Even though I’m an Apple fanboy, I am also a vocal critic. Some Apple issues dumbfound me. For example, Apple Notes stopped syncing correctly for me three days ago, other people are reporting the problem, and Apple still has no fix.

I use Apple Notes every day to capture things I come across and collect research on various topics. Apple Notes replaced Evernote as my collection bucket.

One of the most powerful features of Apple Notes is the ability to collaborate with others by sharing folders and notes. Everyone who is working on a project can add and update information. I have hundreds of notes shared with others, for example:

  • My wife and I used Apple Notes to help us move to Rochester, buy and sell our homes, and record information about our daughter. My wife is very busy with her work as a physician. By sharing notes, we can work on a project together but at different times. She does not need an alert to distract her every time I move a project forward, nor does she have to search through texts or emails. Apple Notes allows us to collaborate on dozens of open projects.
  • My mom and I share notes for every rental property and unit that she manages. Apple Notes has been invaluable when I help her review prospective tenants or deal with boiler issues.
  • Even my landscaper and I share a note. It has project ideas that we prioritize. We use it as a checklist for what he got done and is still outstanding. He also adds pictures of receipts for products he buys for the work.

I use Apple Notes every day, and I rely on it to get work done. But I am now frustrated with sync issues. How can I collaborate with others if we are not looking at the same version of a note and nothing shows that the notes are out-of-sync?

On October 28, 2021, I started having sync issues with Apple Notes:

  • A PDF file I added to a Note on my iPhone did not sync for my mom or to my iPad. It showed us a moving circle but never downloaded. I added the PDF again on my iPad, and that synced.
  • On a Zoom call, I asked my mom to share her screen and add a voice recording and some text to a note. Both did not sync to my devices.

I tried resetting my devices. I even downloaded the beta of iOS and iPadOS to send feedback to Apple about the problem.

Other people are reporting sync issues with Apple Notes on Twitter, including:

As a $2.5 trillion-dollar company that offers technology and services on which we rely, Apple must do better, or it could have the fate of Palm and Blackberry.