Evernote note won't save edited note sometimes

[Wondering17 3]

Evernote note won't save edited note sometimes.
This happens on an android smartphone.

 

I edit a note.

I add text.

Then exit from the note.

The new text that I just entered is not there.

 

Is there something I should be doing to assure that the new

text is entered and that the updated note is saved?

 

[gazumped 11,658]

When you exit from the note - do you always press the 'Done' key at the top of the screen?

[stleric 2]

Hi,

 

Sorry to butt in on this, but it sounds like I'm having the same problem.  In my case, I edit my note, hit "Done", the app says it's saving but then the note reverts to the pre-edit version, losing my changes.  I have to go to one of my desktops and edit it there.

 

Happens on both my Android devices 4.4 on one, 4.2 on the other.  Evernote is 6.0.1.1 on both.

 

TIA,

eric

[gazumped 11,658]

Not butting in - this topic was a little dead in the water anyway.  But confirming that behaviour on two devices doesn't sound good.  Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling the app on one device?  (Make sure you sync successfully first).  If you do,  and this is still a problem I suggest you submit a support request and get a ticket number at least.  6.0.2 should be out soon,  perhaps it will sort things out...

[stleric 2]

Yes, I reinstalled it on my tablet and, after cursory testing, it seems to have improved things.  I'll do the same to my phone later.  Hope the new version fixes the problem whatever it is.

[lilfos 0]

I'm thirding this one.  Just as Wondering says, the steps to reproduce are:

1. Open the offending note in the android app
2. Click the pen in the green circle to enter edit mode
3. Type something (or delete, or check a checkbox)
4. Click Done

The app goes into read-only mode and the new text is missing.  A split second later, a message appears saying "Saving note in [Folder]."  Of course, saving the note doesn't help since the changes seem to have been discarded already.

 

I just updated my Evernote version a few minutes ago and it did not solve the problem.  I have also force stopped the application to no avail.  I thought the problem might be that I had the note open in a web browser on my laptop, but I have now closed out of that.  

 

A few other interesting notes:

• After duplicating the note, I can edit it once.  After that, it reverts back to the behavior described above
• Testing on another note yields the same as the first bullet.  Editing works only once.
• Creating a new note on my phone doesn't help either.  I can create it, then edit it once.
• There is no improvement if I insert a manual save step before 3 and 4.
• The date listed under the note title in the Notebook view remains unchanged after a failed edit.

 

I have the android app set to sync in the background on any type of network, so I generally never have to worry about manual syncing.  I used to be able switch between phone and browser and have my notes stay in sync at all times.  I didn't really notice that there was a Sync option until reading this forum.  I don't think this is related to syncing, though. One can't sync what the app won't save.

[GrahamW 2]

Me too. My device updated yesterday and since then I've not been able to save edits to existing notes.

Cheers, Graham

[Grovel 0]

Using Evernote on an Android Tablet I had a similar issue - an entire mornings meeting notes were lost entirely once I hit 'done'. I don't know if the fact I was offline at the time was relevant, but this was extremely inconvenient as the meeting is not one I can reproduce.

[gazumped 11,658]

The only guaranteed fix would appear to be to use a third-party word-processing app to save the content independently,  then attach the finished file to an Evernote note so it's available wherever there is internet access.

[Theresa Pittappilly 37]

First of all I'm so sorry that you are all hitting this issue. We're investigating why this could be happening for select users. If there are any other details/steps on how you hit this issue please reply to this post. We can't currently repro this issue ourselves.

 

@lilfos, as part of your repro steps below you mentioned "The app goes into read-only mode". Did you see a green lock in the bottom right hand side? Is that what you meant by read-only mode? Thanks again for the detailed repro steps - this sort of information is really helpful in nailing the issue. 

 

I'm thirding this one.  Just as Wondering says, the steps to reproduce are:

1. Open the offending note in the android app
2. Click the pen in the green circle to enter edit mode
3. Type something (or delete, or check a checkbox)
4. Click Done

The app goes into read-only mode and the new text is missing.  A split second later, a message appears saying "Saving note in [Folder]."  Of course, saving the note doesn't help since the changes seem to have been discarded already.

 

I just updated my Evernote version a few minutes ago and it did not solve the problem.  I have also force stopped the application to no avail.  I thought the problem might be that I had the note open in a web browser on my laptop, but I have now closed out of that.  

 

A few other interesting notes:

• After duplicating the note, I can edit it once.  After that, it reverts back to the behavior described above
• Testing on another note yields the same as the first bullet.  Editing works only once.
• Creating a new note on my phone doesn't help either.  I can create it, then edit it once.
• There is no improvement if I insert a manual save step before 3 and 4.
• The date listed under the note title in the Notebook view remains unchanged after a failed edit.

 

I have the android app set to sync in the background on any type of network, so I generally never have to worry about manual syncing.  I used to be able switch between phone and browser and have my notes stay in sync at all times.  I didn't really notice that there was a Sync option until reading this forum.  I don't think this is related to syncing, though. One can't sync what the app won't save.

[Theresa Pittappilly 37]

Some more questions for folks who are hitting this issue:

- Once it happens the first time, does the issue continue to happen every time you edit that particular note? 

- Does this issue only occur on certain notes - or all your notes?

- Is the note one that has been work chatted to you?

- Is the note from a notebook that has been shared with you?

 

Thanks again for your help! Sorry for the inconvenience and frustration this is causing. 

[Wondering17 3]

Theresa,

It is still happening, that Evernote is not saving the edited note on the Android device.  These are my notes that I created.  My workaround is to create a new note.

Wondering

11/24/14

[Theresa Pittappilly 37]

Thanks for the response @Wondering. Does this happen for all existing notes on your device? Or only certain ones? For the notes that it is happening for:

- Was the note created on an Android client? Or on another EN client - Windows, Mac, iPhone?

- Was the note a text note? Or was it a note that was a web clip, or had images or handwriting?

[MMcD 0]

I am having this same frustrating issue. Not onlybwill edits of the note not take, but even deleting that portion of the note will not take. Since this note was entirely created in Evernote it is not 3 rd party issue. I do wonder if its due to the recent update of android, in which case as it rolls out you will have ever greater issues. I am about ready to look for a new app. Evernote used to have customer service. Now it doesn't.

[Wondering17 3]

Theresa,

I am sorry, but I don't know which notes were created on my Windows 7 computer and which on my Android Samsung tablet or Droid smartphone. 

 

I will let you know if I continue to have problem.

Thank you for your consideration.

[Jess 0]

For the notes that won't save your changes anymore:

When you go into the editor, is it the normal editor or is it the very limited editor where you can only edit a section at a time?

Any info like this will help us track it down.  We are trying to reproduce it right now, so any help is appreciated!

 

- Jess

[MMcD 0]

Jess -- Evernote also updated recently, and I'm entering a previous note to edit by clicking on the round pen icon -- as far as I can tell, it's the ONLY way to edit a prior note.

 

So -- 

 

Open prior note

click on pen icon (edit)

back erase a line in note

write new line in note

click to save/close

message says "saving"

note still shows old text

 

Just retried today -- and still a problem.

[Marvol 1]

Hi all,

Good to see a live topic that covers exactly my issue.

I've got EN on Windows 7, and 2 Androids (Nexus 4 and 10).

 

Since some weeks some notes I open on Android act exactly as described by others: open, do some editing, click DONE -> note reverts to the old form.

EN in Windows has no problem.

 

I made sure I closed EN on the PC and the Androids, but that changes nothing.

 

And the notes are old-ish, so I honestly can't remember where I started them.

[Jess 0]

Hi Marvol, 

 

When you go into the editor, is it the normal editor with just simple formatting, or is it the very limited editor where things created on your desktop cause it to only allow you to edit a section at a time?

[Grovel 0]

Some more questions for folks who are hitting this issue:

- Once it happens the first time, does the issue continue to happen every time you edit that particular note? 

- Does this issue only occur on certain notes - or all your notes?

- Is the note one that has been work chatted to you?

- Is the note from a notebook that has been shared with you?

 

Thanks again for your help! Sorry for the inconvenience and frustration this is causing. 

 

Hi Theresa,

 

It only happened while I was offline, with wifi active but no recognized hot spot nearby. When I hit 'done' I got a message pop up saying "message not saved" or something to that effect, it was the same message that you get if you hit 'done' without editing a note.

 

To answer your questions;

- It occured several times on the same note, but editing has worked since I returned to my office.

- I didn't try it in any other notes.

- The note in question is one that I had created several days prior, then edited/added to on the day. Once I hit 'done' the note basically reverted back to where it had been before the day's additions.

- I had created the note myself on the same platform (an Android Tablet) that I encountered the issue with, though it had been synced with a PC previously if that counts for something.

[Jess 0]

We pushed a new beta with 2 fixes that we think will help the issue.  Please update and let us know if it fixed the issue for you.

 

- Jess

[Theresa Pittappilly 37]

Thanks again for all the details provided so far. We think we may have a fix for the issue. The fix is available in our latest beta. If you have the hit issue we ask that you join our beta community to test if the fix resolves the issues your are having.

 

Beta community and information on how to join: 

https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/104510054128618368971

[Marvol 1]

Hi Marvol, 

 

When you go into the editor, is it the normal editor with just simple formatting, or is it the very limited editor where things created on your desktop cause it to only allow you to edit a section at a time?

 

Hi Jess,

 

I second MMcD on this one. I open the note from being 'read-only' using the green pen button bottom right. This allows me full editing as far as I can tell - indluding formatting.

 

And just like that, right now, the note does save my change. How odd, how random. Didn't even install the beta. If the issue returns I will! Thanks for the support

[Grovel 0]

Thanks Jess & Theresa,

 

I've upgraded Evernote and will be sure to post any future issues along with as much detail around the situation as I am able.

[Ananda 0]

Hi all. I have the same issue. I'm running version 6.2.1. I had this issue before and after some time (and possibly an update) the issue was gone. Today I began having the same issue again. It's strange because this is a note I have been editing for the past couple of days, but today out of the blue it started happening again. I do everything just as the others here have posted.

Open the note

Click the edit icon

Erase and add more text

Then I tried different options-

Press the home button which automatically saves the note (when I first had this issue several months ago this method was my work around, but now that doesn't work anymore)

Press the save button (at which point the note saved message pops up and there is no change/revert to old note at this point)

Then I press the done button and that's when the note reverts back to the old version.

I also tried just pressing the done button without manually saving, which use to automatically save the new edits, but that doesn't work either.

I haven't tried editing any other notes today, but when I first had this issue (about 2-3 months ago) it happened on every note I edited and on different devices. And at that time if I created a new note without manually saving it (just pressing the done button) the note wouldn't get saved and it was lost for good.

I'll play with the app some more and if I find some more info that is relevant I will post it to help you guys at evernote fix it.

Is the beta version newer than what I have (6.2.1)?

[Ananda 0]

Hello again. So I played with the app a bit and found some interesting things that might help with the repro.

I discovered that when I first edit a note the changes get saved either by just pressing the done button or the save button. But when I try to edit for the second time then the issue presents itself.

I also tested the issue with new notes. The first note I created allowed me to successfully edit 4 times (each time I saved the note by pressing "done"). However, every new note after that I was only able to make an edit once, the second time would only revert to the last edit. I tried this with both "save" and "done" and the issue was the same. At least the new notes get saved after I create them with just pressing the done button. When I first had this issue several months ago my new notes would only get saved if I pressed the save or home button.

By the way I only tested text notes, which is all I really use. I haven't tested any other types of notes. I hope this helps.

[Theresa Pittappilly 37]

Thanks @ananda for all the helpful info. I private messaged you asking if you could send me logs and steps to do that. Thanks in advance for your help! After you send the logs could you then try rebooting your phone to see if that fixes the issue? Thanks and sorry for the inconvenience! 

[lilfos 0]

Theresa, thank you for your efforts thus far.  I'm sorry I disappeared for a while.  I have been getting the forum update emails and saw that others are doing a good job of carrying the torch on this issue.

 

I seem to have resolved my issue by reinstalling the android app.  Updating it had not worked (as previously mentioned), but deleting it and installing it again did the trick.  I am on v6.1.1 and it is currenty working fine.  My device is an HTC m7 with android 4.4.3 and Sense 6.0.  

 

While I was having the problem, I tried using a tablet (LG GPad 8.3 v500), and it worked fine.  I don't know the software versions for that.  I have observed that the Evernote interface is quite different from device to device, so maybe that has something to do with it.

 

Thanks again.

[Wordsgood 526]

Hi. I have no idea if this will help anyone or not, but thought I'd chime in just in case. I'm a free user with plans to upgrade to Premium by early to mid next week.

I work primarily from my Android phone (SG3), and have for about a year. Since the latest Android update, I have lost no data and had no problems editing or moving notes (to another Notebook).

That said, while I use it nearly every day, I am not a power user. I frequently edits the same notes repeatedly over hours, days, weeks and even months. Here's my workflow on both my Android phone and my Windows laptop:

* I never log-out on ether device, ever.

* As soon as I open Evernote on either device, I manually Sync DOWN from the EN Servers.

* While working in EN on the Android app, if I'm spending more than 2 or 3 minutes in one note, I use the Save feature - NOT to be confused with the Sync function - which can be accessed by tapping on the three vertical dots in the upper right corner of the screen in any open note. (Pre-existing ones open once you tap the Green Circle icon, which opens the note in Edit Mode.)

* The same is true for any notes you are currently creating. In either case once you tap those three vertical dots when in an open note, two options come up - Save and Settings - tap Save. i.e.

If I am making extensive edits to a pre-existing note, I will tap Save after every few edits - big or small. I do the same if I'm creating a note with a lot of text.

I tap Save or Sync, one last time before moving onto another note, be it to another pre-existing note or to create a new one.

(I don't recall if the latest Windows app as the Save feature of note. But if not and you also use Windows, I recommend manually Syncing every five minute or so. More if you adding or editing a Note's content fast and/or for a long period of time. Regardless, the local copy of your Evernote Database on your desktop's hardrive should save any changes or additions until you can successfully Sync UP to the EN Servers.)

* Before I close or exit out of Evernote I manually Sync UP to the EN Servers.

Then I check to be certain my final Sync was successful before exiting or closing Evernote. If not, I locate and deal with any Note Conflicts that might have occurred, and try Syncing again.

There has been a few times I couldn't connect to the servers, but I just kept trying every few minutes until I could.

So to re-cap the essential points:

1) When opening EN from ANY device (client), you ALWAYS first *manually* Sync DOWN from the EN Servers.

2) When working in Evernote from ANY device (client) for any extended period of time, you should utilize the Save (where available, such as on Android) and/or the Sync functions, frequently.

Just remember that Evernote is NOT like MS Word that autosaves versions of your work every couple minutes as work in case of a power failure or a computer crash. You have to be diligent using the tools EN provides - auto-Syncing set to a schedule you set, manual Syncing at any time, and in Android at least, the option to Save your work until you can next Sync it UP to the Servers - to ensure Evernote always has the most current version of all your notes available for you to access from any device you use it on.

3) Before closing or exiting out of Evernote - NOT to be confused with Signing-out - MANUALLY Sync UP to the EN Servers. Then check to be sure you've had a successful Sync.

Or, to put it in terms of old school video games kill monster or baddy and immediately Save. Kill more monsters or baddies and Save again!

Cheers.

[Theresa Pittappilly 37]

@Ananda thanks for your logs. We believe we have fixed your note saving issue in our latest beta. If you're not already - could you sign up for our beta to test that we did indeed fix your issue? We just released the fix, so it should be available in the store in the next few hours. Here is a link with instructions on how to sign up:https://www.evernote.com/shard/s76/sh/01157eeb-9e09-4ae9-9694-a3b5efa14d0f/aa73f9be7382b91ef29be31a59ac2e13. Thanks again for all of your help!

 

Thanks everyone else for all the useful info. Please do let us know if you continue to see similar issues after updating to the beta.

[Dazz 0]

Thanks for the discussion. I too have had this issue and have signed up for Google+ to become a beta tester and I look forward to testing it to see if this fixes a most frustration issue.

EN ver 6.3.1

And ver 4.4.4 on a HTC M8

[gecco 0]

Same problem here:

 

Android version 4.4.4

Evernote Version: just updated to 6.3.2.1

 

the problem still is there:

 

@Jess: it is the standard editor with formatting that is causing the problems.

 

To reproduce it I:

• simply create a note and add a line.
• save changes and wait until it is synced
• reopen and add another line
• save changes and wait until it is synced
• reopen and add a 3rd line the same way
• adding a 4th, 5th, ... line does not work, the note is frozen with 3 lines added

 

Hope you can fix this soon, as this is my main input device and I heavily rely on it :-(

 

EDIT: as suggested above I removed the app and installed it again, now I can edit my test note again.

Still pretty scary, as it could happen any time again?

[Kenny Byun 1]

If you're still seeing this issue, please try the following steps:

 

1. Log out and log back in.

- If you haven't logged out for a long time, it's likely that your data is being saved using an older version of storage logic, and logging back in will kick off an upgrade procedure. We're only seeing this issue on users on the older storage.

 

2. Reboot the device.

- If step 1 didn't fix the issue, please try rebooting the device. On certain file systems, a rare bug can happen if a file directory isn't accessed in a safe way. In this case, a directory can go into a zombie state where it can never be used.

  We've fixed this issue, but users that have already been affected will have to restart the device to remove the zombie directories.

 

If the above steps still do not fix the issue, please let us know.

[Leonardo 0]

This problem is very annoying. Still happening with me.

[lilfos 0]

Leonardo,

 

Try deleting the app entirely and reinstalling.  Once I did this, everything started working fine for me.  Now, I just open notes on various devices and edit at will.  I never hit sync or done.  I just switch apps or turn off the screen and go on with my day.  Evernote keeps everything in sync smoothly (except for the very occasional upload conflict).  Annoyingly, the formatting changes across devices, but that's a separate issue...

[Leonardo 0]

Leonardo,

 

Try deleting the app entirely and reinstalling.  Once I did this, everything started working fine for me.  Now, I just open notes on various devices and edit at will.  I never hit sync or done.  I just switch apps or turn off the screen and go on with my day.  Evernote keeps everything in sync smoothly (except for the very occasional upload conflict).  Annoyingly, the formatting changes across devices, but that's a separate issue...

I have just tried it, but the problem is still happening. Thanks for answering though.

[Iva 0]

This happens to me with Evernote web, with a couple of specific notes. I logged out, I rebooted, I tried again and, within a minute or so, the note reverts to its old version. The green animation around the checkmark does not appear, not even when I paste a large chunk of text. 

 

Does it matter if these notes are shared/public or not? 

[Theresa Pittappilly 37]

This problem is very annoying. Still happening with me.

@Leonardo I'm so sorry you're hitting this issue. Could you please send me logs at tpittappilly@evernote.com? You can do this by going to Settings -> Support -> Send Activity log. 

 

 

This happens to me with Evernote web, with a couple of specific notes. I logged out, I rebooted, I tried again and, within a minute or so, the note reverts to its old version. The green animation around the checkmark does not appear, not even when I paste a large chunk of text. 

 

Does it matter if these notes are shared/public or not? 

@Iva are you seeing this on your Android device as well? 

[Iva 0]

Nah, all edits work fine on all of my Android devices. 

[BobMar 0]

I'm also experiencing this problem where I edit a note on my Android and the note won't save nor sync.  So far, I've tried:

• Syncing EN on each of my devices
• Made a copy of the note and tried editing the copy
• Logged out and back in on my android device
• Uninstalled and reinstalled
• Powered my android device off and back on
• Changes to the same note are possible on all of my other devices

 

Was a solution ever found to this?

 

OK, with a little more testing I've found I've found that I can edit the note I mentioned if I make the edit outside of a table contained in the note.  Edits made within the table are ignored.  I've been able to edit and sync notes within the table on this very same note in the past with my Android.  Very confusing.

[andymcevoy 0]

Just ran into this issue using android on my Note 4. Lost an entire meeting of notes.

First time I've seen this and can't get it to reproduce... intentionally anyway.

 

From what I remember, I created the note, went back in to edit, then logged out as normal.

 

Version: 7.0.7.1

Android: 5.0.1

 

note contained 5 pages made with the note's pen, no text.

[gazumped 11,658]

Anything in your Trash notebook,  or synced to other devices?  If you're Premium I'd suggest raising a support request,  if note just a bug/ lost data report - choose "report a bug..." in the first dropdown after logging in here > https://www.evernote.com/SupportLogin.action

 - or in both cases reach out on Twitter @Evernotehelps (include the forum thread URL for extra background).

 

Can't really suggest what might have happened,  but the golden rules for avoiding a repeat would include...

 

• Where you have a network connection,  sync your notes often when creating them,  and avoid major edits until you have a chance to use a desktop.
• Email completed/ key notes to yourself as a backup
• Always confirm that sync has completed before logging out/ switching off

-There are probably more;  any suggestions from the floor?

[Jason Casey 14]

Hi Andy,

 

I've turned this into a customer support ticket so I can follow up with you directly.

 

You'll have an email from me very soon.

 

 

Just ran into this issue using android on my Note 4. Lost an entire meeting of notes.

First time I've seen this and can't get it to reproduce... intentionally anyway.

 

From what I remember, I created the note, went back in to edit, then logged out as normal.

 

Version: 7.0.7.1

Android: 5.0.1

 

note contained 5 pages made with the note's pen, no text.

[ntclick 0]

Thanks again for all the details provided so far

[kokafor92 0]

my issue: Evernote doesn't save the note when i tick/untick a checklist

the solution: i have to open the note using the compose (pen) button and then when i tick/untick the checklist, it will save.

in a nutshell, in order save changes made to a checklist, i have to enter the editing mode (and perform the tick/unitck from here), otherwise i get the message "failed to save note".

 

 

[Wondering17 3]

I posted this problem two years ago (9/30/14). For whatever reasons, there is no problem any more.  I click on one or two buttons at the top of the page when using Evernote on the Android phone or tablet, and the updated note is saved. And the syncing across devices works fine. 

[Echoreflection 15]

this problem seems to have reappeared.  Whenever i create a new note on my phone, whether or not I add tags before clicking the check mark in the top left to mark the editing mode as "finished", all of the content of the note disappears.  I can record this with a screen recording tool if that would help...but I guess I'm just gong to reinstall first and see if that fixes the problem.  i have sooo many notes though (although none of them are "offline" i guess) that it feels unbelievably inconvenient. 

[gazumped 11,658]

If you find the issue still exists,  reach out to Support and send your log files so they can -hopefully- track down the reason this is happening...