OneNote - some student pages are randomly locked

Question

One of my teachers is using a Class Notebook. Recently about 1/2 of the class could not access their homework page because the page was locked. The page is locked in both the OneNote app and Office 365. Both the teacher and the students have tried to unlock the page and get the same error "Your students need a recent version of OneNote for the Page Lock feature to work". The OneNote version is 2510 (Build 19328.20158). When the teacher tries to review work to see the locked status of the page, it spins and then eventually states "Uh-oh. Something went wrong". Note, the teacher did not lock the page.

Any assistance would be appreciated. We have had numerous issues with Class Notebooks (Win11) this year. We do not use Teams.

Answer 1

Hi @CathyHoose-6231, 

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum. 

Thank you for reaching out, and I truly appreciate the detailed information you've provided about the issue with Class Notebook. Based on your description, I'd like to share the following guidance: 

The Page Lock feature only works properly when both the teacher and all students are using a recent version of OneNote. If even one student is using an outdated version that doesn’t support this feature, the lock/unlock process may fail and trigger errors. 

Given this situation, here are my recommendations that you may find helpful: 

1/ Check and update OneNote for all students 

• Please ensure all students are using a supported version. According to Microsoft’s official documentation: Use page locking in Class Notebook - Microsoft Support 
• If possible, I recommend having students open the notebook in OneNote Online, which is always current and compatible with Page Lock. Class Notebook Tools instructions for OneNote for the web - Microsoft Support 

2/ Retry unlocking after updates 

Once all students have updated: 

• The teacher can go to Class Notebook → Review Student Work → Page Locking and uncheck the lock. 
• Alternatively, use OneNote Online via Office 365 to perform the unlock action. 

3/ Temporary workaround 

If unlocking still fails: 

• Create a new page and copy the content from the locked page. 
• Distribute the new page to students as a workaround. 

4/ Contact Microsoft Support 

If the issue persists even after these steps, it may stem from a deeper system-level cause. In this case, I recommend contacting your school's IT administrator, who can submit a support request to Microsoft through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. They’ll be able to access system-level information to investigate the issue thoroughly and provide assistance. At the very least, they can offer the most effective workaround to ensure your experience remains smooth and secure.    

 

We kindly ask for your understanding that, as moderators, we do not have access to the administrative tools or permissions required to investigate or modify these configurations. We also do not have the capability to initiate remote sessions for direct assistance. Our role is to guide users to the appropriate resources and support channels.   

 

I hope the information provided proves useful. Please proceed with the outlined steps and let me know whether they resolve the issue. If not, I’ll be glad to continue working with you to find a solution. 

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