If you have the new Sticky Notes app on Windows 11 but your notes are missing, you can still perform some troubleshooting steps to get them back. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the steps to complete this process.
Microsoft is gradually rolling out a new version of Sticky Notes that is integrated into the OneNote app. The new experience is similar to the previous version, but now offers an option to take screenshots, dock the app to the side of the screen, and requires OneNote to be installed.
While the app aims to modernize the experience with new visuals and features, the rollout isn’t as smooth as the company had hoped. A small group of users have reported some issues, including scrolling lag due to a lack of smooth scrolling support and syncing issues. Some users reported that their notes were no longer available.
If you can’t find your notes after installing the new version of the app on your computer, you may still be able to recover them from the app’s database by reinstalling the app, uninstalling the updated version of OneNote, forcing a re-sync, or using the older version of Sticky Notes.
In this guide I will explain a few Troubleshooting suggestions You can try to restore your notes since the new version of the app has been installed on your computer.
How to fix sticky notes issues on Windows 11
If you’re having problems with Sticky Notes, try the following troubleshooting steps.
Force Sticky Notes sync
If you find that your notes have disappeared in the new app, it is important to know that the old version of the app is still available, so the first step is to open the old Sticky Notes app (the without The “Preview” name) from the start menu.
If you can’t find your notes, you can log out of both apps and log back in with the same Microsoft account to trigger the sync process again.
The sign-in option for the new app is available through OneNote settings.
If the notes are available in the old version but are not synced with the new version, you may need to transfer them manually by copying and pasting each note.
Restore Sticky Notes from the database
If your notes are missing from the new Sticky Notes app built into OneNote and you can’t open the old app, you may be able to restore the notes from the database the app uses locally on the device.
To restore your sticky notes from the local database, follow these steps:
- Open File Explorer.
- Navigate to the following path: %LocalAppData%\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftStickyNotes_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState
- Select the plum.sqlite File and click on the copy Button in the command bar.
- Open another folder, for example “Download” Folder.
- Click on the paste Button in the command bar.
- Open start.
- Search for notepad and click on the top result to open the text editor (leave the app open).
- Open start again.
- Search for Command promptRight-click on the top result and select the Run as administrator Option.
- Enter the following command to install the SQLite Studio app, open the database and press Input: winget install –id sqlitestudio.pl.SQLiteStudio
- Quick note: You can use any app designed to open and search a database. In this guide, I choose to install the SQLite Studio app. The Microsoft Store lists the app for $1.29, but you can apparently also download it directly from the store using the “Wing” command. After you restore your notes, you can uninstall it.
- Right-click on the copy of the plum.sqlite and select the Open Option to integrate with the database viewer app.
- Navigate to the following path: plum > Tables.
- Double-click the note Table.
- Click on the Data Tab.
- Confirm the content of each note in the “Text” Split.
- Right-click on the cell and select the copy Option.
- Switch to notepad App.
- Open the Edit and select the paste Option.
- Repeat steps 15, 16, And 17 to restore your other notes.
- Quick tip: Don’t forget to “\id=” and number to clean the note.
Once you have completed the steps, your notes will be available to you again. You can now recreate the notes in the new app.
If the database is empty, you may be able to restore your notes using an older version of the file, assuming you have a system backup.
Reinstall older sticky notes
If you don’t want to dig around in the database, you may still be able to recover your notes by reinstalling the application.
If the old Sticky Notes app is missing, you may be able to reinstall it from the Microsoft Store using the following steps:
- Open the Sticky notes Download page.
- Click on the “View in store” Button.
- Click on the Receive (or Install) button.
After completing the steps, launch the old Sticky Notes from the Start menu. You should now have access to your notes.
Uninstall OneNote (temporarily)
If you can’t open the older version of the app, you can sometimes make the older app available again by removing the newer app.
To temporarily uninstall the OneNote app, follow these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Apps.
- Click on the Installed Apps Page.
- Click the three dots button for Microsoft 365 and then click Uninstall Button.
- Quick note: This process will also uninstall Word, Excel, and the other Office apps if they are installed on your computer. If your computer only has the OneNote app, removing the Microsoft 365 app will only remove the OneNote app.
- Click on the Uninstall the button again.
Once you complete the steps, the old Sticky Notes app should open with all your notes.
If you are not interested in syncing your notes across devices and new features, you can still download and install the classic version of Sticky Notes that was introduced in Windows 10.
The classic version has been repackaged as an .exe that can run alongside the old and new versions of Sticky Notes.
Additional resources
For more helpful articles, information, and answers to frequently asked questions about Windows 10 and Windows 11, check out the following resources:
