Critical Defect. Evernote is ruining my life, and that's not an exaggeration.

[anon68473 6]

I don't care what the app or company is called - I don't care which "product" it is - the very act of taking NOTES is an incredibly, incredibly important aspect of my life. I have a diagnosed anxiety disorder, among many other things, and being able to TAKE NOTES (I'm not asking for much here) is literally a thing I do to QUELL my anxiety disorder. It actually helps me.

I expect whatever I use to take notes, to... be able to take notes. Is it so much to ask for my note-taking app of choice to take notes?

There is a critical defect going on, and I've tried reporting it through the proper channels TWICE, but Evernote keeps saying I'm not reporting it in the proper channel. Ticket # 3997372 and Ticket # 4002840. I am doing exactly what you are telling me to do, but you are failing to address this issue. 

I'm very anxious tonight and I'm trying to take a note to quell my anxiety. And Evernote is NOT WORKING. Again. Like it happens EVERY SINGLE DAY. 

I have had enough. I am utterly, utterly sick of this. I need my notes app to be able to TAKE A NOTE. That should not be a tall order, but for Evernote, somehow it is.

I'm not going to try to confusingly explain what the defect it is. I took a video. Here's the video. You're lucky I took this video a couple weeks ago when I was in a better mood. This has been happening to me every. Single. Day. For months. Even with 2 different cellphones. I am trying to rapidly get my thoughts down so I can quell my anxiety and go about my day, but this defect is preventing me from being able to do that, and is instead causing intense rage and even more anxiety because of why this is inexplicably not working. I just lost critical time in my evening due to this defect. Again. All because I literally cannot simply type a note. I refresh the app, I Force Stop the app, I do all of these things 10 times and it STILL DOES NOT WORK. I LITERALLY CANNOT TAKE A NOTE. And don't ask me to uninstall and reinstall the app - done that, still doesn't work. 

Please fix this. I don't have the time, energy, or desire to switch notes apps. I just want THIS APP to work. Please, please fix this ASAP.

Edit: Some details for anyone interested --

• Phone: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6
• Android version: 14
• Evernote tool: Android app
• Evernote version: 10.109.0

Edit 2: Hey folks, it's 8:00pm here on the East Coast USA and I need to hop off the internet for a while and get stuff done - appreciate the two of you who pitched in thus far. I will hopefully get back to this post in a few hours, or possibly tomorrow. Thanks!

[thefryhole 99]

Joplin and Standard Notes are both excellent alternatives to Evernote, with a sustained focus on taking notes rather than trying to slap on half-ready modules for calendar, AI, etc. Both are E2EE and I've found both to have rock-solid sync across platforms (Windows and iPhone) and nice, quick, and easy-to-use mobile interfaces. I haven't used either on Android so can't speak to the experience on that OS.

Joplin imports ENEX files with pretty good success, including tags. It also supports adding notes via email, similar to EN, though it requires a Pro or Teams plan to do it. The web clipper is very, very good. It's based on markdown, which you may or may not prefer.

Standard Notes doesn't have much of an importer. It does not currently have a way to email notes into the platform. I don't think it has a web clipper but I haven't looked recently. It's perfect for text-based notes and, with some of the right settings, can also support formatting and pictures via a markdown-esque input.

I seem to recall both offered trials. They might be worth checking out as an alternative, since I seem to recall seeing several comments about functionality issues on Android. No idea how EN prioritizes bugs so it's anyone's guess if/when/how those issues might be resolved.

ETA: An old-fashioned paper notebook might also be something to consider, though I don't know if it fits your needs. It's very satisfying to pull something out of your pocket or bag, knowing it will work without charging it or being in cell range or having a competent tech vendor who knows how to code without messing something up, and just write because it always works. That quality is undervalued these days.

[s2sailor 2,459]

37 minutes ago, anon68473 said:

Please fix this. I don't have the time, energy, or desire to switch notes apps. I just want THIS APP to work. Please, please fix this ASAP.

I'm sorry to hear you are having trouble and a gentle reminder that this is a user forum.  No one from Evernote is usually here, but other users can try to help.  I'm not an Android user so that leaves me out, but a little more information such as the phone you use and the Android version may be helpful to others who may want to assist.

[anon68473 6]

1 minute ago, thefryhole said:

Joplin and Standard Notes are both excellent alternatives to Evernote, with a sustained focus on taking notes rather than trying to slap on half-ready modules for calendar, AI, etc. Both are E2EE and I've found both to have rock-solid sync across platforms (Windows and iPhone) and nice, quick, and easy-to-use mobile interfaces. I haven't used either on Android so can't speak to the experience on that OS.

Joplin imports ENEX files with pretty good success, including tags. It also supports adding notes via email, similar to EN, though it requires a Pro or Teams plan to do it. The web clipper is very, very good. It's based on markdown, which you may or may not prefer.

Standard Notes doesn't have much of an importer. It does not currently have a way to email notes into the platform. I don't think it has a web clipper but I haven't looked recently. It's perfect for text-based notes and, with some of the right settings, can also support formatting and pictures via a markdown-esque input.

I seem to recall both offered trials. They might be worth checking out as an alternative, since I seem to recall seeing several comments about functionality issues on Android. No idea how EN prioritizes bugs so it's anyone's guess if/when/how those issues might be resolved.

Thank you SO much for taking the time to reply and for sharing those details. Both Joplin and Standard Notes are on my list of "possible Evernote alternatives."

Again, I really appreciate this man!

[anon68473 6]

Just now, s2sailor said:

I'm sorry to hear you are having trouble and a gentle reminder that this is a user forum.  No one from Evernote is usually here, but other users can try to help.  I'm not an Android user so that leaves me out, but a little more information such as the phone you use and the Android version may be helpful to others who may want to assist.

Yeah, I figured this wasn't the "proper" way to get in touch with Evernote (as the "proper" way literally didn't work, twice), but I at least wanted other people to see the defect that I'm experiencing... and to simply vent a bit. I mentioned that info in the video I linked, as well as both of my tickets to Evernote, but I appreciate you bringing attention to it, and I'll add those details here and in the OP:

• Phone: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6
• Android version: 14
• Evernote tool: Android app
• Evernote version: 10.109.0

Anyway, I'm going to hop off the internet for a while and get my tasks done for the night, but thanks again, and to anyone else reading, I'll head back here later, hopefully. 

[mackid1993 1,320]

I'm going to assume that this is related to foldables specifically. I have a Pixel 9 Pro XL and don't have that issue although I can see how it can be extremely annoying and concerning. You may want to go on X and tweet at Evernote and Federico Simionato with your video. https://x.com/fedesimio Maybe you can get their attention that way. It takes some time but many times I do hear back from them.

 

[PinkElephant 8,857]

Foldables are exotic devices. An app should work, but experience tells that many apps struggle with the requirements.

It boils down to replace the device, or replace the app. I doubt anybody will dedicate the devs hours that could serve all customers, just to solve issues for the very low percentage who decided to be front runners in a tiny market segment.

[iceman melb 24]

Not sure how many notes you have but I've got over 52k notes and I suspect the slow down on mine is due to the number of notes I have. I'm also have set it to save offline. I'm hoping they will address the slow down soon as per bug tracker.

 

⚒️ Updates:

• (in progress) ⚙️ We are aware of an issue where notes on mobile sometimes display as Note Unavailable even while online and refreshing has no effect. This is more common with larger or older notes.

Edited October 2 by iceman melb
Addition BugTracker

[PinkElephant 8,857]

This thread was started by someone who is on a foldable phone.

EN is not optimized for these devices. It's not the only app that has some difficulties with the specific hardware. I doubt the same account would derail the same way on a standard Android phone.

Anybody with a problem on exotic hardware needs to go through support - the forum is user2user, and I am not aware of any workaround for foldables.

[mackid1993 1,320]

He should attempt to take a note using the front display to see if that works properly. If so it's related to it being a foldable device.

[anon68473 6]

Hey all, appreciate the feedback!

I'll try to address a few comments in one:

@mackid1993 - Thank you for your advice about using X to get in touch with Evernote people! That didn't occur to me at all, but I think I may just give it a try. And regarding your suggestion, just to clarify, this defect occurs on both the front screen and the big inner screen. It's also the only app I've ever used (in almost 3 years of owning folding devices) that has ever had a problem like this. I think the real baffling thing is how every other app can seem to work in basic ways on foldable devices... but not Evernote. 

@PinkElephant I would challenge the claim that foldables are "exotic devices." That may have been true 5 years ago, but now, I don't really think it is - it's simply a phone with two screens, which is technically a type of technology that has existed for over 10 years (think back to the old LG smartphones). Scaling and dynamically sizing apps is a type of technology that has existed for a VERY long time, what with different sized mobile tablets, different types of laptops, etc. - I really don't think folding smartphones are particularly unique or challenging in this regard, especially considering they've been on the market for a half decade by now. 

Besides that, let's not act like this defect is the only problem with Evernote - there are hundreds of articles online about how Evernote is a sinking ship, and has been for years now. This is merely one of MANY defects I've had on the Evernote Android app for 2 to 3 years now. There is no excuse for an app with, at one time, two hundred and fifty million users - to have THIS many defects. This is a multi-million dollar software company - we should all expect better. Way, way better. Note-taking isn't rocket surgery - there shouldn't be this many problems. Full stop.

And, to your comment "I doubt the same account would derail the same way on a standard Android phone" - someone on Reddit informed me that the Evernote app has had this exact issue on their Samsung S24 Ultra, which is a normal Android phone. 

Lastly, "Anybody with a problem on exotic hardware needs to go through support" - I tried this twice and all I got was a canned message that ran me around in circles.

[mackid1993 1,320]

Definitely not a sinking ship. It was a sinking ship, that's why it was sold. The new owners have really done wonders but yes there are still bugs and it's taking time to iron everything out. I personally have never seen anything like what you are showing and if it was a very common issue affecting many users it would be on the bugfix tracker for sure: https://help.evernote.com/hc/en-us/articles/32816633979667--Evernote-bugfix-tracker.

I have a feeling this has something to do with your specific device, perhaps a compatibility issue with your keyboard (that doesn't look like Gboard). It could also be an extension that interfaces with the keyboard such as a password manager. Given that no one else seems to be having this problem I would advise you do some more troubleshooting on your end to isolate the problem.

[Gview 1]

17 minutes ago, anon68473 said:

Hey all, appreciate the feedback!

I'll try to address a few comments in one:

@PinkElephant I would challenge the claim that foldables are "exotic devices." That may have been true 5 years ago, but now, I don't really think it is - it's simply a phone with two screens, which is technically a type of technology that has existed for over 10 years (think back to the old LG smartphones). Scaling and dynamically sizing apps is a type of technology that has existed for a VERY long time, what with different sized mobile tablets, different types of laptops, etc. - I really don't think folding smartphones are particularly unique or challenging in this regard, especially considering they've been on the market for a half decade by now. 

 

I have to agree here.  If this was a defect in the PC version that only happened when you had a 2nd display plugged in, everybody would be complaining.  Evernote has no specific programming related to a foldable.  It does however, need to deal with dynamic changes to screen size.

I would be willing to bet that Evernote Android has never been tested against a foldable device, given the ground up electron client rewrite, and large number of changes that have been made to the application since that time.  

[Stark 23]

I didn't want to say but i think your right. i don't understand how this bug with the mobile and now has my web version of evernote all messed up. Over a week of notes gone, i have 3 different versions of my notes and all are missing notes from a week ago. I just signed up for the paid plan in June, everything seem fine and now this. 

I am hopeful things will get fixed but this just shouldn't be the norm going into 2025.

i would just love to be able to run my solo business on Evernote and not use Notion. 

[anon68473 6]

1 hour ago, mackid1993 said:

Definitely not a sinking ship. It was a sinking ship, that's why it was sold. The new owners have really done wonders but yes there are still bugs and it's taking time to iron everything out. I personally have never seen anything like what you are showing and if it was a very common issue affecting many users it would be on the bugfix tracker for sure: https://help.evernote.com/hc/en-us/articles/32816633979667--Evernote-bugfix-tracker.

I have a feeling this has something to do with your specific device, perhaps a compatibility issue with your keyboard (that doesn't look like Gboard). It could also be an extension that interfaces with the keyboard such as a password manager. Given that no one else seems to be having this problem I would advise you do some more troubleshooting on your end to isolate the problem.

Well, people all over the internet (various blogs and articles), and Reddit, pretty much universally consider Evernote a sinking ship - which are more neutral and less-biased opinions / sources than the official Evernote forums, where I'm sure there are still many fans of the product. Between the price hiking, the enormous number of defects, the strange UI / UX decisions, the consistently poor user experience, the apparent major decline in customer service and experience... it's clearly a massively held opinion that Evernote, as a note-taking product, is deeply, deeply flawed, and thousands upon thousands of people are feeling forced to switch applications because of these problems. 

I don't think this has something to do "with my specific device" - there are now a couple different people on my Reddit post about this who are saying this issue is happening on their normal Android phones. I strongly believe this is an Evernote problem, and it is my opinion that if I cannot even literally type a note down, then this is a critical defect, and I would expect a multi-million dollar software company to treat it as such, regardless of the number of users experiencing it. I don't care if folding phones are "more complex" (they aren't) - it is unacceptable for a multi-million dollar software company's product to fail in this way, and in so many other ways, so utterly frequently.  

Someone else posited that it may be an issue related to the Samsung keyboard, but again, that is not Samsung keyboard's fault - that is Evernote's fault - because this issue has not happened on any other app on my phone, ever. 

[PinkElephant 8,857]

You use a lot of words to describe your own failure to identify an app that works well on your foldable device.

It sheds more light on yourself than on the app you say is not working for you. Well: Nobody is going to shoot the dog when you switch.

Let us know if we can assist you to offload your content. It will be a relief (not only for yourself).

[mackid1993 1,320]

14 minutes ago, anon68473 said:

Well, people all over the internet (various blogs and articles), and Reddit, pretty much universally consider Evernote a sinking ship - which are more neutral and less-biased opinions / sources than the official Evernote forums, where I'm sure there are still many fans of the product. Between the price hiking, the enormous number of defects, the strange UI / UX decisions, the consistently poor user experience, the apparent major decline in customer service and experience... it's clearly a massively held opinion that Evernote, as a note-taking product, is deeply, deeply flawed, and thousands upon thousands of people are feeling forced to switch applications because of these problems. 

I don't think this has something to do "with my specific device" - there are now a couple different people on my Reddit post about this who are saying this issue is happening on their normal Android phones. I strongly believe this is an Evernote problem, and it is my opinion that if I cannot even literally type a note down, then this is a critical defect, and I would expect a multi-million dollar software company to treat it as such, regardless of the number of users experiencing it. I don't care if folding phones are "more complex" (they aren't) - it is unacceptable for a multi-million dollar software company's product to fail in this way, and in so many other ways, so utterly frequently.  

Someone else posited that it may be an issue related to the Samsung keyboard, but again, that is not Samsung keyboard's fault - that is Evernote's fault - because this issue has not happened on any other app on my phone, ever. 

Welp, I tried to help you. I guess I should have known when you said "Evernote is ruining my life" that I probably wasn't going to be successful. I made my suggestions, you don't have to take them. I suggest contacting support. Good luck!

[Paul A. 679]

Sorry you're experiencing this issue! Unfortunately, Android is the red-headed-stepchild of Bending Spoons app development, they don't allocate sufficient resources to it and there are longstanding Android-specific bugs which are not getting fixed.

Related to your problem, I watched your video and noticed you were in a bulleted list. There is a known bug (that Evernote has yet to try and fix) where text typed into formatted lists (bullets, checklists, etc.) either doesn't appear or is deleted or the cursor jumps to another spot in the note. Do you have the same issue typing into a non-formatted list, i.e. a purely plain textbox?

[college_grad 0]

Am curious if you’ve tried to use a $20 Anker A7726 Bluetooth keyboard or similar to see if different source of the character input has the same issue.

[mackid1993 1,320]

FYI this is 150% a regression with bulleted lists. I can repro this on my Android device with bulleted lists. Checklists also are broken too albeit differently. @anon68473 try typing on your phone without bullets for now and then on a PC fix the formatting later. That should work until they fix this.

[anon68473 6]

On 10/2/2024 at 4:38 PM, PinkElephant said:

You use a lot of words to describe your own failure to identify an app that works well on your foldable device.

It sheds more light on yourself than on the app you say is not working for you. Well: Nobody is going to shoot the dog when you switch.

Let us know if we can assist you to offload your content. It will be a relief (not only for yourself).

Nope. The only failure here is Evernote, of which you're clearly a "simp" (I think that's a word that the kids use these days).

You've now been proven wrong multiple times on this post. 

You can leave now. Bye. 

On 10/2/2024 at 4:41 PM, Paul A. said:

Sorry you're experiencing this issue! Unfortunately, Android is the red-headed-stepchild of Bending Spoons app development, they don't allocate sufficient resources to it and there are longstanding Android-specific bugs which are not getting fixed.

Related to your problem, I watched your video and noticed you were in a bulleted list. There is a known bug (that Evernote has yet to try and fix) where text typed into formatted lists (bullets, checklists, etc.) either doesn't appear or is deleted or the cursor jumps to another spot in the note. Do you have the same issue typing into a non-formatted list, i.e. a purely plain textbox?

Hey Paul, thank you for your input and validation! Yes, I have realized over the past several days that it is, in fact, specific to formatted lists. 

1 hour ago, mackid1993 said:

FYI this is 150% a regression with bulleted lists. I can repro this on my Android device with bulleted lists. Checklists also are broken too albeit differently. @anon68473 try typing on your phone without bullets for now and then on a PC fix the formatting later. That should work until they fix this.

Yes, good advice, I realized a few days ago that it appears to only be an issue with formatted lists (which is like 90% of what I use Evernote for) and I have already started just writing lists without bullets for now. I appreciate you following up on this.

IMO, this seems like a critical Android defect that should be receiving immediate attention. Any respectable software "product" wouldn't allow something like this to go on for so long. That's why people are leaving Evernote in droves, and thousands upon thousands of people are pissed off with Evernote. 

[mackid1993 1,320]

1 minute ago, anon68473 said:

Nope. The only failure here is Evernote, of which you're clearly a "simp" (I think that's a word that the kids use these days).

You've now been proven wrong multiple times on this post. 

You can leave now. Bye. 

Sorry, you don't get to come in here, ask for help, be aggressive and then call another user a simp. You've been reported.

[anon68473 6]

2 hours ago, mackid1993 said:

Sorry, you don't get to come in here, ask for help, be aggressive and then call another user a simp. You've been reported.

Yes, I do. This is the internet, Evernote is the failure here, and that guy was an a**hole first. I don't give a s*** about whether I can continue posting here or not.

[mackid1993 1,320]

10 minutes ago, anon68473 said:

Yes, I do. This is the internet, Evernote is the failure here, and that guy was an a**hole first. I don't give a s*** about whether I can continue posting here or not.

Calm it down. We solved your issue. It's a bug, it'll get fixed.

[PinkElephant 8,857]

Reported (not you @mackid1993 )

[anon68473 6]

1 hour ago, mackid1993 said:

Calm it down. We solved your issue. It's a bug, it'll get fixed.

Re: "Calm it down"

Try taking your own advice.

Re: "it'll get fixed."

Don't hold your breath.

23 minutes ago, PinkElephant said:

Reported (not you @mackid1993 )

Dish it but can't take it, eh? Typical behavior from a chronically online forum goblin. 

Re: "Reported"

I've reported both of you, too. That makes three of us doing something useless today.

Both of you can stop replying on my post now. Everyone else was significantly more helpful and pleasant than you. Look in the mirror and ask yourselves why. 

[PinkElephant 8,857]

Reported.

[VincentC 355]

Ignored.  (Man, that list is getting long!)

 

Vinnie

[mackid1993 1,320]

2 minutes ago, VincentC said:

Ignored.  (Man, that list is getting long!)

 

Vinnie

Yeah. I've got quite a few myself that make it into the list.