[Solved] Microsoft OneNote Not Syncing Error

OneNote is a popular note-taking application that many individuals and businesses use to manage information and collaborate. One of the essential features of OneNote is the ability to sync data across different devices, which allows users to access and update their notes from anywhere.

However, sometimes users may encounter issues with OneNote not syncing correctly. This can be frustrating and may lead to data loss or other problems. In this guide, we will explore the most common causes of the OneNote not syncing error and provide solutions to help you resolve the issue and ensure your notes are always up to date.

What Causes Sync Issues?

The OneNote not syncing error can occur for various reasons. Here are the most common reasons why OneNote is not syncing:

• Poor Internet Connection: One of the most common causes of the OneNote not syncing error is a poor or unstable internet connection. If your connection is weak, it may not be strong enough to support syncing and may cause the error to occur. Slow internet speeds or network disruptions can cause syncing problems.
• Onenote Server Issues: Another common cause of the OneNote not syncing error is server issues. Sometimes, the OneNote server may experience downtime or maintenance issues, causing syncing problems. If the server is down or not working correctly, you may be unable to sync your notes to the cloud or other devices.
• Outdated Software or Apps: Outdated versions of OneNote or other software and apps can also cause syncing problems. If you’re using an outdated version of OneNote, it may not be compatible with your operating system or other software, causing syncing errors. Similarly, if you’re using an outdated version of other apps or software that are required for syncing, it may cause the error to occur.

How to Fix OneNoteSyncing Error? Follow These Methods

Check OneNote’s Sync Settings

To troubleshoot OneNote’s syncing issues, it is essential to ensure the sync settings are correctly set up. If automatic syncing fails, it could be due to incorrect settings. The steps to check and adjust sync settings differ between OneNote for Windows 10 and OneNote for Microsoft 365.

For OneNote App for Windows 10

1. Open OneNote’s More menu (three dots at the left corner of the window) and select Settings.

2. Select Options.

3. Toggle on “Sync notebooks automatically” and “Sync down all files and images”.

For OneNote App for Microsoft 365

1. Open OneNote’s File menu.

2. Select Options.

3. Select Sync on the OneNote Options sidebar. Then, automatically check the boxes next to Sync notebooks and Download all files and images.

Check the OneNote Service Status

To start with, it is recommended to confirm whether a server-related problem is preventing OneNote from syncing. You can achieve this by opening OneNote Online and verifying if the content is current. If not, go to your web browser’s Office Service Status page to check for any issues.

If any problems are listed next to Office for the Web (Consumer), it is necessary to wait for Microsoft to resolve them. Additionally, error codes 0xE000078B and 0xE4020040 in OneNote could signify problems with the OneNote servers.

Update OneNote to the Latest Version

It must be updated to the latest version to address the issue of OneNote not syncing. Follow the tutorial below:

1. Open the Windows 10 Start menu and select Microsoft Store.

2. Click “See more” in the top-right corner of the popup window, then select “Download and updates.”

3. Click “Get updates.”

Once you have completed the update, relaunch OneNote to verify whether the syncing problem has been resolved.

Reset Sync Connection

To fix syncing issues between your desktop and another device, try the following steps:

1. In OneNote for Windows 10 or Microsoft 365, right-click the affected notebook and choose “Close This Notebook.”

2. Sign in to OneNote Online and open the notebook.

3. Click “Open in Desktop App” in the OneNote Online ribbon to re-open the notebook in OneNote for Windows 10 or Microsoft 365.

Check Notebook on the Web

Suppose you encounter OneNote not syncing while using the application. In that case, you can diagnose whether the issue lies with the program or the server by checking if it functions correctly on the Web. Follow the steps below:

1. Open OneNote and select “File,” then choose “Info.”

2. Right-click the link in the right-hand window, and select “Copy.”

3. Open a Web browser, paste the link into the address bar, and press “Enter” to open the notebook.

If you can open the notebook on the Web and changes made are visible, the OneNote not syncing issue may be due to the desktop version of the application. Attempt to resolve it by restarting OneNote and checking if the problem has been fixed.

Sync a Notebook Manually

When sharing a notebook with others, it is possible to encounter a OneNote notebook not syncing issue. In this case, manually syncing the notebook can help solve the problem, especially when collaborating with others.

To manually sync a notebook in OneNote, follow these steps:

1. Open OneNote and select “File,” then choose “Info.”

2. Press the “View Sync Status” button.

3. In the “Shared Notebook Synchronization” window, click “Sync Now.”

Afterward, you can sync your notes to OneDrive. If you encounter the OneNote not syncing issue, attempting to sync manually may resolve it.

Check Storage Space

In the previous section, we discussed how insufficient storage space could cause OneNote sync errors. If you encounter the OneNote notebook not syncing issue with error code 0xE00015E0, it could indicate insufficient space on your device or that the notebook is too large to sync.

To resolve the OneNote not syncing issue on Windows 10, you can optimize the size of your files or remove unnecessary backup files.

Optimize File Size

1. Open OneNote and select “File,” then choose “Options.”

2. In the pop-up window, click “Save & Backup.”

3. Click “Optimize All Files Now” under the “Optimizing files” section.

In addition to optimizing files, you can remove unnecessary backup files to free up space.

Delete Unnecessary Backup Files

1. Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog. Type “%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneNote” in the box provided and click “OK.”

2. On the opened window, double-click the folder corresponding to the version code you installed. For example, it will show “16.0” if you use OneNote 2016 and “15.0” if you use OneNote 2013. Then choose the “Backup” folder to continue.

3. Delete the files or folders you do not want to save.

Solve Content Sync Conflict

Version conflict may arise when more than one user edits the same part of a page in OneNote. To avoid data loss, OneNote creates multiple copies of the page, which can lead to OneNote not syncing. Here is the tutorial to resolve content sync conflicts:

1. If you see a yellow info bar, click on it to check the conflict message.
2. Copy the content from the temporary page that shows the error and paste it on the primary page.
3. Right-click on the page with the error and delete it.

After completing these steps, check if the OneNote sync issue is resolved.

Copy to New Section and Sync

When a particular notebook section fails to sync with OneNote Online or other devices, copying the data to a new section can resolve the issue. The 0xE000005E error code often accompanies this problem.

Here are the steps to follow:

1. Go to the OneNote sidebar and create a new section for the notebook (use the Add section option).
2. Right-click on each page of the problematic section and choose Move/Copy.
3. Select the new section and click on Copy.
4. If the new section starts syncing correctly, you can remove the old section and rename the new one with the same name.

Resolve Onenote Sync Error Code 0xe4010641 (Network Disconnected)

To resolve the OneNote sync error 0xE4010641 (Network Disconnected), check the following:

• Confirm that your device has an active and stable internet connection. You can test this by running other apps to check if they work properly.
• Verify that the organization server or third-party service storing your OneNote synced content is online.

Resolve OneNote Sync Error Code 0xe40105f9 (Unsupported Client Build)

To fix the error code 0xE40105F9 (Unsupported Client Build), you need to update or download the latest version of OneNote. Follow the steps below:

1. Open OneNote.
2. Click on the File tab.
3. In the bottom-left corner, select Account.
4. From the Update Options dropdown, click Update Now.

OneNote Sync Error Code 0xe000005e (Referencedrevisionnotfound)

If you encounter the 0xE000005E (ReferencedRevisionNotFound) error code in OneNote, a section of one or more notebooks has failed to sync. To resolve this, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the notebook name in the top-right corner and select Notebook Sync Status.
2. In the Shared Notebook Synchronization window, click the Sync Now button next to the notebook that isn’t syncing.
3. If manual syncing fails, you can create a new section in the same notebook, copy the content from the old section to the new one, and force OneNote to sync again by pressing Shift + F9. If the new notebook syncs successfully, you can delete the old one.

Resolve OneNote Sync Error Code 0xe0190193 (403: Forbidden)

To resolve the OneNote sync error with the code 0xE0190193 (403: Forbidden), which occurs when you attempt to access a notebook section that has become restricted, you should contact the notebook administrator and request to have access reinstated. This error can only occur when the administrator has altered the permissions.

Resolve OneNote Sync Error Code 0xe4020045 (Unsupported Client)

When the backup or sync process fails to properly relocate a locally stored notebook to OneDrive, you may encounter the error code 0xE4020045 in OneNote. If you encounter this error by clicking the yellow Info Bar after incorrectly relocating the files, you can attempt to force sync OneNote by pressing Shift + F9 or manually sync it. If these methods fail, you can follow the steps below to resolve the issue:

1. Go to the folder where your OneNote notebooks are stored. Typically, you can find it at: C:/Users/username\Documents\OneNote Notebooks.
2. Find and copy the folder that contains the data of the affected notebook.
3. Press Win + R to access the system’s root location. Type “%systemroot%” and hit Enter.
4. Copy then paste the folder into the root location.
5. Open the copied folder and locate a file named Notebook.onetoc2. If it’s not there, open any file with the extension.ONETOC2.
6. Double-click the Notebook.onetoc2 file to open it using OneNote.

Improve Disk Space

The error codes 0xE0000796 (Quota Exceeded) and 0xE00015E0 can occur in OneNote due to insufficient storage space in OneDrive or SharePoint. To resolve this, you can delete or optimize existing backups to take up less space.

1. Open OneNote and click on the “File” tab in the top left corner >> Click “Options.”
2. In the “OneNote Options” window, click “Save & Backup” in the left-hand menu.
3. Move to the “Optimizing files” section and click “Optimize All Files Now.”
4. OneNote will begin to optimize the files, which may take some time depending on how many files need to be optimized.

That’s it! Once the optimization process is complete, you should have more space on your device, and your OneNote files should run more smoothly.

Sign Out of the Apps and Unlink Onedrive

Here are the step-by-step instructions to sign out from Office applications and unlink your account from OneDrive:

How to Sign Out From Office Applications

1. Open any Microsoft Office application, such as OneNote.
2. On the left side of the screen, locate “File” and click on it.
3. Click on “Account” in the left-hand menu.
4. Click “Sign out.”
5. Click “Yes” in the confirmation prompt to sign out from your Microsoft account and all other Office applications.

How to Unlink Your Account From Onedrive

1. Press the OneDrive icon found on the Taskbar.
2. Click on the gear-shaped icon in the top-right corner and select “Settings.”
3. Select the “Account” tab.
4. Click “Unlink this PC.”
5. Confirm the action by clicking “Unlink account” in the confirmation box.

To sign back into OneNote or other Office applications, open the application and follow the on-screen instructions to sign in and link your account to OneDrive again. Click “File” in the top-left corner of the window, click “Account,” and then click “Sign in.”

In conclusion, resolving the OneNote not syncing error is essential to ensure that your notes and important information are accessible across all your devices. With the right approach, you can quickly fix the error and ensure that your notes are always up to date. It is essential to stay vigilant and keep track of any issues that may arise to keep your OneNote functioning efficiently.

Troubleshoot OneNote Syncing Issues With Ease

By following the suggested steps and seeking further assistance from the support team when needed, you can ensure that your OneNote is always in sync and ready to use whenever and wherever you need it.