You open Joplin on your phone, expecting to see the notes you typed on your computer earlier. But they are nowhere to be found. Your heart sinks a little because you needed those notes for a meeting in ten minutes.
Sync issues with Joplin can be frustrating, especially if you rely on the app to keep your thoughts organized across multiple devices. The good thing is that most syncing problems have simple solutions you can try yourself. This guide will walk you through what causes these hiccups and how to get everything working smoothly again.
What Does It Mean When Joplin Stops Syncing?
Joplin is a free, open source note taking app that lets you store your notes on different cloud services like Dropbox, OneDrive, Nextcloud, or your own server. The sync feature is what makes your notes appear on all your devices. When syncing stops working, changes you make on one device stay stuck there instead of flowing to your other devices.
This creates a gap between what you see on your phone and what you see on your laptop. You might type a grocery list on your tablet during lunch, then pull out your phone at the store only to find an empty screen staring back at you. Or worse, you could end up with two different versions of the same note because both devices made changes without talking to each other.
If left unfixed for too long, the problem can snowball. Your notes might get out of order. You could accidentally delete something on one device thinking it was saved elsewhere. Some users have even lost important information because they assumed the sync was working when it was not.
The signs of a sync problem are usually pretty clear:
- The sync icon keeps spinning without ever finishing
- Error messages pop up mentioning connection failures or timeouts
- Notes look different on different devices
- New notes or edits do not show up where they should
- The “last synced” time shows a date from days or weeks ago
Joplin Not Syncing: Likely Causes
Before you can fix the problem, it helps to know why it happened in the first place. Several things can cause Joplin to stop syncing properly, and pinpointing the cause will save you time.
1. Poor or Unstable Internet Connection
This one sounds obvious, but it catches people off guard more often than you would think. Joplin needs a stable internet connection to send your notes to the cloud and pull updates back down. If your WiFi keeps dropping or your mobile data is spotty, the sync will fail halfway through.
Sometimes the connection looks fine on your device, but there is actually a problem in the background. Your router might be acting up, or your internet provider could be having issues in your area.
A quick test is to open a website or stream a short video. If that works without buffering, your connection is probably okay and the issue lies elsewhere.
2. Wrong Sync Settings or Credentials
Joplin gives you many options for where to store your notes. You can pick Dropbox, OneDrive, WebDAV, Joplin Cloud, or a file system. Each option requires you to enter specific details like usernames, passwords, server addresses, or folder paths.
If even one character is off in these settings, the sync will fail silently or throw confusing error messages. This often happens after you change a password on your cloud service and forget to update it in Joplin.
3. Cloud Storage Is Full
Every cloud service has a storage limit. Free Dropbox accounts give you around 2 GB. OneDrive offers 5 GB on the free tier. If your cloud storage fills up, Joplin cannot upload new notes or changes.
You might not even realize your storage is full because other apps and files share that same space. Old photos, documents, and backups quietly eat away at your available room until there is nothing left for Joplin to use.
4. Conflicts Between Devices
When two devices edit the same note at the same time without syncing in between, Joplin gets confused. It does not know which version to keep. This creates what is called a sync conflict, and the app sometimes handles it by stopping the sync altogether or creating duplicate notes.
This happens a lot when you work offline on your laptop, then make changes on your phone before connecting the laptop back to the internet. Both devices think they have the correct version.
5. Outdated App Version
Joplin is updated regularly with bug fixes and improvements. Running an old version of the app can cause syncing to break, especially if the cloud service you use has changed something on their end.
Older versions might also have known bugs that were already fixed in newer releases. Keeping the app updated on all your devices is one of the easiest ways to prevent problems.
Joplin Not Syncing: How to Fix
Now that you know what might be causing the issue, let us go through some practical steps to get your notes syncing again. Start with the simplest fixes and work your way down if needed.
1. Check Your Internet Connection
Start by making sure your device is actually connected to the internet. Open your web browser and load a few different websites. If pages load slowly or not at all, fix your connection first before troubleshooting Joplin.
Try these quick steps:
- Turn your WiFi off and back on
- Move closer to your router
- Restart your router by unplugging it for 30 seconds
- Switch from WiFi to mobile data (or the other way around) to see if one works better
Once your connection is stable, open Joplin and try syncing again. The issue might resolve itself right away.
2. Verify Your Sync Target Settings
Open Joplin and go to Tools > Options > Synchronization on desktop, or Settings > Synchronization on mobile. Look at every field carefully.
Make sure the sync target you selected matches where you actually want to store your notes. If you chose Dropbox, confirm that you completed the authorization process. For WebDAV or Nextcloud, double check the server URL, username, and password.
A tiny typo can cause big headaches. If you recently changed your password for the cloud service, update it here too. After making any changes, tap the sync button and watch for error messages.
3. Free Up Cloud Storage Space
Log into your cloud service (Dropbox, OneDrive, or whichever one you use) through a web browser. Check how much storage space you have left.
If you are running low or completely out of space:
- Delete old files you no longer need
- Empty the trash or recycle bin in your cloud account
- Move large files to an external hard drive
- Consider upgrading to a paid plan if you need more room
Once you have cleared some space, go back to Joplin and run a sync. Your notes should start uploading again.
4. Update Joplin on All Devices
Open Joplin on each device you use. Check what version you are running by going to Help > About Joplin on desktop or looking in the app settings on mobile.
Visit the official Joplin website or your device’s app store to see if a newer version exists. If it does, download and install the update. Do this on every single device where you have Joplin installed.
After updating, restart the app and try syncing. Developers often fix sync bugs in new releases, so this step alone might solve your problem.
5. Resolve Sync Conflicts Manually
If Joplin created conflicted copies of your notes, you will need to sort them out by hand. Look for notes with “conflict” in the title or notes that appear twice with slightly different content.
Open each conflicted note and compare it to the original. Decide which version has the information you want to keep. Copy any important parts from the duplicate, then delete the extra note. This clears the logjam and lets sync run smoothly again.
Going forward, try to sync more frequently, especially before switching between devices. A quick sync before closing Joplin can prevent these conflicts from happening.
6. Contact Support or Seek Expert Help
If none of these fixes work, the problem might be deeper than a simple settings issue. There could be a bug specific to your setup, a corrupted database, or a server side problem with your cloud provider.
At this point, your best option is to reach out to the Joplin community forums or a tech support professional. The Joplin forum is active and full of people who have seen all kinds of strange issues. Post a detailed description of your problem, including any error messages, and someone will likely point you in the right direction.
Wrapping Up
Sync problems with Joplin are annoying, but they rarely mean your notes are gone forever. Most of the time, a quick check of your internet connection or a look at your settings will get things moving again. Keeping the app updated and making sure your cloud storage has room are two habits that prevent many issues before they start.
Your notes are important, and they deserve to be available wherever you need them. With the fixes covered here, you should be able to sort out most sync hiccups on your own and get back to what matters: capturing your ideas and staying organized.