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I cant open my notes in my onenote anymore

Miguel Martins 0 Reputation points
2026-04-16T19:40:48.29+00:00

I cant no longer access my folders that i have saved for years on my android Samsung s23.

And when i go to the onenote web on the browser, they are not there, not even on the recycle bin. I can see them on my phone but when i try to open them it says they have been moved or deleted, please help.

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneNote | For home | Android
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  1. Norah-L 6,685 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-04-17T07:30:44.5166667+00:00

    Hello Miguel Martins

    Based on what you described, the notes and folders you created in OneNote on your Samsung Galaxy S23 are still visible in the Android app but can no longer be opened, showing a message that they were moved or deleted.

    Since those notes don’t appear in OneNote for the web or in any recycle bin, the chances of restoring the notes seem limited, but there are still a couple of things worth checking.

    To better understand what may have happened, could you help clarify a few things?

    1. Have these notes or folders ever been opened on another device previously?
    2. Do you recall whether OneDrive syncing was enabled and signed in with the same Microsoft account when the notes were originally created on the Android device?
    3. Were the notes mainly created and edited only on the Samsung phone, or were they regularly accessed on multiple devices?
    4. Around the time the issue started, did you sign out of OneNote, clear app data, reinstall the app, or change accounts on the phone?

    I look forward to your response so we could determine what to do next!

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  2. Miguel Martins 0 Reputation points
    2026-04-16T19:45:27.4266667+00:00

    Can microsoft still bring my notes back?

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  3. Miguel Martins 0 Reputation points
    2026-04-16T19:43:53.5733333+00:00

    I still cant find them on web browser or my desktop. I can see the huge notes list on my android but cant open them at all.

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  4. AI answer

    2026-04-16T19:41:04.2333333+00:00

    Based on the described symptoms, the notes are no longer present in the OneNote notebooks stored in the cloud (they do not appear in OneNote for the web or in the recycle bin), and OneNote on Android reports that the pages have been moved or deleted. In this situation, only the following recovery paths are available:

    1. Check if the notes are in another notebook or section
    • On any OneNote client that can still open the notebook structure (Windows, web, or Android), search across all notebooks for unique words from those notes (for example, a specific term or phrase used only in that content).
    • If the content was accidentally moved to another page or section, search can locate it.
    1. Check OneDrive/SharePoint directly for notebook versions
    • Sign in to OneDrive from the OneDrive home page.
    • Browse folders such as Documents or Notebooks and locate the affected notebook.
    • Open the notebook in OneNote for the web.
    • If the service where the notebook is stored supports version history, restore an earlier version of the affected section or page from there (if available).
    1. Check OneNote recycle locations
    • If using the Windows OneNote app with shared notebooks:
      • Open the notebook where the notes used to be.
      • Select History > Notebook Recycle Bin > Notebook Recycle Bin.
      • If the missing pages appear there, right‑click each page tab, choose Move or Copy, and move them back to a normal section.
    • If using OneNote for Windows 10:
      • Open the notebook.
      • Select View > Deleted Notes.
      • If the pages appear, restore them using Restore To.
    1. Check for local/backup copies (if any)
    • If the notebook was ever opened in the desktop OneNote app (not just Android), and local backups were enabled, earlier backups of sections or pages might exist and can be restored from that machine.

    If the notebook has fully synced after the deletion/move event and none of the above locations (OneNote for the web, OneDrive folders, Notebook Recycle Bin/Deleted Notes, or local backups) contain the missing content, recovery is very limited. OneNote does not maintain a separate “trash” for individual content containers on a page, and if no backup or older version exists, the data cannot be restored.

    For future protection, enable and regularly check backups in the desktop OneNote app (if used) and periodically export or copy critical notes to additional locations.

    References:

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

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