OneNote on iPad: can files be synced locally (not on OneDrive)?

Question

I have OneNote on my iPad Air (gen 5). Is there a way to sync any files locally on my iPad, instead of using OneDrive?

Answer 1

On iPad and iPhone, OneNote does not support keeping notebooks purely as local files on the device. OneNote for iOS is designed to work with cloud-based notebooks (primarily on OneDrive or SharePoint Online) and syncs them automatically.

For notebooks created with OneNote 2016 on Mac or PC, they must already be saved to a cloud-based OneDrive account to be accessible on iPad or iPhone. On iOS, notebooks are opened from OneDrive (or other supported cloud services) and cached locally for offline use, but their master copy remains in the cloud rather than as a standalone local-only file on the device.

To work offline on iPad or iPhone, OneNote can automatically sync and cache pages and attachments so they are available without an Internet connection, but this still relies on a cloud-backed notebook:

• On iPad: Settings → Sync → turn on Auto Sync Attachments.
• On iPhone: Settings → Sync → turn on Auto Sync Attachments.

There is no option in OneNote for iOS to create or sync notebooks that exist only locally on the iPad without OneDrive/SharePoint.

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References:

• Sync a notebook in OneNote
• Work offline in Microsoft OneNote for iPad or iPhone
• Manage notebook storage in OneNote