Note contents disappeared, note still exists - help/advice needed

[paulaudino 0]

Hi, folks -

 

Submitted a support ticket but in my desparation I figured I'd ask for help here as well.

 

Over the past few days I used Evernote for iPad to take notes on a book while on flights to/from Chicago.  I spent several hours working in the notebook, and yesterday I appear to have lost the contents of the notebook without any prompt/warning from the app.

 

Here's what happened:

 

- I did not purchase in-flight Wi-Fi but my iPad was connected to the airplane's network from a previous flight - in other words the wi-fi antenna appeared on the iPad but I had no access to upload/download (and received several Evernote messages about inability to connect)

- I worked in the same notebook for much of the flight without any issues, even when opening/closing Evernote to use other apps

- Towards the end of the flight I closed the notebook and spent a couple minutes cleaning up old notes in the All Notes view.  For 2 older notes I could see text in the Thumbnail view, but when I opened the note no text was viewable.  Since I wasn't sure what was causing this issue I left the notes as is, and only deleted one note I was certain I would not need.

- When I went back to my book notes the note title was intact, but the contents were now completely blank - same issue as the older notes I had tried to open.  A blue sync arrow did appear on the side of the thumbnail.

- I could not resolve this issue while on the flight, and once connected to the Internet again a sync did not restore the contents.  As far as I can see the contents of the notebook are lost.  The contents of the two older notes I tried to access are now available again.

 

Any suggestions?  Here's what I don't understand - the contents of the notebook I've "lost" were entirely authored on my iPad.  If they were queued to sync but that sync failed, they should still be accessible via that device, no?  I also find it hard to believe that notes would be sent to sync and automatically deleted from the device at the same time.

 

One other question - if I upgrade to Premium can I retroactively restore/view note history?  Or is that data only collected once you're a Premium user.

 

Thanks in advance for any tips.  While I appreciate all the bells & whistles Evernote offers, I really only need it to take good care of my text notes.  Hoping this is fixable - if not I'm going to swich apps as I cannot afford to lose several hours of work due to a tech glitch.

 

Thanks!

[paulaudino 0]

Heard back from the Evernote team - who were nice and very prompt to reply - and this does not appear to be fixable.  Thread below.  Would appreciate any suggestions for alternate apps that can reliably save data entered on an iPad.

 

Hello Paul,

We sincerely apologize for the trouble you are experiencing.

Unfortunately, due to technical limitations the mobile clients do not have this option as they are dependant on having an online connection to adequately save the contents of your notes. Unfortunately due to the fact that note was authored on your iPad while offline and it did not sync to our servers in time to give us a chance to create a backup of your note.

We sincerely apologize for the inconveniences this might cause you.

Tony
 

Jose Antonio Bautista Covarrubias
Evernote

 

Paul Audino - Aug 29
Hi, Jose -

Thanks for the upgrade to one week of Premium service.

Please refer to attached screen shot. Using Note History I am able to recover
part of my notes, but everything from yesterday's work (4 hours) is still
missing.

It is a shame that Note History is not available on mobile clients clients - is
there any other way to recover the data? The missing content was 100% authored
on my iPad and never accessed via web/mobile until today. The name of the note
is "Winning The Story Wars notes".

Thanks,

Paul

> On August 29, 2013 at 3:40 PM Evernote Support <support-webform@evernote.com>
> wrote:

8-29-2013_12-56-52_PM.png

 

Jose Antonio Bautista Covarrubias - Aug 29
We're very sorry that you're having issues with your note content.

We have upgraded your account to Premium Service for a week, this way you can take advantage of our Note History Function and try to recover your lost information.

* On the right side of your note, just beside the "Globe icon" you should see downward arrows (if you are viewing a collapsed header). 
* Click to expand the view.
* Within the note header should see "Note History" in blue.
* Click to view previous versions of the note.

Note: Note History is not currently available on our Mobile clients.

Here are some visual guides for "Note History" on our web and desktop client:

Windows client:
Web client:
Often, you may have multiple versions of some of your notes, and only some of them have history attached. Please try the following, as this may be the easiest way to locate them:

* Open the Evernote desktop client
* Change to the "List" view by going to View-> List View
* Click into any note that has a creation date that's not the same as the updated date. There's a good chance that there's note history on that one. Especially if it's a large difference.
* Be sure to also check your "Evernote Trash", as notes there also have histories.

Keep in mind that if only tags/notebook information were changed, we will not create a new snapshot, as we do not record that information, even though the updated date will change. If you are not using a desktop client, you can also do the same via Evernote Web.

If you are still having issues, please let us know what is the name of the note you are unable to locate. We may be able to assist you.
Let us know how this works for you!

Tony
![] (http://s5.postimg.org/nfs4sx69j/snoopy_computer_thumb.jpg)

Paul Audino - Aug 29
Hi, Jose -

When I log in via the Web Service the note is still blank. I've attached a
screen shot of what I see in my browser. The note in question is "Winning The
Story Wars notes".

I also posted a help inquiry on the forums with additional details -
<http://discussion.evernote.com/topic/41300-note-contents-disappeared-note-still-exists-helpadvice-needed/>
:

Over the past few days I used Evernote for iPad to take notes on a book while on
flights to/from Chicago. I spent several hours working in the notebook, and
yesterday I appear to have lost the contents of the notebook without any
prompt/warning from the app.

Here's what happened:

- I did not purchase in-flight Wi-Fi but my iPad was connected to the airplane's
network from a previous flight - in other words the wi-fi antenna appeared on
the iPad but I had no access to upload/download (and received several Evernote
messages about inability to connect)

- I worked in the same notebook for much of the flight without any issues, even
when opening/closing Evernote to use other apps

- Towards the end of the flight I closed the notebook and spent a couple minutes
cleaning up old notes in the All Notes view. For 2 older notes I could see text
in the Thumbnail view, but when I opened the note no text was viewable. Since I
wasn't sure what was causing this issue I left the notes as is, and only deleted
one note I was certain I would not need.

- When I went back to my book notes the note title was intact, but the contents
were now completely blank - same issue as the older notes I had tried to open.
A blue sync arrow did appear on the side of the thumbnail.

- I could not resolve this issue while on the flight, and once connected to the
Internet again a sync did not restore the contents. As far as I can see the
contents of the notebook are lost. The contents of the two older notes I tried
to access are now available again.

Any suggestions? Here's what I don't understand - the contents of the notebook
I've "lost" were entirely authored on my iPad. If they were queued to sync but
that sync failed, they should still be accessible via that device, no? I also
find it hard to believe that notes would be sent to sync and automatically
deleted from the device at the same time.

One other question - if I upgrade to Premium can I retroactively restore/view
note history? Or is that data only collected once you're a Premium user.

Please let me know if I can provide any additional details.

Thanks,

Paul

> On August 29, 2013 at 1:36 PM Evernote Support <support-webform@evernote.com>
> wrote:

8-29-2013_11-32-49_AM.png

 

Jose Antonio Bautista Covarrubias - Aug 29
We apologize for your inconvenience.

Have you tried checking in our Web Service to see if your original note is still there?

Please go to http://www.evernote.com and click on the top right corner of the screen on "Web Sign In". There you can input your account details and check the contents of your notes directly on our Web Service

Please locate the Note that was lost and checked if the version online is correct.

If you still require more assistance after this, please do contact us so we can further help you.

Thank you.

Tony
![] (http://s5.postimg.org/nfs4sx69j/snoopy_computer_thumb.jpg)

Paul Audino - Aug 29
Hello -

Yesterday I was using Evernote while on a plane and the contents of a notebook appear to have been wiped w/out any warning.

I had been taking notes in this notebook for HOURS over the past few days. I left the notebook, clicked on another older notebook, and when I returned to my notes the subject line was intact but the note contents were blank.

Begging for your help here - I do not possibly understand how something like is could have happened. Hours of work are potentially gone

[Marylu Mertz 0]

Yesterday, the 29th, I opened my Evernotes and found that one of the notes (by far the most important one) is missing.  I have premium service for Mac.  How do I recover this note? 

[gazumped 11,667]

Check the web version of your notes and the trash notebook there and on your device to see if the old version is still around.  Otherwise submit a support ticket (see below).  Excuse the "told ya so" but check around the forums here for help with keeping local backups of your notes - it's always the essential stuff that disappears...

[aussiebob 35]

The new Swiftkey notes app seems to store your notes in the app even when offline,like example above.

It has great predictive text which learns as you use it more.

It differs from the Android version but it's a great addition to use as you can sync it automatically with Evernote.

Just came out yesterday and I love it.

It's free also and syncs with your other iOS device.

I suggest using something like this if you know you will be offline ,then when the app is open with an internet connection,it will sync with EN.

http://www.swiftkey.net/en/