Sync issues with OneNote

Question

Just want to know if someone else has also face similar issues and what other apps are better than this?I have been a OneNote user for six years now. There are several areas within the app that need serious consideration and review. A major issue with the app is Limit. There is no way to know how much note taking one page, one section, or one notebook can handle. As a result, someone like me continues taking notes in one place until the file starts to not respond, force shut, or crash. I have used it across three devices, my laptop, iPad, and desktop, hoping this would solve the processing issues without realizing that the problem was always in OneNote itself. I have tried many ways of changing my note taking habits, including using multiple notebooks or pages and dividing them.This was the final nail in the coffin for my experience with the OneNote app.

Recently, I permanently lost a notebook due to syncing issues. I was working on my notebook on my iPad, which for the past two days had started to lag. I created an empty page but then realized I should make a new section instead, so I deleted the empty page. Suddenly, both pages were deleted. Firstly, I never deleted the page used for extensive note taking, yet it was gone.

I immediately went to the desktop app to check the Recycle Bin. I found the page there and tried to restore it. I then checked the iPad to see if it was available, but it showed syncing issues and would not open. By this point, I was extremely frustrated, so I tried downloading the note as a PDF on my desktop so that I would at least have a copy of my notes. However, on the desktop version of OneNote, the notebook page continued to crash and not respond.

I received a notification informing me that there could be a cache issue in the file and that restarting might delete some files or require a force shut. Needless to say, I opened OneNote again and, in frustration, deleted the file, hoping to restore it from the Recycle Bin the next day and work something out. However, this morning the notebook page is gone and is not in the Recycle Bin. Clearly, I have lost a significant amount of valuable data that I will never be able to recover.

Answer 1

Dear @Sam,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft 365 Q&A forum. I am incredibly sorry to hear about the loss of your data. I understand how devastating it is to lose years of valuable notes due to technical instability and sync conflicts. It sounds like a combination of large page sizes and cache corruption led to this critical failure. 

While I cannot guarantee recovery after a file has been deleted from both the app and the Recycle Bin, I want to provide you with the last remaining steps to search for your data and explain why these limits occur. 

Step 1: Attempt to Recover from OneDrive Web 

Before giving up on the data, please check the server-side storage, which sometimes holds a version that the desktop app cannot see: 

• Check the OneDrive Recycle Bin: Sign in to OneDrive, go to the Recycle Bin on the left, and check for the notebook file itself. 
• Check the Second Stage Recycle Bin: At the bottom of the OneDrive Recycle Bin page, there is a link for the "Second-stage recycle bin." If the file was deleted recently, it might be there. 
• If you find the file but it is corrupted, right-click it in OneDrive and select Version history to restore it to a state from a few days ago. 

For more details and step-by-step instructions, please refer to: Restore a previous version of a file stored in OneDrive - Microsoft Support 

If the loss happened recently (within the last 30 days), you can actually "roll back" your entire OneDrive to a specific point in time before the sync error occurred. This is a powerful feature specifically for situations like yours. 

• Go to Settings > Restore your OneDrive. 
• Pick a date before the crash and follow the prompts to undo the deletions. 

Step 2: Understanding OneNote limits 

You mentioned the frustration of not knowing the "limit." While OneNote technically has no set page limit, there are practical constraints based on hardware and sync protocols: 

• Page Size: Pages exceeding 100MB or containing high-resolution printouts/images often cause the "Force Shut" or "Not Responding" errors you experienced. 
• Cache Management: When a page is very large, the local cache becomes unstable. If the app crashes during a sync, it can lead to the "cache issue" notification you received. 

If you choose to continue using OneNote, I recommend these habits to prevent future data loss: 

• Instead of one massive page, use Sub-pages. This keeps the individual file size small and stable for the sync engine. 
• On the OneNote Desktop app (not the Windows 10 version), go to File > Options > Save & Backup. I suggest setting the "Backup interval" to daily. 

For official guidance on troubleshooting lost notes, please refer to: Find OneNote notes, pages or tabs - Microsoft Support 

"0xE40200B4" and "0x800700DF" errors when you sync a notebook in OneNote

I understand you are looking for more reliable alternatives. Many users who require strict structure and offline-first stability often look toward: 

Microsoft Loop: For a more modular, modern workspace within the Microsoft ecosystem. 

For more detail: Get started with Microsoft Loop - Microsoft Support 

Please try these steps and let me know how it goes. If you run into any trouble at a specific step, just let me know, and I'll be happy to help you further.

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