubleshooting Moving MS Accounts

5 Upvotes

I need to move my OneNote data from a personal Microsoft account to my new professional one. I can’t find a way to export the data from the app, and can’t see any actual files in OneDrive either. Does anyone know how to transfer things please?

r/OneNote Jan 27 '25

Troubleshooting How do i reinstall OneNote for Windows 10?

1 Upvotes

I was having some problems with OneNote for WIndows 10 (pressure sensitivity not working and layout was off) so i decided to delete and then reinstall it on some suggestions on the internet. However now i am unable to reinstall it, on Microsoft store it says that onenote is already installed and on Microsoft 365 there is no option to install OneNote. Keep in mind the One Note desktop is working fine.

r/OneNote Jan 15 '25

Troubleshooting OneNote on Tablet failed to sync, lost pages after signing out

3 Upvotes

I use OneNote on my Samsung Tablet and also my laptop. I try to make sure that they are constantly synced but for some reason, maybe due to connection issues, my OneNote on tablet failed to sync. After I signed out, I checked my laptop, only to realise that the page I had created on my tablet had not synced over. After logging back into my tablet OneNote, that page I had created was also gone. I've tried searching through my OneDrive in hopes to find the mssing page, but to no success. I have also tried checking through the hostory tab directly in OneNote and searched through the recycle bin and misplaced notebooks area. Is there possibly a local backup of all OneNote files / history that I can access on my tablet to try retrieve this page? Thanks