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OneNote not responding reliably on my Android Pixel 8a running Android 16

Ari Davidow 0 Reputation points
2026-04-07T21:50:16.58+00:00

I currently use OneNote on my Mac M1, on an iPad, and on an Android phone. The application on the Android phone has become unreliable. Sometimes a note will open. Sometimes, it will open, but only after a significant delay (15 sec? 30 sec? a minute?). Most often, it simply doesn't open.

I tried clearing the cache. Then I tried uninstalling OneNote and re-installing. On re-installing, one of my notebooks took forever to become visible (over a day), and for a few hours everything seemed to work. Honeymoon is over.

This makes the application useless for shopping, say, or taking notes when I am in meetings or out and about.

Does this ring any bells with anyone?

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneNote | For home | Android
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  1. Kai-H 18,195 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-04-14T07:28:28.5933333+00:00

    Hi, Ari Davidow

    This sounds less like a normal sync delay and more like either Android battery management slowing OneNote down, or one notebook/page being too heavy or slightly damaged for the phone app to handle well. Battery optimization can limit background app behavior, and very large sections/pages, unsupported page content, or a corrupted page can affect OneNote performance.

    Here are some suggestions you can try:

    On the Pixel, go to Settings > Apps > OneNote > App battery usage, tap the Allow background usage text, and set OneNote to Unrestricted. Also check that Battery Saver or Extreme Battery Saver is not on, because those modes limit apps and can even pause most apps.

    If the same notes are always the ones that hang, open them on your Mac, iPad, or OneNote for the web and copy the content into a brand new page or a fresh section. Large sections/pages can slow OneNote, and unsupported or corrupted pages can misbehave on phones.

    It is also recommended that you add one small test page or a new section from the Mac/iPad side and see if that new item shows up normally on the phone.

    Thank you for your patience in reading, I hope this information has been helpful to you. 

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment."    

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  2. Ari Davidow 0 Reputation points
    2026-04-08T20:08:49.96+00:00

    Thanks. I will try these out and report back.

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  3. AI answer

    2026-04-07T21:50:39.2+00:00

    The described behavior matches known OneNote for Android sync and reliability issues. Use the following targeted steps on the Pixel 8a:

    1. Make sure OneNote can stay active
    • Keep OneNote in the foreground while opening and syncing notebooks, especially large ones.
    • For large notebooks or first-time syncs, leave the device on and OneNote open; initial sync can take many hours.
    1. Reset OneNote account credentials
    1. Open OneNote and tap Notebooks (bottom left).
    2. Tap the three-dots menu (upper right) > Settings.
    3. Tap Account.
    4. Tap Sign Out and confirm OK.
    5. Use the recent apps button, find OneNote, and swipe it away to fully close it.
    6. Start OneNote again and sign back into the account.

    This forces OneNote to re-establish authentication and can resolve intermittent loading and sync problems.

    1. Force a manual sync of problem notebooks
    1. In OneNote, locate the notebook that is slow to open or not loading.
    2. Tap the three-dots menu (upper right) > Sync (account name) notebook.
      • To sync all notebooks, go to the notebook list, tap the three-dots menu, then Sync all.
    3. Leave the device on and connected until sync completes. For large notebooks, consider leaving it plugged in and on Wi‑Fi for an extended period.
    1. Check for “Misplaced Sections” and read-only copies (after recent updates)
    • After recent OneNote for Android updates, unsynced pages can be moved into Misplaced Sections as read-only copies.
    • From Recent Notes, let OneNote fully sync.
    • In the notebook list, verify that the sync symbol disappears for all notebooks.
    • If sections appear under Misplaced Sections, open them and:
      • Find any pages with content that did not appear in the main notebook.
      • Press and hold a page > Copy Page, then choose the original notebook and section to place it back.
    • After confirming all needed content is copied, you can close Misplaced Sections from the notebook list (press and hold Misplaced Sections > Close notebook). Be aware this removes remaining local-only changes in that area, so review carefully first.
    1. If issues persist
    • Confirm that notes open and sync correctly on Mac and iPad; if they do, the problem is isolated to Android and usually resolved by the credential reset and forced sync.
    • If OneNote on Android continues to hang or fail to open notes after the above steps, report the behavior (device model, Android version, notebook size, and whether Misplaced Sections appear) via the OneNote for Android forums on Microsoft Community as suggested in the documentation.

    References:

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

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