OneNote for Android: Notebooks stuck in "Misplaced Sections" with Sync Error 0xE4020045

Hi Erin Cruz

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A Forum and sharing your concern.

I completely understand the anxiety around your data. Seeing important notes moved to Misplaced Sections only on your Android phone, while they do not appear in OneNote for Web or your desktop app, can be very concerning.

The sync error 0xE4020045 typically indicates a cache or sync conflict where the local OneNote app can no longer correctly reconcile the section with the server version. In this state, Misplaced Sections exist only in the local storage on your Android device and have not been uploaded to the cloud.

For this reason, please do not sign out, uninstall OneNote, or clear app data at this stage, as doing so may permanently remove the only remaining copy of your notes. The priority is to secure the data first before any further troubleshooting.

1, Create a backup destination

• Try to create a brand‑new notebook in OneNote.
• If you are unable to create a new notebook, locate an existing notebook that is syncing correctly (you can verify this by checking that it appears in OneNote for Web), then create a new section within it.

2, Copy content from Misplaced Sections

• Open the Misplaced Sections folder > Long‑press a page you need to preserve.
• Select Create a copy, avoid using Move to, as copying keeps the original page intact in case the transfer fails.
• Choose the newly created section as the destination.
• Repeat this process for all affected pages.

3, Verify data safety

• Sign in to OneNote for Web using the same account to confirm that the copied pages now appear online.
• If the copy action gives an error or causes the app to crash, manually select and copy the text or images from the misplaced pages, then paste the content into another app or document temporarily to ensure the information is saved outside of OneNote.

4, Only after confirming all data is visible in OneNote for Web

• Sign out of OneNote on Android.
• Go to Android Settings > Apps > OneNote > Storage, and select Clear cache.
• Uninstall and reinstall OneNote.
• Sign back in and allow notebooks to resync.

Please let me know how you get on, as your feedback is valuable to the community. 

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