My notes are not syncing between Mac and iphone - I have tried every suggestion

March 12, 2024

I had the same issue, notes created on MacBook Pro M2 with Sonoma were syncing to iPhone 11, but edits/notes created on iPhone 11 not syncing back to MacBook. I had tried toggling Notes in iCloud settings from Mac but no luck.

MY SOLUTION:

Check for PDF or other Image file attachments at the top of the note, and edit to put at least one line of text at the top of the note (which will be the title text of the note). To me it seems there is a discrepancy between how iOS and MacOS handle the title of a note when an attachment is at the top.

I sorted the notes by Title and started comparing the Notes folder where the count on the MacBook was 5 higher than the iPhone. I found a few missing and would AirDrop the missing note from my iPhone to my MacBook to at least get the note over.

Then I found a note with a PDF file at the top of the note. The MacBook was sorting the title of the note by the filename of the PDF file (which was numeric). But the iPhone was sorting by the first line of text below the PDF file in the note. I edited the note on iPhone to move the PDF file below the text I wanted to be the title of the note, and all of the sudden it sync'd to my mac.

I hope this is helpful to anyone else out there with this issue!

I unchecked it and checked it again in File>accounts>icloud

and...

it deleted all my wife's notes.

Some notes are still on icloud. Others seem to be lost. Hopefully they're cached in notes somewhere...

I think it wasn't syncing because she's still on Catalina and the Notes app can no longer sync with apple because apple changed their servers PERHAPS?

I wish I could get her onto Monterey, but she's afraid it'll slow down after Apple tech advised her not to and she trusts them more than me. Blames me...

I feel you.

I'll start and say to my knowledge, while applying this to my getting a new iphone 15 plus (running 1OS 17.4 ) and macbook pro 2017 touch bar (running Ventura 13.6), and verifying both devices OS' are up-to-date, at the price points of these devices, Apple's native apps' functions between devices should not have this issue for this many people.

Both of my devices automatically have sync toggled on upon purchase/upgrade. However the syning has ceased eons ago for me with other devs and it's just kept going with these two aforementioned devs I have now and yes, I def gave up trying to address it myself.

I've followed the prompts and instructions found both online here, and will now add YT to the arsenal of research, address this issue myself. I don't know if this keeps Apple competitive and at the forefront of updates to show they care or what, but I cannot lose notes because whoever at Apple refuses to create confirmation pop-up notifications to confirm when native apps+syncing are toggled on or off or that there is a malfunction in the software while not offering a readily available prompt when the system is triggered when a user is attempting to Export or synch devs' native OS apps, like notes.

So hopefully my iphone 15 plus and macbook pro (2017) running on Ventura 13.6 will make it into the "well it worked for me" pile eventually. But until then, I guess me and other 200+ supporters of Apple will have to just keep the pencil and paper companies in business lol

[Edited by Moderator]

I had this problem between an older model iphone and a new macbook. The solution I found was in user error - I had been saving all my notes on my phone under the Iphone Folder instead of Icloud. Once I selected all notes and pressed "move" it allowed me to transfer them into the icloud folder and when I reopened the notes app on my mac, they were there! Simple fix, but as a new user to mac, it wasn't obvious. I found this solution after finding this community post and trying some of the recommended actions. I do appreciate the support and hope maybe my resolution helps someone too!

Tysm for sharing!! Your idea WORKED to restore my notes to my Mac because I lost them all trying to get them to sync!! Not sure if it’s syncing from Mac to my iPhone but at least I got all the lost notes back on my Mac! Perhaps it helped them sync too? Idk yet! But thank you!

Did you have any luck solving this? Just bought a brand new iPad Pro and the notes won't carry over from there to my phone. I don't have time for this nonsense. The main reason I use Apple is bc all my stuff flows seamlessly between devices. Pretty ridiculous and I don't even know where to go to try to solve the problem.

Anyone having these problems? I fixed it. Basically I copied and pasted all my text notes and then permanently deleted all notes data from iCloud …. it deleted absolutely everything! Then i turned notes off and on and oilá, everything synced!

I have lost all my newly edited notes. I did not read the warning. Those were very important work related notes. How did you recover them back? How did I recover them back? Kindly help, as that data is extremely important to my work.

would like to add my voice to the chorus of frustration. iphone & ipad notes not syncing with laptop (macbook air bought this past winter). if I turn off icloud sync on laptop, then turn it back on, they do load -- note by note, painstakingly. I must do this anytime I change a note on a mobile device, if I want to see it on my laptop. this is making me crazy.

For me, the issue showed up after signing out of my id and signing back in. Once I opened notes and turned on sync nothing happened. I went back in, turned it off and turned it right back on and everything loaded.

ok i went to notes application on desktop computer. I went to file and within the file drop down there is no "account" option from the drop down

I’m glad you found a solution. It doesn’t work for me though. I only have 1 shared note and do not have any embedded files or images.

Hello,

Sorry for the late response and that your issue hasn’t been resolved. I unfortunately cannot help anymore, so I suggest contacting Apple Support for further help.

Sincerely,

Captain

Hello,

Sorry for the late response and that your issue hasn’t been resolved. I unfortunately cannot help anymore, so I suggest contacting Apple Support for further help.

Sincerely,

Captain

I got my notes in the mac with ventura finally, but I cant lock the new ones AND then they doesnt sync with the iPhone!!!!

Wow