What do I do when the app locks up?

[Oddball 4]

Here's a problem I've had with Evernote for a long time. I've been hoping that updates would fix it so I've waited, but a couple dozen updates later and no change. So I'm gonna come here and bring it up with Support.

Once in a while (disappointingly often), Evernote will freeze/lock up. Basically, I want to type more text into a basic note, but the app won't respond. The window doesn't go into "program not responding" mode or anything, but I can't put my text cursor (caret) anywhere in the note, I can't type anything in, I can't switch notes, I can't open menus, etc. About two minutes later, the problem clears up.

Evernote.log

[agsteele 2,962]

Thanks for your question. These forums are user to user so your log file isn't helpful to us. Have you tried uninstalling and then reinstalling the app? If that doesn't work you'll need to open a support ticket. 

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,980]

Just at a guess, since Evernote now constantly syncs as we type, I wonder whether your Internet connection might periodically become unstable or weak. I can imagine (but I can imagine a lot of things) that this might cause the program to freeze as it tries to sync what you're typing to its servers.

[Oddball 4]

23 hours ago, agsteele said:

Thanks for your question. These forums are user to user so your log file isn't helpful to us. Have you tried uninstalling and then reinstalling the app? If that doesn't work you'll need to open a support ticket. 

Is there a way to submit a support ticket as a Free member? The options to do so were greyed out when I followed the steps earlier in https://help.evernote.com/hc/en-us/requests/new 

Yes, I uninstalled and re-installed.

14 hours ago, Dave-in-Decatur said:

Just at a guess, since Evernote now constantly syncs as we type, I wonder whether your Internet connection might periodically become unstable or weak. I can imagine (but I can imagine a lot of things) that this might cause the program to freeze as it tries to sync what you're typing to its servers.

A decent guess, but I have not noticed any other service that relies on internet (Telegram, Discord, Twitch) drop during the same period that Evernote locks up.

[agsteele 2,962]

No Free subscribers are not able to open a support ticket. I think you may be limited to using Twitter @evernotehelps

when you uninstalled did you use the default Windows Uninstaller? A standard uninstall leaves old data behind. We typically recommend you use Revo Uninstaller which clears everything out. Alternatively you can manually delete %AppData%\Evernote and %LocalAppData%\Programs\Evernote after using the Windows Uninstaller.

Edited August 21, 2022 by agsteele
Typo

[Oddball 4]

I'm not sure what you mean by leaving old days behind, but let me try what you recommended!

[PinkElephant 8,208]

The Windows Uninstaller leaves clutter on the computer. Tools like CCleaner make a good living from it.

Specifically the data files stay on the drive. When they are corrupted, the reinstall fails.

[agsteele 2,962]

4 hours ago, Oddball said:

I'm not sure what you mean by leaving old days behind, but let me try what you recommended!

A typo. Sorry. 'old data'

[Daduck 0]

I use the app both on Windows and on Mac, and have this issue all the time. I'm usually on very stable connections, on the Windows machine using ethernet and stable internet.. and still the app regularly locks up, mostly when "coming back" or tabbing back into the app.

As many have said, I've been looking at the release notes every time hoping that it would be fixed.. it have been like this for more than a year.

[Daduck 0]

Today I tried to search, and navigate to some old documents..
- Navigation did not work (Completely locked)
- Up to 24% CPU time.. and 15%+ CPU consumption for 10+ minutes.

I have the logs if I should submit them somewhere.

[agsteele 2,962]

Have you tried a clean uninstall as described above?

[Oddball 4]

On 12/6/2022 at 8:01 AM, agsteele said:

Have you tried a clean uninstall as described above?

A late response from me, but yes, I have! The issue occurs less frequently but has not disappeared.

[agsteele 2,962]

That question was put to @Daduck but good to know you tried it.

[paulondono 0]

I've been having the same issue with evernote, for a few years now (desktop app. running on windows 11 pro 64-bit, SSD, 12GB RAM)

Have tried a clean uninstall more than once, without any success. Last year I got a brand new machine, and thought that my problem would be resolved as that's the cleanest install you can do, but I am still getting exactly the same issue as the one described in the first post in this thread: 

"Once in a while (disappointingly often), Evernote will freeze/lock up. Basically, I want to type more text into a basic note, but the app won't respond. The window doesn't go into "program not responding" mode or anything, but I can't put my text cursor (caret) anywhere in the note, I can't type anything in, I can't switch notes, I can't open menus, etc. About two minutes later, the problem clears up."

This has been happening to me at least for two years if I remember correctly, I am surprised there isn't more posts/rants about it, and no solution in place...

A few years back, I remember reading abut some potential solutions (reducing syncing time, etc), but these options are not in the new versions (I tried them on old versions and, at least in my case, they did not work).

[PinkElephant 8,208]

There are not more users writing about it, because it is not common. It is quite specific to your setup, it seems.

My gut feeling is a network issue. There are different ways to find out:

- Use the app offline for a while, see if the same happens again.

- Use the computer on different networks, see if the same happens again.

- Contact Support after it has happened, enclose an activity log.

[Oddball 4]

I appreciate your suggestions, PinkElephant, but a lot of us don't have a second network to try, and most of us don't have access to contacting support. It's inaccessible unless one has Pro, which is why we come here. 

 

As for using the app offline, is that intended to test what's causing the problem, or as something to operate under day-to-day? If we use it offline, it won't save our updates to the cloud, right? Then my phone won't have the same note as my PC, and that's a big part of how I use this app, personally. 

[PinkElephant 8,208]

You need any subscription to contact support. In this case to sort out a network problem. You could subscribe for a month and get the assistance - for what it would cost to get a „to go with flavor“.

You as nearly anybody around you have a second network - use the mobile hotspot of your phone.

It can be a local connection issue on your machine as well. You use one of these internet security suites ? Anti Virus ? Firewall ? VPN ? An ad blocker or a DNS filter like a Pi-Hole ? Each one can have an impact on connectivity.

Without more information this is like a needle in a haystack. Support can look at the activity log, which may show what’s the issue.