OneNote Sync Problem between Phone & PC

Question

Hey. I usually use OneNote on my desktop and don't worry about the sync'ing process on my Android phone. However, recently I had need of it and I noticed that although I had manually sync'ed OneNote on both devices, only the thumbnail view in "Recent pages" appeared with my text addition. When I opened the page itself, it wasnt updated. So, the app appears to be sync'ed in 'Recent pages" but not in full page mode. I checked the app settings and it's supposed to sync automatically over Wifi and mobile networks. I'd appreciate your ideas.

Answer 1

Hey Noel, thx for your answer.

The notebook seems to be on my computer hard drive, in Documents.

Here's the location of the cache file: C:\Users\x.xxx\AppData\Local\Microsoft\OneNote

Should I migrate to OneDrive and how?

Thx.

Answer 2

Hi,

Thank you for sharing your question. I understand how confusing and inconvenient it feels when OneNote shows your updated content in the thumbnail preview under ‘Recent pages’ but the actual page does not reflect the changes, especially when you expect both devices to sync automatically. This behavior can happen when the notebook cache becomes out of date or when the mobile app syncs only partial metadata instead of refreshing the full page content, which is why the preview updates but the full page remains unchanged. Corrupted sync states, offline cache conflicts, or notebooks stored in multiple locations can also cause the mobile app to fall back into a recurring sync loop even after signing in again.

To resolve this, you can force OneNote for Android to refresh the notebook by clearing its local cache, checking the notebook’s storage location in OneDrive to confirm the file is not duplicated, and reopening the notebook from the cloud instead of the cached copy. Signing out and back in helps temporarily because it resets the authentication token, but clearing the notebook cache and removing outdated local copies prevents the issue from returning. Refreshing the notebook on the desktop app and ensuring the notebook is stored in OneDrive rather than a local location also helps maintain consistent sync behavior across all devices.

Before moving forward, may I ask whether your notebook is stored entirely in OneDrive or if any sections were originally created on the device and later moved to the cloud? I’m here to help you get this working reliably, so please feel free to follow up with what you see in your notebook’s storage settings and we can go through the next steps together.”

 

I hope this helps.

 

Best Regards,

Noel

Answer 3

Thx, AI. Relogging indeed worked but it takes time and is unpractical on mobile networks. Plus the problem is recurring. What can I do to fix this once and for all?

Answer 4

On Android, OneNote can show stale content on a page even when the notebook list and thumbnails look updated. Use these steps to force a clean sync and refresh the page content:

1. Make sure the phone has a stable internet connection (Wi‑Fi or mobile data) and that OneNote is allowed to use data in the background.
2. Keep OneNote running in the foreground while troubleshooting so the sync can complete.
3. Reset credentials on Android to clear any hidden auth issues:
   1. Open OneNote and tap Notebooks (bottom left).
   2. Tap the three‑dots menu (upper right) > Settings.
   3. Tap Account.
   4. Tap Sign Out and confirm.
   5. Use the recent apps button, find OneNote, and swipe it away to fully close it.
   6. Reopen OneNote and sign in again.
4. Force a sync of the affected notebook from the phone:
   1. In OneNote, locate the notebook with the page that isn’t updating.
   2. Tap the three‑dots menu (upper right) > Sync (account name) notebook.
   3. Alternatively, from the notebooks list, tap the three‑dots menu > Sync all.
   4. Leave the device on and OneNote open until the sync finishes; for large notebooks or first‑time syncs this can take a long time.
5. On the desktop, confirm the notebook has fully synced to the cloud before checking the phone:
   1. In the OneNote desktop app, select File > Info > View Sync Status.
   2. Select Sync All and wait for completion.
6. If the notebook is large and was originally created on PC/Mac, reduce sync load on mobile:
   1. On Android, go to Settings in OneNote.
   2. Turn off or limit automatic syncing of large attachments if available, then sync again.

If, after these steps, the page still doesn’t show the latest content on Android but does in OneNote for the web (https://www.onenote.com) or desktop, the issue is isolated to the mobile app and usually resolves after credential reset plus a full notebook resync.

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References:

• Fix issues when you can't sync OneNote
• OneNote notebook isn't syncing
• Sync a notebook in OneNote