Page turned blank

Megan Weidig 0 Reputation points
2026-09-09T04:59:06.1066667+00:00

I was 5 hours into writing and drawing my notes on a page before it turned completely blank. The notes are gone, I can't draw or type or add anything new. Even the title that is normally on the top of the page is gone. Please I need this back. I have tried logging into the web browser version and it still isn't working. I tried deleting the app on my ipad and redownloading and still nothing. There is no previous version that comes up, no back up to load from that comes up. its all blank. Please.

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneNote | For education | iOS
0 comments No comments

2 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
  1. Roebe Ta 1,025 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-09-09T13:53:18.2133333+00:00

    Thank you for the additional details, @Megan Weidig .

    As the notebook is stored in OneDrive under a school account, I recommend:

    1. Check version history in OneDrive:

    • Open OneDrive in your browser. 
    • Locate the file. 
    • Right-click the file and select Version History. 
    • Review the list of previous versions and click Restore for the desired version. 

    User Image

    2. Check Second-Step Recycle Bin on your OneDrive:  

    • In your Recycle Bin.  
    • Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Second-step Recycle Bin.  
    • Select the items you want to restore.  
    • Click Restore.  

    The second-step recycle bin may appear like this in your OneDrive:  

    undefined

      

    3. Restore your OneDrive:  

    • Go to OneDrive Web and sign in with your account.  
    • Select the gear icon (Settings) > Reset your OneDrive.  

    User's image

    • Under Select a date, choose Yesterday or any date you want.  

    User's image

    • Scroll down to see the changes on OneDrive and see if there is the version you want to restore > if so, click Restore.  

     User's image

    If you have already tried all of the troubleshooting steps above, and the issue still persists, then unfortunately there may not be any additional backup available from the end-user side.

    Since this notebook is stored in OneDrive under a school account, I recommend contacting your school's IT administrator and asking them to check whether there are any retention policies, backups, or recovery options available within your Microsoft 365 environment.

    Thank you for your understanding so far.

    Was this answer helpful?


  2. Roebe Ta 1,025 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-09-09T05:20:54.7866667+00:00

    Hi @Megan Weidig,

    I'm sorry to hear about this. I can imagine how frustrating it must be to lose access to notes you've spent several hours creating.

    To help us better understand what may have happened and guide you toward the best possible recovery option, could you share a little more information about your setup and what you've observed so far?

    • As your question is under Education tag, is this notebook associated with a personal Microsoft account, school account, or work account or you have multiple accounts logged in? Also, if you have multiple accounts signed in to OneNote, please let me know, as this can sometimes affect which notebooks and pages are displayed.
    • Are you using OneNote only on your iPad, or do you also access the notebook from another device such as a Windows PC, Mac, or OneNote on the web?
    • Does the issue affect just this one page, or have you noticed any problems with other pages or sections in the notebook?
    • Where is the notebook stored (for example, OneDrive, SharePoint, or on your local device)?
    • When you open the page in OneNote on the web, is it completely blank, showing an error message, displaying a sync warning, or showing a page with no content but still displaying the page title?
    • Have you had a chance to check the Deleted Notes or Notebook Recycle Bin in OneNote on the web?
    • Do you recall what you were doing right before the page became blank? For example, were you actively editing, syncing, switching apps, or experiencing any connectivity issues?

    In the meantime, please don't make any major changes to the notebook, such as moving or deleting pages, as this could make recovery more difficult if the content still exists in a previous version or sync state.

    If the notebook is stored on OneDrive/SharePoint, please try opening the notebook directly from OneDrive or SharePoint and verify whether the notebook contents are still present there.

    Once you provide the details above, I'll do my best to help investigate what happened and identify any available recovery options.

    Looking forward to your reply.

    Was this answer helpful?


Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.