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OneNote does not sync with iPadOS or iPhone IOS

Daveypez-4194 5 Reputation points
2026-03-17T17:15:05.5533333+00:00

Sync works fine on my Mac and used to work on my phone (though I've changed my iPad). Now I can apparently sign-in to my account through either iPadOS or IOS but it's empty of contents. I suspect I'm not actually linking to my existing account.

Anyone have any advice?

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneNote | For home | iOS

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  1. AI answer

    2026-03-17T17:15:21.88+00:00

    Follow these steps on both iPadOS and iPhone to reconnect OneNote to the correct account and fix the empty-notebook view:

    1. Verify you are on the latest OneNote for iOS
      • Open the App Store on each device and update OneNote (and other Office apps like Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Outlook, since they share identity).
    2. Sign out of OneNote on iOS
      • Open OneNote.
      • Tap the back "<" icon until the list of notebooks appears.
      • Tap the gear icon (iPad: upper right; iPhone: tap the ellipsis ... then Settings).
      • Under Account, tap the listed account name.
      • Tap the account name again and choose Remove Account.
      • Confirm signing out.
    3. Fully close OneNote
      • Double-tap the Home button (or use App Switcher) and swipe up on OneNote to close it.
    4. Clear iOS Office/OneNote credentials (if still seeing wrong/empty account)
      • Go to iOS Settings > OneNote > Reset OneNote.
      • Turn on Delete Sign-In Credentials.
      • Ensure OneNote is not running while doing this.
    5. Sign back in with the correct account
      • Re-open OneNote.
      • When prompted, sign in with the same Microsoft account used on the Mac where sync works.
      • After sign-in, wait on the Notebooks list; OneNote will attempt to re-sync all open notebooks. On iOS, pull down on the Notebooks list to trigger a sync (a spinning indicator appears at the top).
    6. If notebooks still appear empty
      • On the Mac, confirm which account is signed in and which notebooks are open.
      • On iOS, make sure the same account (same email address) is added and selected under Settings > Account.
      • If the issue persists, check for any known issues and report the problem to the OneNote team as suggested in the sync troubleshooting article.

    These steps reset the iOS credentials and ensure OneNote on iPad/iPhone is actually using the same account and notebook locations as on the Mac.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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