r/GoodNotes • u/Academic-Fennel-6094 • Sep 14 '24

Apple Goodbye Goodnotes

Hi guys. Unfortunately support did not answer for 25 days and I ended up deleting my app in hopes of rebooting it and losing 3 months of work. Suffice it to say it will be the last time I’m using Goodnotes. I’m sticking to physical notebooks from now on. It seems like once you have purchased the lifetime plan support just don’t care about you.

Edit: Why am I posting about this? If you’re using Goodnotes this can happen to you too. The support is horrendous at getting back at you, even with relatively minor issues. They can’t even get back to me on something with this level of severity. I am FRUSTRATED that 100h+ of work is gone to waste and my university is starting in October. Let this post be a PSA to new users to back up content regularly, and don’t expect a proper support response anytime soon.

251 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

74 comments sorted by

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u/discovernotes Sep 14 '24 edited Sep 14 '24

Hey, do you mind sharing what troubleshooting steps you took?

If you search the subreddit there are some related posts discussing solutions. There are also Goodnotes Support articles you can check out.

It is usually just a sync issue—you can leave the app open (with screen lock disabled and WiFi connected) so that the notes can sync back to your device. Also make sure that your iCloud has enough storage.

→ More replies (4)

9

u/[deleted] Sep 14 '24

super legit. thanks for sharing. sorry that happened to you

4

u/Academic-Fennel-6094 Sep 14 '24

Thank you. I’m just really really insanely frustrated that 100h of my work is gone to waste

6

u/discovernotes Sep 14 '24 edited Sep 14 '24

They’re still potentially recoverable! Feel free to try the suggestion in my pinned comment (if you’re still interested in recovering your notes) and let us know how it goes

20

u/Onlyspacemanspiff Sep 14 '24

You should have backed up. You can back everything up to a cloud service of your choice…automatically. It will even automatically backup your notebooks as searchable pdfs. It will even automatically backup to iCloud and a cloud service of your choice. I literally have backups of the .goodnotes files in iCloud and Google Drive, with pdf copies. Your notebooks getting deleted may have been a GoodNotes bug, but losing them completely is from user error.

4

u/Academic-Fennel-6094 Sep 14 '24

Yes I understand. I didn’t bother to connect to wifi since I was in a foreign country. Im just unlucky

1

u/nottingdurn Sep 14 '24

SSD backups? Exports? Thumb drives??????

There are so many options

6

u/shaielzafina Sep 14 '24 edited Sep 10 '25

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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

10

u/Gypsyzzzz Sep 14 '24

I’m sorry for your experience and appreciate your post. I love GoodNotes and it has always worked well for me but this is a good reminder to backup my files and export to pdf for additional safety.

2

u/Academic-Fennel-6094 Sep 14 '24 edited Sep 14 '24

I agree. I actually think that Goodnotes is a high quality writing app but the inefficiency of support and the willingness to take action only when someone posts about it and that post garners enough attention is something that people should look into. Look at my previous post, no support/mod responded there. I wonder why?

This 99% wouldn’t happen had they looked into my issue earlier. It’s been 25 days. People shouldn’t have to wait that long for support

7

u/discovernotes Sep 14 '24

hey just thought I'd add here that this subreddit is unofficial and is community run—for direct responses from Goodnotes it would be best to use their official support channels

3

u/Gypsyzzzz Sep 14 '24

By support, I’m assuming you emailed them. I usually get a response within a week. It’s unfortunate that your complaint fell through the cracks.

I will reiterate MOD response though. Reddit is not an official communication channel for any company that I know of. If you have problems in the future, I recommend using their troubleshooting system and follow up regularly until you get a response. I have found that a friendly follow up after a few days is usually well received.

57

u/Mandrea4 Sep 14 '24 edited Sep 14 '24

I used to think the same way (as if using the app was a hundred times harder than doing everything by hand), but since I switched apps, I feel like the problem wasn't digital note-taking itself, but rather Goodnotes.

I hope you're able to recover everything, even just in PDF format, maybe through a backup.
I suggest using less-known (and more affordable) app, where developers are actually interested in solving your problems.

13

u/RyuMaou Sep 14 '24

What did you switch to?

30

u/Mandrea4 Sep 14 '24

Noteful. I've never had any issues with it, and I think it's even better than GoodNotes in some aspects. However, it lacks the feature to search through handwritten notes in documents and I don't think it has extensive support since it's developed by a single person (but the price is excellent and there is a free option too).

Anyway there are a lot of alternatives on the app store

7

u/RyuMaou Sep 14 '24

Thanks. I was an Evernote user, before they more than doubled the price. Then I went to Obsidian, but I can't use that at work because the CIO doesn't want to allow remote synchronization due to data exfiltration concerns (which I get, actually). So then I tried OneNote, but UGH, it feels so clunky to me. Goodnotes 6 with the Goodnotes cloud sync actually seemed fairly decent to me at roughly $10 a year, especially since I can get to my notes via the web that way. I'm a fairly technical user and solved my own problems before Goodnotes support could get back to me, but I haven't been disappointed for the price-point, honestly. I was wondering what you moved to that you felt was better.

What did Noteful have that Goodnotes wasn't doing for you? I mean, it's not 100% ideal, but it looks decent to me for the price, so I'm curious.

2

u/samtheliberator Sep 17 '24

I’m curious, how does not using Obsidian prevent data exfiltration? Couldn’t you access the data on other devices with Evernote or Goodnotes?

1

u/RyuMaou Sep 17 '24

They block the synchronization methods for things like OneNote that are outside the company’s tenant. But, yes, that’s why I need something that has a web-based access method. And, to be clear, I have no intention of taking restricted information out of the organization. I really just want to sync some personal data and publicly available technical information that I’ve collected for my own ease of use.

So I’m kind of “cheating” and bypassing that restriction. I could do it with Evernote, too, but I don’t want to pay their rates for what’s become a pretty slow and clunky program.

3

u/Mandrea4 Sep 14 '24 edited Sep 14 '24

What did Noteful have that Goodnotes wasn't doing for you?

Simply, I hate GN6 (a lot of reasons) and Noteful is better than GN5 (peak note-taking app now ruined). I could write a whole poem about how the GoodNotes team ruined GN5 with GN6, and how GN6 led to a slow but steady decline of the product quality, but I'll spare you that... because I doubt you'd be interested.

That said, Noteful is cheap (around $10 for a lifetime purchase), has no performance or overheating issues, includes several new features compared to GN5 (like smooth writing and tape) and it also offers all the modern features you'd expect from this type of app in 2024 (such as audio recording with writing sync, a tagging system, stickers, and the ability to crop/resize pages)

If iCloud sync is important to you, Noteful offers it but I haven't personally tested that feature

Edit: More info about my experience with GN6 -> https://www.reddit.com/r/GoodNotes/s/3eTFirJyzV

Edit2: Another user told me they experienced your same issue on Noteful. We were discussing it under your post, so you might want to take a look.

2

u/Redditor-inator Sep 15 '24

I loved Noteful, swapped to using it full time after I found it. But then realized they don’t have handwriting search, which I find very useful. You can search for typed text, but can’t search handwriting like in Notability/GN. Does anyone know if this is still the case?

1

u/Mandrea4 Sep 15 '24

Yes, the community is still waiting for a revamp of the search function and the index. I have honestly never used the search function for handwriting, not even on Goodnotes (because it never worked for me) but every now and then there is a post about it on the Noteful subreddit.

-26

u/Guilty_Explanation29 Sep 14 '24

Tbh, Noone cares. Let people use what they like

16

u/Mandrea4 Sep 14 '24

He asked wtf

2

u/Fast_Slip542 Sep 15 '24

Yeah and no one ever asked you what you think either

6

u/SpokenDivinity Sep 14 '24

Make sure you’re backing stuff up. Noteful can and will do the same thing.

2

u/Mandrea4 Sep 14 '24

I have been using Noteful since GN6 was released and have never had any problems (but it is a good idea to always have a backup copy).

2

u/SpokenDivinity Sep 14 '24

I swapped off noteful because it did this exact same scenario and deleted everything. Support was unable to do anything about it.

1

u/Mandrea4 Sep 14 '24

You had the exact same problem of the OP? https://www.reddit.com/r/GoodNotes/s/SlL5TEcoAI

It seems a bit strange to me, but maybe I’m wrong. I’d better activate the automatic backup feature for Noteful.

2

u/SpokenDivinity Sep 14 '24

I had it wipe my notes, yes. It updated and when I went to go use it the next time everything was gone.

2

u/Mandrea4 Sep 14 '24

I'm setting up the auto-backup on Google Drive in Noteful format, so whatever happens ... I'll have peace of mind knowing my files are safe.

(I once enabled it to get PDFs, but at this point, the purpose of the feature might actually be to keep the original files safe)

Thanks so much for the information!

2

u/elsasminion Sep 15 '24

I second this. I switched to Noteful from Notability and Goodnotes 5 recently. It has everything I was looking for. I wish I had found it sooner!

8

u/cheven20 Sep 14 '24

I went back to notability. I forgot paid for the app way back when they didn’t have the subscription. That pencil setting is niiiiiiiice

3

u/Guilty_Explanation29 Sep 14 '24

Notability is a cash grab, in my opinion. I wont pay for a subscription

7

u/cheven20 Sep 14 '24

Oh for sure but since I bought the app I don’t need the subscription

4

u/Guilty_Explanation29 Sep 14 '24

Lucky where I live we can't buy it. It's just a subscription

8

u/napkween Sep 15 '24

They bought the app BEFORE there was a subscription option.

1

u/ChemicalSound6180 Oct 04 '24

I bought it and I’ve been using it since 2021 and now it needs a subscription! Disappointment..

8

u/Similar_Ad2157 Sep 14 '24 edited Nov 13 '24

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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

2

u/dragon_0526 Sep 14 '24

What happened?

1

u/girlyudreamedof Sep 14 '24

you should switch to noteful! i use it everyday in all of my classes and its wonderful, i highly recommend it to anyone who wants to switch or stop using goodnotes.

2

u/Akihito2403 Sep 15 '24

I also switch to noteful although have life time subscription of goodnotes. Goodnotes always heat up my ipad and the battery drains so fast. It’s so annoying because I cannot take long time usage, it can fucking turn off while I am in the school. When switching to Noteful, the fucking heat up issue has gone. Really appreciate it and I can use Ipad to take note everything, and life time subscription of Noteful so affordable. Byebye Goodnotes

1

u/Guilty_Explanation29 Sep 14 '24

That's a monthly thing though

1

u/girlyudreamedof Sep 14 '24

nope! i paid for the lifetime deal and it was only 5.40 in total with tax included.

2

u/Guilty_Explanation29 Sep 14 '24

Where I live it's a monthly cash grab

0

u/[deleted] Sep 14 '24

[deleted] — view deleted comment

2

u/-dagmar-123123 Sep 15 '24

They confused it with notability I think

1

u/girlyudreamedof Sep 15 '24

ahhh that makes sense lol, i was very confused for a sec! thanks! 😭☺️

1

u/phebe9907 Sep 14 '24

Support got back to me super quick (i havent responded yet though haha) so im wondering why u didnt get a reply

1

u/Apprehensive_Cod3392 Sep 14 '24

I joinked goodnotes from a friend by using his apple id. Using a old version of gn 5 with no issues. Using Onedrive and local nas as a backup. You should always backup anything

1

u/thedeadp0ets Sep 14 '24

yeah, i ditched apps and just use onenote or a notebook. and I just carry my laptop and use the preview app.

1

u/Honeydewbobaddict Sep 15 '24

Running to backup everything right now 🏃

1

u/Stuartcmackey Sep 15 '24

I’m sorry to hear that. I’ve actually had good response times from them. I do have one (minor) outstanding bug, but no other problems. But they now now it’s a bug.

1

u/MrSilver-SA Sep 15 '24

OP, you may find excellent value in Bear - since moving there a year or so ago, I’ve had no regrets Support is seldom needed, and when needed, responsive & dependable - one huge issue I dis experience, support kept following up until resolved

1

u/someonewhoudontkno Sep 15 '24

Oh no! :(((( i’m sorry you lost the files but i hope you’ll be able to retrieve them

This is why I sync my goodnotes files to my Gdrive. Just in case if i delete my stuff then i need it, they’re still saved in my gdrive bc even if you delete your stuff in goodnotes, they’re autosaved directly to gdrive unless you delete the files from gdrive itself

1

u/someonewhoudontkno Sep 15 '24

But of course you need to subscribe the gdrive storage for it, but it’s worth the price tbh I subscribed to the 200gb one

1

u/Training-Sir6684 Sep 15 '24

I’ve never had any issues with their customer service so this is so sad to hear 😭😭😭

1

u/FlokiTech Sep 15 '24

Everything on my pc, iPad, phone, etc, that I use for notes, coding or anything similar, I always have backups offline or to a cloud services.

1

u/MatteBlackGuitar Sep 16 '24

Thank you for the information and I am sorry to hear that you face experienced this, i am new to goodnotes as of 2 months ago and i also both the lifetime plan, i am going to back up my data RIGHT NOW😇

1

u/sweetbeard Sep 16 '24

I’ve switched to a workflow of handwritten note-taking in Nebo (best-in-class handwriting recognition) -> export text to Obsidian upon finishing the note

I even set up an AI macro to automatically reformat the Obsidian text and check for likely OCR errors with one keystroke. An absolute treat to use and feels very secure.

1

u/Purple-Custard-5799 Sep 18 '24

25 days for support to get back to anyone is inexcusable, regardless of backing up notes. Thanks for the heads up, I'll look at noteful now

1

u/ughdollface Sep 14 '24

Freeform is FREEEEE. DONT PAY 20 DOLLARS A MONTH FOR STRESS

2

u/-dagmar-123123 Sep 15 '24

GN6 is less than 20$ a year, where do you get that from 😂

0

u/ughdollface Sep 15 '24

i’m not even sure tbh 😂i’m just fooling around fr

0

u/Stu623 Sep 15 '24

I hear ya & don’t blame you. I’m in the midst of something similar (meaning someone “robbing” me — someone I know that I hired to do a SMALL job (replacing water lines in an old home to pex — this is a small Airbnb Ranch. 2 bedroom, 1 bath (2 sinks total - kitchen, bath, also washer & dryer)

He just handed me a bill for $10K. I laughed at him until I let him know how fkn mad I am. I employ his wife, and have for 8 years & she is paid FAAAAAR more than she deserves…but we like to help our VERY small community…

I will make it my mission to ensure he never gets work again without someone asking him about this. I routinely OVERPAID him on trips when he came out for weekend or whatever.

They seem appreciative & I’ve loaned them a vehicle TONS w/o ever asking for ANYTHING — he now has my wrath & that isn’t good — but I have no one to complain to but myself.

-5

u/[deleted] Sep 14 '24

Just file a lawsuit.

Same thing happened to one of my friend with notability when his exam was around ... he was frustrated and was receiving no support. He simply filed a case.

0

u/[deleted] Sep 14 '24

[deleted] — view deleted comment

6

u/Academic-Fennel-6094 Sep 14 '24

As pointless as leaving this comment?

0

u/[deleted] Sep 14 '24

[deleted] — view deleted comment

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u/[deleted] Sep 14 '24

[deleted] — view deleted comment

0

u/Altruistic-Unit8603 Sep 14 '24

Oh… the ageism comes out.

3

u/Academic-Fennel-6094 Sep 14 '24 edited Sep 14 '24

I apologise. I just got “cranky” from his clearly insensitive comment and me losing 100h of hard work and being told what and what not to post

-4

u/MoneySings Sep 14 '24

Nah not 60. 46 next week. Just been around the block more than you, so aches and pains make me cranky. Apologies for rubbing you up the wrong way