iCloud loses Notes

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I have been using Notes on my Macs for years and continue using the note feature in Apple's Mail v4.6 on my old iMac with 10.6.8, and now with the Notes v2.0 application in 10.9.x.
I have both applications set up to save notes to iCloud, so that my notes are automatically synced between my machines.

Occasionally, notes I write or update simply get lost when I open them on the other machine. Recently, I had edited a frequently used note on my iMac then settled in to use my MBP for the rest of the evening. The next morning none of the updates I made to notes were on either machine or on iCloud. This has happened before and I have completely lost some notes.

I suspect that iCloud is the culprit. Somehow the changed notes do not upload correctly or immediately and if I open the note on another machine soon after, the old version is uploaded from the second machine, overwriting any changes. I am sorry but I have no better details on this issue because I often don't realize the note is missing until the next day when I cannot trace my steps.

Has anyone had similar experiences?
Could there be some bug/idiosyncrasy with iCloud especially with older OS's?
Any ideas on how I can prevent this problem?

Thanks to all of you ahead of time.
 
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You said you have "both applications set up to save notes to iCloud". Are you talking about Notes in Snow Leopard and Mavericks? How did you set this up in Snow Leopard? I was under the impression that Snow Leopard is not compatible with iCloud.

I don't really see a solution to this using Notes. You can try opening up the iCloud preferences on your Mavericks install (found in System Preferences) and de-select "Notes". Perhaps it will then sync the old way, though I doubt it.

Your best solution going forward may be a 3rd party solution. You can get really creative in using 3rd party software even if they don't sync themselves by using DropBox or a similar service. Put the database files for that software in a DropBox folder and the other Mac will get an update automatically.
 
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JimInSD
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Setting up iCloud in OS X 10.6.8

You said you have "both applications set up to save notes to iCloud". Are you talking about Notes in Snow Leopard and Mavericks? How did you set this up in Snow Leopard? I was under the impression that Snow Leopard is not compatible with iCloud.
.

You are correct about iCloud and OS X 10.6.8. iCloud support is not built into the OS but you can set up an email account for your existing iCloud account. I have attached pics below of my settings.

I do not have problems with my iCloud account on my OS X 10.6.8 iMac. The notes seem to loose data or disappear when I open them in Mavericks. I do have DropBox so I guess I will check into using that now. It has worked flawlessly for me.

iCloud mail pref.jpg

iCloud mail pref 2.jpg
 
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You are correct about iCloud and OS X 10.6.8. iCloud support is not built into the OS but you can set up an email account for your existing iCloud account. I have attached pics below of my settings.

Yes, but that's for mail, not notes. I know Mail in Snow Leopard used to have notes synced to it, but that's been split off to its own app for iCloud syncing. It may still sync "sometimes", but likely is just unreliable now due to the changes.
 
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Apologies for hijacking the thread, but I have a very similar problem: following the upgrade to 10.9.2 from 10.7.5, I no longer have my notes in my Notes :)

I can see them all on my iPhone, and iPads, and in iCloud Notes in Safari on MBP, but the actual Notes app is completely empty. I must say I preferred having an extra smart mailbox inside Mail with all the notes, but I can live with a separate app, as long as it's actually display my notes ...

I checked with system prefs, the Notes box is ticked for iCloud a/c and all login details are verified and correct obviously, since email, etc are all fine. Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Find My Mac, Reminders - everything else is fine too, and in perfect sync between all devices.

I have a suspicion that some folder somewhere got renamed during upgrade and is waiting for Notes to see it and love it again ... How can I help these two lovebirds?
 
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chscag

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Not sure about to solve that one because I don't use notes. As a dinosaur, I prefer paper and pen along with a small notebook. :) However, you might want to consider using the free OneNote application from Microsoft which is available in the Mac App Store.
 
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He-he ... that's not being a dinosaur, blending one's own ink for a 20yr old fountain pen (Montblanc 149, naturally) - is. ;)

Thanks for suggestion, appreciate it, however I rather not use anything Microsoft, not voluntarily anyway ... :)

I've decided to convert the notes into pdf files and forget about it - the convenience of having these available on any and all of my devices has now been undermined, so no point keeping them.

Still curious though - why is iCloud not displaying just this one out of eleven different categories, must be something to do with the Notes.app
 
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Apologies for hijacking the thread, but I have a very similar problem: following the upgrade to 10.9.2 from 10.7.5, I no longer have my notes in my Notes :)

I can see them all on my iPhone, and iPads, and in iCloud Notes in Safari on MBP, but the actual Notes app is completely empty. I must say I preferred having an extra smart mailbox inside Mail with all the notes, but I can live with a separate app, as long as it's actually display my notes ...

There's a 3rd party email client... Airmail... that syncs Notes to itself the same way Mail used to. It's cheap on the App Store, or the beta version can be had for free.

I checked with system prefs, the Notes box is ticked for iCloud a/c and all login details are verified and correct obviously, since email, etc are all fine. Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Find My Mac, Reminders - everything else is fine too, and in perfect sync between all devices.

I have a suspicion that some folder somewhere got renamed during upgrade and is waiting for Notes to see it and love it again ... How can I help these two lovebirds?

Disable it on your Mac via the iCloud system preference; reboot; then re-enable it. See if that fixes it.
 
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Disable it on your Mac via the iCloud system preference; reboot; then re-enable it. See if that fixes it.

I can't believe it was something that simple LOL - Yes, that did it, not only all the 'proper' notes came up, but the whole bunch of my 'testing mavericks' and 'where the @#$% are my notes' appeared, along with about a dozen test folders :Grimmace:

I'll have a look at Airmail app, just in case ...

Great stuff, thanks for your help :Cool:
 

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