OneNote Notebook not Syncing – How to Recover Deleted Files?

Hardik Pahwa Updated on January 5, 2024 Stellar Data Recovery Software No Comments

User Query: In an attempt to free up some space on my OneDrive, I accidentally deleted my notebook that contains essentially all my important school files. However, I still have a copy of the notebook on the application on my laptop, but I can’t sync it to the cloud again. I’ve tried to restore the folder from the Recycle Bin in OneDrive, but it refuses to let me restore the folder. Help would be greatly appreciated!

Sometimes, you are not able to upload or download notes on your Windows PC using the OneNote application. There might be several reasons behind the OneNote Notebook not syncing issue, such as file corruption, connectivity issues, incorrect sync settings, etc. In this post, we’ll discuss the methods to resolve the OneNote notebook not syncing issue.

Also Read: Free Data Recovery Tools from Stellar

Methods to Fix OneNote Notebook Not Syncing Issue

Follow the below-listed methods to fix OneNote Notebook not syncing issue:

Method 1: Check the OneNote Service Status

If the problem on the server-side is causing issues, you can check the OneNote service status. For doing so, open OneNote Online and check if it is updated. If not, go to the Office Service Status page via web browser. If you see any issue listed next to Office for the web (Consumer), then you have to wait until Microsoft fixes it.

Method 2: Reset Sync Connection- OneNote Notebook not Syncing

If your system is having issues while updating changes, then close and re-open the notebook to reset the connection and prompt OneNote to start syncing again. Follow these steps:

For Windows 10 and Microsoft 365

Right-click the notebook in OneNote and select the Close This Notebook

Then, select the Open in Desktop App option to re-open the notebook in OneNote.

Method 3: Check OneNote’s Sync Settings- OneNote Notebook not Syncing

If OneNote fails to sync automatically, check if its sync settings are set up correctly. To do so, follow these steps:

For Windows 10

Open the OneNote, click on the three dots, and select Settings > Options.

Toggle the buttons under Sync notebooks automatically and then download all files and images.

OneNote for Microsoft 365

Go to OneNote’s File menu > Options.

Click on Sync on the OneNote options sidebar and then mark the checkbox next to Sync notebooks automatically and Download all files and images.

Method 4: Free Up OneDrive Space

OneNote sync your notes to OneDrive. If there is insufficient cloud storage space, then it can result in the OneNote notebook not syncing issue. The 0xE0000796 error code appears mainly because of this reason. If your OneDrive storage is almost full, then try freeing up some space by deleting unnecessary files.

If you’ve set up OneDrive on your PC, go to OneDrive > Help & Settings > Open your OneDrive folder via the system tray. However, if you haven’t set it up on PC, visit the OneDrive web app.

Method 5: Copy to New Section and Sync

If a particular section of a notebook fails to upload to OneNote Online or other devices, you can try copying that data to a new section. Follow these steps:

Select the notebook and click Add section for creating a new section.

Right-click each page within the problematic section and select Move/Copy.

Select the new section and click Copy.

You can delete the old section, if the new section starts syncing correctly. Also, rename the new section with the same name as the old section.

Method 6: Update the OneNote App

If the OneNote Notebook not syncing issue persists even after following the above methods, try updating OneNote. Follow the below steps:

For Windows 10

Open the Microsoft Store.
Click on the three dots and select Downloads and updates.

Select the Download option or Update All to update all Microsoft Store-related apps.

For Microsoft 365

Go to the File menu > Account.
Then, select Update Options followed by Update Now.

Method 7: Optimize Notebooks (Microsoft 365 Version Only)

You may fix the sync issues caused by large-sized storage files by optimizing your OneNote notebooks. You can reduce the size of a notebook even by deleting the version history and removing unnecessary backups.

Here are the steps to optimize notebook:

Go to the File menu > Options.
From the sidebar, select Save & Backup and then Optimize All Files Now.

Steps to delete Version History:

Select the History tab.
Now, click Page Versions and select Delete All Versions in Notebook.

Steps to delete extra backups:

Go to the File menu > Info > Open Backups.

Select your notebook and delete the backup files you no longer need.

Method 8: Restore Items from OneNote Trash- OneNote Notebook not Syncing

Sometimes, deleted notes may also result in OneNote Notebook not syncing issue. Thus, you can restore them. However, once OneNote re-establishes connectivity, you can delete them again.

OneNote for Windows 10

Navigate to the View tab and select Deleted Notes > View Deleted Notes.

Right-click a section and click on Restore to.

After that, select the original notebook and select Restore.

Then, you can delete the restored sections and pages again.

OneNote for Microsoft 365

Select the History tab and click on Notebook Recycle Bin. Select Notebook Recycle Bin from the dropdown.

Right-click a section and select Move or Copy.

Select the original notebook and click Move.

At last, delete the restored sections and pages again.

Also Read: How to Recover Deleted Chrome Bookmarks on Mac?

Summing It Up

The above mentioned solutions would have helped you fix the OneNote Notebook not syncing issue. However, you may come across additional sync issues in future also. It is advisable to keep OneNote updated on your device to minimize potential problems with syncing.