HELP! Evernote Desktop crashed after 3+ hours of writing, didn't save to servers, and now won't let me log back in

[dougfunny 3]

Hello, I am *desperate* for help right now. I have been working for over 3 hours in evernote, and need to work a *lot* more — but everything I've done today so far is gone!

tl;dr: Evernote Desktop on Mac crashed while I was typing, after 3+ hours of writing. now I can't get past the login screen (even using Google Authenticator). I can log in just fine in the browser, but my work from today is gone. It seems the note didn't update once today. So none of my work from today (many thousands of words) has been saved/synced.

Long version:

Evernote crashed while I was typing, in the middle of a sentence. An error came up saying something like "Something went wrong on our end, and Evernote has to restart." I restarted but now I can't get past the login screen [see 1st attached image]. I put in my email and click the green "Continue" button — it shows the loading animation with the 3 dots... and it never stops. After 5 minutes or so, it changes to Night Mode and says in red text "Failed to communicate with Evernote servers." [see 2nd attached image]. The three-dot loading animation keeps going, so I cannot click "Continue" to try again. If I restart Evernote, the "Continue" button returns, but I get the same results.

So I tried logging in through the Google Authenticator button. This takes me to my browser —and the login goes fine! It says "You are now signed into Evernote via Google login. Feel free to close this tab and return to the app" [See 3rd attachment] ... So I go back to the app... but it hasn't changed. It's still just the initial login screen.

I'm desperate to keep working so I just tried to use the browser client. I am already on 2 devices (laptop & phone), and I use Evernote on both of them every day throughout the day, but again, I'm desperate, so I unsync'ed my phone. I figured I could just work in my browser until Evernote resolved the issue with the Desktop Client. .... so I go to the note I was working on... but NONE of my work from today has been saved!! All 3+ hours of work are GONE!

What do I do?!? How do I get my work back?!? I need to keep working for several more hours but can't do ANYTHING until I have my previous work available!

I've been using Evernote for almost 10 years and it was so great for so long but has gone downhill recently. If it just erased hours of work (several thousands of words typed) then I'm f*cking done. I'm migrating my notes somewhere else and deleting the app forever. Several of my friends have migrated away from Evernote the last few years, and I've tried to convince them to stay. Now I will convince everyone to leave.

specs:

I am using Evernote Desktop on a 2021 MacBook Pro (M1 Max), running Venture 13.1.

I was using Evernote 10 when the crash happened. I'm not sure the exact sub-version —I'm pretty it was the most recent one, but I can't say for sure because in desperation for a fix, I downloaded the newest version and installed it, overwriting the older installion that was on my laptop. Obviously, the newer installation didn't fix the problem.

and I checked my firewall. I don't have the MacOS firewall active on my laptop, because I use Little Snitch. But I have never blocked a connection to/from Evernote servers. I have used Evernote on this laptop every day since I got it 1 year ago, and not had any problems connecting to the servers. No new connections were requested today, and I didn't set any new rules. Just to be sure, I reset all my rules about Evernote in Little Snitch, and then when new connections were requested, I set them to auto-approve all requests, on all servers, with no expiration.

In other words, I do not think it is my computer or firewall. I believe the error when it said "Something went wrong on our end"

[gazumped 11,780]

Hi.  A number of questions seem to be suggested here - 

Are you a subscriber?  Being locked out can be a symptom of free users exceeding the allowed number of connected devices.

Where were you typing your original information?  I that was the an app installed on your device,  the information may be stored there,  waiting to be synced to the server.

Is your device now connected to the internet?  Some of these errors look like lost connections...

[PinkElephant 8,305]

It looks like a free account, and it looks like a login error killed the connection. Little Snitch can be a *****, just to mention. There are not many tools that dig themselves in so deep into the MacOS inner workings.

I think the easiest way to get to a solution would be to subscribe for a month. Use a different client to do so, not the one that crashed.

Then contact support, and work out a way to get at your information. Don’t try to open the client yourself. I think your note is cached somewhere, but it might be difficult to get at it in a way that won’t destroy that information.

https://help.evernote.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

 

For the future make it a habit to exit a work in progress from time to time, switching to another note. This will force a sync, and create a version history allowing to recover from unwanted changes. Version history is always saved, even of Free accounts. Only the access is a subscribers feature.

[dougfunny 3]

Just now, gazumped said:

Are you a subscriber?  Being locked out can be a symptom of free users exceeding the allowed number of connected devices.

No, I'm not a subscriber, but that's not the issue. I am allowed 2 devices: so I always choose my phone & my laptop. I don't use Evernote on other devices. The issue happened while I was in the middle of typing a sentence on the Desktop Version. I didn't log into a 3rd device. Even if I did, the error would've been very different. It would've said "If you want to log into another device, you either need to pay more money, or unsync one of your other devices." Either option takes you to different screens.

Instead, the Desktop application crashed and an error came up saying "Something went wrong on our end." It never mentioned anything about multiple devices. That's when the login screen stopped working.

Eventually (after many attempts to login within the Desktop client) I finally did try the Browser client. That logged in just fine! I could see all my notes — except the work I had done today. And I did have to de-sync a device (so I know what those alerts look like) — I chose my phone, keeping the Desktop & Browser clients available.

In other words, my Desktop client is most definitely an allowed device.

Just now, gazumped said:

Where were you typing your original information?  I that was the an app installed on your device,  the information may be stored there,  waiting to be synced to the server.

I was typing in the Desktop client. If the Desktop application won't start, how can I find the information on my device? I'm on a MacBook Pro, running OSX Ventura

Just now, gazumped said:

Is your device now connected to the internet?  Some of these errors look like lost connections...

Yes. I never disconnected from the internet. Again, I can click the Google Authenticator logo in the Evernote Desktop client. It takes me to the browser and I can successfully log in. The 3rd image in my original post shows the browser window — I wouldn't be able to get that screen if I weren't connected to the internet

thank you for any advice you can give!

[dougfunny 3]

Just now, PinkElephant said:

I think the easiest way to get to a solution would be to subscribe for a month.

Damn, for real? The only simple way to retrieve my own data is to pay money? They seriously don't care about their product working for us free users? I know they need money to keep the app running, but if they can't fix problems for Free users, they shouldn't offer a Free Membership...

if this is just a business strategy to get me to subscribe, then it's backfiring — I will pay only for 1 month, just to get my work back, and then cancel everything and migrate somewhere else, and tell others to stay away. Holding my work hostage is not appealing at all.

Sorry, I'm not yelling at you or anything, I know this isn't your fault. I'm just venting about this very frustrating situation.

Just now, PinkElephant said:

For the future make it a habit to exit a work in progress from time to time, switching to another note. This will force a sync, and create a version history allowing to recover from unwanted changes. Version history is always saved, even of Free accounts. Only the access is a subscribers feature.

Thank you! This is good advice for the future (if I stay with this app)

[PinkElephant 8,305]

Your data, your choice …

I never had a similar problem, so I can’t really advise on where you can find your data. EN relies on a network connection - employing tools like Little Snitch is no good idea, while you expect to have your data synced to a cloud server.

I would stop the blame game, and focus on solving your problem.

Threatening to drop an app you are using without paying is not really threatening.

[gazumped 11,780]

49 minutes ago, dougfunny said:

No, I'm not a subscriber, but that's not the issue.

I'm afraid it might be related... if you choose to write something for an extended time into a 'free' app,  relying on the fact that regulations related to limiting its use will not apply to your specific situation,  you're relying on someone else's charity to preserve your thoughts.  If gatekeeper applications then shut down your access,  you don't have any contractual  basis from which to argue your rights.  You will need either to apply (very politely) to Evernote Support for assistance,  or to pay for a month or so's subscription to retrieve your content. 

 

[dougfunny 3]

Just now, PinkElephant said:

EN relies on a network connection - employing tools like Little Snitch is no good idea, while you expect to have your data synced to a cloud server.

I know LS can cause issues, but I don't have LS active for EN. I've run LS & EN simultaneously —on several different machines— for almost 10 years. and today I didn't make any new rules or other changes in LS.

And after the bug started, I even tried turning off LS completely (and restarted my machine with it off)... and still, the issue remains.

I've had issues with LS & other programs before, but it's always been evident that LS is blocking a connection (when I don't want it to). There's no evidence of LS blocking any connection here, it's working as it normally does.

Just now, PinkElephant said:

I would stop the blame game

I'm not blaming the bug on Evernote (or you, or me, or LS) —bugs happen. The bug itself is not upsetting. What sucks is that the company refuses to even hear about bugs from anyone who isn't paying. It's ***** and alienating. I'm not threatening them —I doubt me leaving would have much impact on their bottom line— I'm just expressing anger & frustration at ***** behavior. If they don't care about being ***** to their users, then that's even shittier.

But again, I don't expect you to answer for that. I am just venting. I doubt expressing my anger will fix this issue. But maybe one day someone will see this post after googling their own Evernote issue, and they will learn to not trust Evernote with their data. Even if it's too late, they might feel validated in their own anger at being fucked over & ignored by Evernote. I know sometimes when I google an issue with a company and see lots of complaints, it makes me feel slightly better, even though my issue isn't fixed. Companies like this are cold, dehumanizing, & alienating, so communal anger makes you feel slightly less alone. Hopefully I can bring that to someone else one day.

Again, I'm not looking for a response from you for any of that venting stuff.

My only question is:

are there any other options than paying $8 every time I need to fix a bug?

 

[gazumped 11,780]

Just now, dougfunny said:

are there any other options than paying $8 every time I need to fix a bug?

Seriously.  8 WHOLE dollars....   (and it's not a bug if you misuse a free service...)

[dougfunny 3]

Just now, gazumped said:

it's not a bug if you misuse a free service...

Misuse how? I was just typing words into a note, like I do every day...

Remember, the error said "Something went wrong on our end"...

Plenty of companies offer support for their free products. It's ***** of EN to say "Trust us with your data" then lose the data, and not care. I don't care if it's bad business, it's still ***** behavior

[PinkElephant 8,305]

We are fellow users, you got what you need to take an informed decision.

Actually I don't care which option you choose. It's up to you.

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,986]

23 hours ago, dougfunny said:

Plenty of companies offer support for their free products. It's ***** of EN to say "Trust us with your data" then lose the data, and not care. I don't care if it's bad business, it's still ***** behavior

And other companies barely support their quite expensive products. Not meaning to pile on, but just offer a perspective: if you've been using Evernote for free for almost 10 years, you've already gotten an enormous amount of value at no cost. Something went wrong in this case that was not your fault, not Evernote's fault, maybe not LS's fault.... But something went wrong with a computer and you have to pay a little money to get it fixed. I don't understand why that seems so unreasonable.

No real need to reply. Obviously it seems unreasonable to you, so there we are. I think the reason some others here seem to be pushing back is that, frankly, we've been paying for the whole 10 years you've been using it for free. You're welcome. But a little graciousness in seeing the forest, not just the one tree, might be nice.

[dougfunny 3]

Just now, Dave-in-Decatur said:

frankly, we've been paying for the whole 10 years you've been using it for free. You're welcome. But a little graciousness in seeing the forest, not just the one tree, might be nice.

There are some products I pay subscriptions for, like Google Drive. If I saw a post from a Free user saying that a Google app had crashed, failed to sync, and wouldn't let them log in again... and *then* they couldn't even contact Customer Service about it, then I would feel bad for them. Because it sucks for them, and they deserve at least to be able to lodge a complaint.

I definitely wouldn't go out of my way to say "Boo hoo, you get what you pay for. You don't deserve Customer Service, freeloader. Stop being so salty, just politely fork over money — like *I've* been doing for years."

I'm sorry you're resentful that you've paid Evernote so much more money than me. I'm sorry that debt has made it hard for you to feel sympathy for people who don't have that debt. I know you think I'm being "ungracious" to a company, but you're being "cold" to a fellow human in distress. I'll pick the former over the latter any day.

Customer Service is not a luxury feature. It's basic across all companies. It's ***** to put it behind a paywall. I didn't think this would be controversial, but as you say, here we are.

[RJLUK 308]

5 hours ago, dougfunny said:

Customer Service is not a luxury feature.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/customer

customer
noun [ C1
UK > /'kas.ta.ma'/ US M /'ks.ta.ma/

a person who buys goods or a service:

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,986]

20 hours ago, dougfunny said:

I'm sorry you're resentful that you've paid Evernote so much more money than me. I'm sorry that debt has made it hard for you to feel sympathy for people who don't have that debt. I know you think I'm being "ungracious" to a company, but you're being "cold" to a fellow human in distress. I'll pick the former over the latter any day.

Well, now you're claiming to read my mind. I do not feel resentful for paying Evernote more than you, or for paying period. I feel glad to pay for what I get good benefit from, just as (I suppose, but now I'm reading your mind) you feel good about paying for Google Drive.

But taking a step back, I'm sorry for responding "coldly" to what really is a dire situation. I remember the first time I had a power outage when I'd been working on an unsaved document for some time. It was miserable. I should have shown more sympathy to your understandable distress.

For me, a one-time $8 payment is a pretty low paywall. But I'm not in your shoes, and I don't know how much of an obstacle that is for you. For that matter, Bending Spoons has been going a little nuts with different rates in different countries lately, so I don't know if you'd pay as little as $8. I don't need to know your circumstances. I just sympathize with your loss. I hope that by now you've been able either to recreate your material, or to get in touch with Evernote support.

[dougfunny 3]

Just now, Dave-in-Decatur said:

But taking a step back, I'm sorry for responding "coldly" to what really is a dire situation. I remember the first time I had a power outage when I'd been working on an unsaved document for some time. It was miserable. I should have shown more sympathy to your understandable distress.

Thank you friend, I appreciate that. I was definitely "running hot" when it happened, and didn't need to vent my frustrations on here. Didn't expect it to get pushback for my (legitimate) frustrations, so that definitely stoked my flames. I've cooled down now though. I still think it's ***** for Evernote to charge their users just to contact customer service product support... but now it doesn't incense me. They're a massive modern company, so I shouldn't expect good ethics from them.

Thanks for keeping an open mind about monetary obstacles. For me, I can handle a single charge of $8 — but still think it's ***** for Evernote to lock out tons & tons of people who can't afford that. Also, I don't like the idea that I'll have to pay $8 *each* time something goes wrong and I need to submit a support ticket (I don't need any of the subscription services, so I'll be canceling as soon as my issue gets resolved). I do a ton of computer work (for business & pleasure) and run into bugs all the time, so I'm regularly submitting support tickets, at least once a week. I've never been required to subscribe just to submit a ticket (for a product/service with a free version). I anticipate having more issues with EN in the future —because, well, it's an application, bugs happen— and I don't want to pay $8 each time.

As for my issue, I did get in contact with customer service. They said my data is unrecoverable. I'm redoing the work as we speak — it sucks, but I'll be okay. I still can't log into the Desktop Version (where I do most of my work), but luckily I can use the Browser Client in the meantime. Not as good, but it'll do til they tell me how to get the Desktop Version working again. Not sure if I'll stay with the app though, I've felt it going downhill for a couple years now and this experience was pretty rough. Going to look into a replacement, once I finish recouping this work...

Thanks for the sympathy, hope you're doin' well yourself.

Cheers.

[raojenkins 10]

Paid premium user here - desktop gave me sane error message just now “problem on our end,” please restart Evernote

Now desktop “can’t reach server,” — yes am connected to internet, Google Fiber wifi.

browser Evernote working fine & everything there seems synched fine. 

tried restarting — MacBook Air M1 chip running latest Monterey (can’t get Ventura to download, but that’s an ongoing Apple issue).

sorry terse - typing on tiny iPhone keyboard

[Paul A. 652]

1 hour ago, raojenkins said:

Paid premium user here - desktop gave me sane error message just now “problem on our end,” please restart Evernote

Now desktop “can’t reach server,” — yes am connected to internet, Google Fiber wifi.

browser Evernote working fine & everything there seems synched fine. 

tried restarting — MacBook Air M1 chip running latest Monterey (can’t get Ventura to download, but that’s an ongoing Apple issue).

sorry terse - typing on tiny iPhone keyboard

What version of the client are you using? Is it 10.54.4? There is a newer version on the Evernote website (10.55.1). If you're experiencing the same issue as the OP, I wonder if this new version might include a fix?

However, as a paid user, my first step would be to contact support and see what they suggest. Mostly user  to user communication in this forum.

[PinkElephant 8,305]

In other cases removing the EN install from the desktop, restarting and downloading a fresh copy of the software did the job. Obviously something was broken with the local database or settings.On a Mac use the app AppCleaner to really remove all program parts and data.

Sometimes logging out of the app, restart it and log back in was sufficient.

[raojenkins 10]

15 hours ago, Paul A. said:

What version of the client are you using? Is it 10.54.4? There is a newer version on the Evernote website (10.55.1). If you're experiencing the same issue as the OP, I wonder if this new version might include a fix?

However, as a paid user, my first step would be to contact support and see what they suggest. Mostly user  to user communication in this forum.

Thanks -- latest version of Evernote. I *did* contact support, thanks to the recommendations on this forum, and the fix was 

"In an attempt to fix the issue, please reinstall the desktop app. To reinstall Evernote for Mac, follow these steps:

 

1. If Evernote is running, press **Command + Q** to quit the Evernote app

2. Open the Applications folder and drag Evernote to the Trash

3. Right-click (or **Ctrl + Click**) on the Trash and select **Empty Trash**

4. Restart your computer

5. Download and install Evernote for Mac from

www.evernote.com/download

 

6. Drag the Evernote icon into your Applications folder

7. Open Evernote and log in to your Evernote account"
+++++++++++
That did the trick.I know, seems obvious, but Evernote troubleshooting not my particular expertise!

 

[raojenkins 10]

14 hours ago, PinkElephant said:

In other cases removing the EN install from the desktop, restarting and downloading a fresh copy of the software did the job. Obviously something was broken with the local database or settings.On a Mac use the app AppCleaner to really remove all program parts and data.

Sometimes logging out of the app, restart it and log back in was sufficient.

Thank you -- that did fix the issue.