Beware - iOS Offline Sync does work as implied

[Boatguy 49]

I'm using EN 5.4.1 on iOS devices with a premium account.  I have Offline Notebooks set to All Notes.

 

My intent is that my iOS devices have a complete copy of my EN database before I lose connectivity.  I believed that if I opened the device and hit the sync button before I got on an airplane, that the iOS devices would be fully synced, much as hitting the sync button on EN on my Mac causes it to be synced with the EN cloud database.  But I have learned otherwise.

 

One bad experience, and then some testing shows that each notebook on the iOS devices must be opened to force it to sync.  The sync button apparently does nothing at all.  So to sync my iOS devices before losing connectivity, which is the whole point of "Offline Notebooks" I have to open each notebook, let it sync, and then move on to the next notebook.  Repeat for each iOS device.  As far as I can tell this is the only way to ensure the iOS devices are actually in sync with the EN cloud before losing connectivity.

 

Isn't it reasonable to believe that the sync button on an iOS device should have the same effect as the sync button on the Mac version?

 

Can someone at EN please explain the logic behind why this is the way that iOS Offline Notebooks should work?  Or is it, as I believe, just wrong?

 

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

 

I'm using EN 5.4.1 on iOS devices with a premium account.  I have Offline Notebooks set to All Notes.

 

My intent is that my iOS devices have a complete copy of my EN database before I lose connectivity.  I believed that if I opened the device and hit the sync button before I got on an airplane, that the iOS devices would be fully synced, much as hitting the sync button on EN on my Mac causes it to be synced with the EN cloud database.  But I have learned otherwise.

 

One bad experience, and then some testing shows that each notebook on the iOS devices must be opened to force it to sync.  The sync button apparently does nothing at all.  So to sync my iOS devices before losing connectivity, which is the whole point of "Offline Notebooks" I have to open each notebook, let it sync, and then move on to the next notebook.  Repeat for each iOS device.  As far as I can tell this is the only way to ensure the iOS devices are actually in sync with the EN cloud before losing connectivity.

 

Isn't it reasonable to believe that the sync button on an iOS device should have the same effect as the sync button on the Mac version?

 

Can someone at EN please explain the logic behind why this is the way that iOS Offline Notebooks should work?  Or is it, as I believe, just wrong?

 

 

Hi. Sorry to hear about your problem. This hasn't been my experience at all. Assuming you have all of the notebooks selected for offline syncing and allow enough time for the initial sync (my offline notebook takes several hours to sync on the slow Internet connection I have at the moment), then subsequent syncs of just a few notes ought to occur quickly across all notebooks. Perhaps something has changed in recent updates. I will test to see if this is the case, and I'd be interested to hear if any other users are encountering this issue. In my opinion, you certainly should not have to open each notebook to sync, and I don't think this is intended behavior.

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

I'm using EN 5.4.1 on iOS devices with a premium account. I have Offline Notebooks set to All Notes.

My intent is that my iOS devices have a complete copy of my EN database before I lose connectivity. I believed that if I opened the device and hit the sync button before I got on an airplane, that the iOS devices would be fully synced, much as hitting the sync button on EN on my Mac causes it to be synced with the EN cloud database. But I have learned otherwise.

One bad experience, and then some testing shows that each notebook on the iOS devices must be opened to force it to sync. The sync button apparently does nothing at all. So to sync my iOS devices before losing connectivity, which is the whole point of "Offline Notebooks" I have to open each notebook, let it sync, and then move on to the next notebook. Repeat for each iOS device. As far as I can tell this is the only way to ensure the iOS devices are actually in sync with the EN cloud before losing connectivity.

Isn't it reasonable to believe that the sync button on an iOS device should have the same effect as the sync button on the Mac version?

Can someone at EN please explain the logic behind why this is the way that iOS Offline Notebooks should work? Or is it, as I believe, just wrong?

I am not experiencing this either. IME, even just now, is that syncing syncs all notes down regardless which notebook & without having to call up each notebook.

[megsaint 441]

I've had not problems, either. However, I think it's extremely important to reiterate what GM said about the initial sync taking HOURS. Hitting sync just before getting on a plane, if one hasn't done it before, would possibly result in very little being synced before loss of connectivity.

[Boatguy 49]

First, we're not talking about a "full sync" of all data, but even that does not take "hours" to transfer a 180MB database.  Even an iPhone 5 wifi connection can do 8Mb/sec which will transfer the entire 180MB in a few minutes.  We're only talking about an incremental sync. Time is not the issue.  The issue is syncing the databases.

 

I've run the tests.  If I add a note to a Notebook, then hit the "sync" button (little arrows chasing each other), wait for it to complete, then shut off connectivity, my iOS device is NOT synchronized with the EN cloud.  The note will not be in the Notebook.  If I open the Notebook, then that Notebook will be synced properly, but hitting the sync button does not do the job.  This is unlike my Mac where hitting the sync button causes the entire database, and all Notebooks, to be synchronized with the EN cloud.

 

So there are a couple of possibilities here:

 

1) I'm not hitting the right "sync" button.

 

2) The sync does not in fact do a complete sync of all content between the EN cloud and the iOS device.

 

3) I've made an error in my testing and the sync on an iOS device does in fact work as it does on the Mac.

 

4) The previous commenters and Evangelists have not done rigorous testing and are assuming that the all data has been synchronized (including images, PDFs, etc.).

 

So let's start with the simple case and use facts.  Can someone state one way or the other, with full confidence and knowledge of how the product is intended to work, that pressing the sync button should or should not cause all content to sync?  Then we'll know if I'm experiencing a bug, or a "feature".

 

Everything else is speculation and a waste of our mutual time.

 

I've submitted a support ticket, no further comment is necessary.  Thank you for your time and consideration.

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

First, we're not talking about a "full sync" of all data, but even that does not take "hours" to transfer a 180MB database.  Even an iPhone 5 wifi connection can do 8Mb/sec which will transfer the entire 180MB in a few minutes.  We're only talking about an incremental sync. Time is not the issue.  The issue is syncing the databases.

 

I've run the tests.  If I add a note to a Notebook, then hit the "sync" button (little arrows chasing each other), wait for it to complete, then shut off connectivity, my iOS device is NOT synchronized with the EN cloud.  The note will not be in the Notebook.  If I open the Notebook, then that Notebook will be synced properly, but hitting the sync button does not do the job.  This is unlike my Mac where hitting the sync button causes the entire database, and all Notebooks, to be synchronized with the EN cloud.

 

So there are a couple of possibilities here:

 

1) I'm not hitting the right "sync" button.

 

2) The sync does not in fact do a complete sync of all content between the EN cloud and the iOS device.

 

3) I've made an error in my testing and the sync on an iOS device does in fact work as it does on the Mac.

 

4) The previous commenters and Evangelists have not done rigorous testing and are assuming that the all data has been synchronized (including images, PDFs, etc.).

 

So let's start with the simple case and use facts.  Can someone state one way or the other, with full confidence and knowledge of how the product is intended to work, that pressing the sync button should or should not cause all content to sync?  Then we'll know if I'm experiencing a bug, or a "feature".

 

Everything else is speculation and a waste of our mutual time.

 

I've submitted a support ticket, no further comment is necessary.  Thank you for your time and consideration.

Wow. I don't even know why you bothered posting here. Talk about wasting mutual time.

[Extropy 68]

My experience on iOS (iPhone and iPad) is that the little arrows chasing each other are not a good indication of when the sync is finished. It appears that once Evernote has synced the note headers and metadata, syncing the rest of the content of the note is in a different thread or something, and the arrows stop chasing each other's tails and you think the sync has finished. I always keep my eye on the iOS network activity starburst thingy after doing a sync. Only after _that_ stops do I exit Evernote.

 

Suggestion to Evernote: teach the lying little tail-chasing arrows to keep going until everything is actually synced.

[sparrowlight 14]

I've submitted a support ticket, no further comment is necessary.  Thank you for your time and consideration.

 

That does sound very frustrating and in the past when I've used offline notebooks, that hasn't been the behavior at all. I hope support has helpful answers for you. Good luck!

[Boatguy 49]

Wow. I don't even know why you bothered posting here. Talk about wasting mutual time.

 

 

B&F, you have my permission to never waste your time commenting on one of my postings.

[Boatguy 49]

I've gleaned the following from EN Support over the last two weeks with regard to using Shared Notebooks in IOS:

 

1)  Content for shared notes is loaded only when the note itself is opened.  Share Notebooks / notes, are not synchronized when other Notebooks are synchronized.

 

2)  In the Offline settings, "Download all notes" does not include Shared Notebooks/notes.  The only Shared Notebooks/notes available when you are Offline are those that have been previously accessed and the data presented will be whatever was there when you last accessed it while online.

 

3) Stacks of Shared Notebooks created with the desktop app are not displayed, each Notebook will be displayed individually.  There is no way to create a stack of Notebooks under IOS (shared or otherwise).

 

4) Tags are for Shared Notebooks are not available under IOS.

 

In short, like other EN features, support for Shared Notebooks has been randomly implemented on the various platforms of this "cross platform" app.

 

EN could you at least provide a matrix of functionality across the platforms so we don't have to continually bother the Support organization with what we think are bugs or operator error problems, but are in fact just the capricious implementation of EN features on various platforms?  I'm a Premium customer and I use EN on Mac, Windows and IOS.  Discovering which features work where is not how I'm paid to spend my time.

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

I've gleaned the following from EN Support over the last two weeks with regard to using Shared Notebooks in IOS:

 

1)  Content for shared notes is loaded only when the note itself is opened.  Share Notebooks / notes, are not synchronized when other Notebooks are synchronized.

 

2)  In the Offline settings, "Download all notes" does not include Shared Notebooks/notes.  The only Shared Notebooks/notes available when you are Offline are those that have been previously accessed and the data presented will be whatever was there when you last accessed it while online.

 

3) Stacks of Shared Notebooks created with the desktop app are not displayed, each Notebook will be displayed individually.  There is no way to create a stack of Notebooks under IOS (shared or otherwise).

 

4) Tags are for Shared Notebooks are not available under IOS.

 

In short, like other EN features, support for Shared Notebooks has been randomly implemented on the various platforms of this "cross platform" app.

 

EN could you at least provide a matrix of functionality across the platforms so we don't have to continually bother the Support organization with what we think are bugs or operator error problems, but are in fact just the capricious implementation of EN features on various platforms?  I'm a Premium customer and I use EN on Mac, Windows and IOS.  Discovering which features work where is not how I'm paid to spend my time.

Hi Boatguy. Thanks for posting this information. I am sure it will help other users who run into difficulties.

I have deleted your other thread, as double posts make the forum a little untidy. Evernote staff read these threads, so I am sure they will see your suggestion for improvement. I have also made similar suggestions in the past about the treatment of joined notebooks and some kind of table for comparison of features across user tiers / devices.

If you are a Business user, I believe your joined notebooks from the Business Library are usable offline. This is one difference from the Free users (no offline notebooks) and the Premium ones (only owned notebooks can be used offline).

[jefito 5,589]

@Boatguy -- that's good information -- thanks for following up and sharing.

[Daniel KT 6]

I'm experiencing the same offline sync issue on my ipad and iphone. the sync never finishes. Is there no solution other than uninstall and reinstall? 

 

Thanks

 

BR

Daniel

[Boatguy 49]

The bogus "Download All Notes" is still an issue in the most recent iOS version (7.6.2.313133), almost 18 months after my original post.  I manually synced my iPad several times before departing for NYC.  Thinking my notes were synced I got on the plane, only to be greeted with "Tap to Download".  Really?  I pay my monthly Premium charges.  What's up EN?

 

Let me repeat - 18 MONTHS LATER THIS BUG IS STILL NOT FIXED!

 

Do not rely upon EN to actually download all your notes, and their content, no matter what your settings.

 

[ScottLougheed 1,316]

The bogus "Download All Notes" is still an issue in the most recent iOS version (7.6.2.313133), almost 18 months after my original post.  I manually synced my iPad several times before departing for NYC.  Thinking my notes were synced I got on the plane, only to be greeted with "Tap to Download".  Really?  I pay my monthly Premium charges.  What's up EN?

 

Let me repeat - 18 MONTHS LATER THIS BUG IS STILL NOT FIXED!

 

Do not rely upon EN to actually download all your notes, and their content, no matter what your settings.

 

For some reason the EN forums are limiting my attachments to 22KB so I can't attach a screen shot at the moment, but my settings say Download All and the note clearly says "Tap to Downoad".

I've since stopped relying on Evernote for offline access to my travel documents these days. Other options are more reliable, albeit slightly less convenient (then again, nothing terribly convenient about not having your documents when you thought you did!).

[AndyDent 97]

I've since stopped relying on Evernote for offline access to my travel documents these days

 

I am a massive Evernote user (around 22,000 notes) using it for clipping, research notes, active writing and product design including sound notes.

I clip a vast amount of stuff so it is preserved and around for offline use.

 

I am also extremely paranoid about Evernote sync because too many times I have been caught as Scott relates - sync appears to be finished then you get on a plane and stuff is not there. For travel documents, I also save local PDFs in another app.

 

Even worse, I have had to delete and reinstall Evernote to force resync of at least one big notebook because it thought it was all there.

 

Evernote, like many companies, periodically need a kick up the API to remind them that quality is slipping. I think being able to trust in your data being available should be first and foremost in their priorities.

 

I'm a long-fan and I hate having to qualify my recommendation of the product to people.

[stocky2605 401]

First, we're not talking about a "full sync" of all data, but even that does not take "hours" to transfer a 180MB database.  Even an iPhone 5 wifi connection can do 8Mb/sec which will transfer the entire 180MB in a few minutes.  We're only talking about an incremental sync. Time is not the issue.  The issue is syncing the databases.

 

 

This is only true if EN is able to provide your data with 8 MB/sec, or your provider, etc. :-)