Troubleshoot synchronization errors in OneNote 2016 for Windows

Reset a notebook that won’t sync

If the notebook that won’t sync is stored on OneDrive or on newer versions of SharePoint, try opening the notebook in OneNote for the web. This can help determine if the problem is caused by the server or by OneNote.

1. In OneNote, choose File > Info.

2. Right-click the URL shown below the name of the affected notebook, and choose Copy.

3. In your web browser, click inside the address box, and press Ctrl+V to paste the copied URL.

4. Press Enter to load the notebook in OneNote for the web.

If you're able to successfully open the notebook in your browser, the problem may be caused by the desktop version of OneNote. Closing and re-opening the notebook usually clears and successfully resets the connection.

1. In OneNote, choose File > Info.

2. Next to the name of the affected notebook, choose Settings > Close.

3. Switch back to the notebook in OneNote for the web in your browser, and then choose Open in OneNote.

If you were unable to open and view the notebook in OneNote for the web, the source of the sync problem is likely with your server.  

Identify and resolve bad sections

There may be times when your shared notebook is syncing normally except for one of its sections. You can verify this by doing the following:

1. In OneNote, choose File > Info > View Sync Status.

2. In the Shared Notebook Synchronization dialog box, choose any notebook icon with a yellow triangle warning over it to see the name of any section that’s causing sync problems.

3. Choose Sync Now next to the notebook containing the section. 

Individual notebook sections can occasionally stop syncing properly. If you have a single section that isn’t syncing with the rest of an otherwise up-to-date notebook, you can try the following workaround:

1. In the same notebook, create a new section.

2. Copy (don’t move) all of the pages from the old section into the new one you just created. You can do this by right-clicking each page and then choosing Move or Copy.

3. When all of the pages have been copied to the new section, press Shift+F9 to manually sync the notebook.

If following these steps successfully syncs the pages in the new section that you created, you can safely delete the old section and then continue working in the new. After the old section is deleted, you can rename the new section to the same name as the deleted section.

Keep OneNote up-to-date

We’re continuously releasing product updates that fix issues and improve your syncing experience in OneNote, so it’s a good idea to keep your copy of OneNote up-to-date. Product updates are free to download and use.

Best practices for syncing notebooks

Our Support team maintains a list of tips that may help you to avoid sync errors in the future.

See OneNote syncing best practices for more information.

Report your issue to the OneNote team

If you’re still unable to resolve your sync issues, we apologize.

We’re constantly working to improve syncing functionality in OneNote. To help us identify and resolve new issues more quickly, please consider reporting your sync issue on the OneNote forums on Microsoft Answers. Members of the OneNote product team can directly assist you by confirming the problem and helping you resolve it.

Your feedback can help you and others with similar issues find a solution more quickly.

Thank you!