How to Fix Notes App Not Working or Responding on iPhone, iPad and Mac

Built into iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, the Apple Notes app is a great place to take notes, tasks, sketches, and more. Until it stops working!

From time to time, the Notes app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac may freeze and refuse to show saved notes. In other cases, it may freeze the moment you open it. And sometimes the Notes app may not respond at all to your touches and clicks.

If you are stuck in one of these situations where you cannot use the Apple Notes app to create new notes or access existing ones, the following solutions will help you.

Fix Apple Notes app crashing, freezing or not working on iPhone, iPad, Mac

Solution number 6 is the (almost) sure way to solve the problem. But sometimes the basic tips work for most people, so you should start with solution 1 and work your way up.

1. Force close and reopen the Notes application.

On iPhone or iPad: Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and hold or double-tap the Home button to see all your open apps. On this screen, drag the Notes tile all the way up to force close it. Now wait 10 seconds before reopening the Notes app.

On a Mac, you can right-click or Control-click the Notes application icon in the Dock and choose Exit. If there is no current job, press Command + Option + Esc together. In the Force Logout window, select Notes and click Force Logout.

2. Restart your iPhone, iPad or Mac.

Application crashes are often successfully resolved by turning the device off and on again. Before moving on to the rest of the solutions, be sure to do this.

3. Free up space on your device

Some apps, including Notes, may crash if you don’t have enough free space on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. So, if you are experiencing frequent app crashes, be sure to free up some space:

• Over 40 Ways to Save Space on iPhone and iPad
• 30 ways to free up space on your Mac

4. Update to the latest iOS, iPadOS, or macOS.

If you are using an older version of the operating system, please consider updating to the latest version available for a safer, smoother experience and new features. Here’s how to update:

• iPhone or iPad: Settings > General > Software Update.
• Mac:  > System Preferences > Software Update.

5. Stop using the beta

Are you using the developer or public beta version of iOS, iPadOS, or macOS? If yes, then such inconveniences are expected. When the next update is released, make sure you install it. If the situation becomes unbearable, consider reverting to non-beta.

6. Turn off iCloud Notes and turn it back on.

I’ve been using the Notes app for the past eight years and it’s the most effective solution and has worked for me several times.

If the Notes app won’t open, crashes instantly, or freezes, turn off iCloud Notes, which will delete all notes from that device. After that, restart your iPhone and turn iCloud Notes back on. Within minutes, all of your Notes will be re-synced to your device, and the Notes app will no longer crash or freeze and run normally.

Here’s how to do it:

iPhone and iPad:

1. Open Settings and tap your name at the top.
2. Go to iCloud > Show All > Notes.
3. Turn off “Sync this iPhone”and select “Delete from my iPhone”. This will delete your notes from this device, but they will remain saved in your iCloud.

   

   If you don’t use iCloud but use a Google (Gmail) or Microsoft (Outlook) account to sync and store notes, go to Settings > Notes > Accounts > select an account and turn off the “Notes”toggle. After that, restart your iPhone and turn the Notes switch back on.

   Poppy:

   • Open System Preferences and click Apple ID.
   • Clear the Notes check box. This will remove all your iCloud notes from the Notes app.
   • Restart your Mac.
   • Repeat the initial steps one more time and check the “Notes”box. This will re-sync your iCloud notes to your Mac. Make sure the Notes app is open so that all your notes are downloaded from iCloud and displayed in the app.

   If you save your notes to Gmail or other accounts, go to System Preferences > Internet Accounts > select your account on the left sidebar and uncheck Notes. Then restart your Mac and check Notes again.

   7. Reset all settings

   If the fixes above don’t work for you, reset all settings on your iPhone or iPad. We hope this fixes the issue with the Notes app. You can learn about the consequences of resetting all settings and how to do it here.

   

   Notes app widget not working on iPhone or iPad

   Notes app widget on iPhone home screen or lock screen not showing notes but instead showing “Folder is no longer available”or similar error? To fix this, simply delete this widget and add it again. Once you do this, the Notes app widget should start working again.