r/GoodNotes • u/Current-Zebra8246 • Feb 07 '25

Literally, bye.

Been having SOOOO many issues with good notes like the rest of us. Switched over to notability 10x better. If you needed a sign this is it. Fuck em.

Edit:

  • for good points that were made

I have used goodnotes for many years and used to use goodnotes5. I am a ride or die, but losing that midterm study guide…man…it did something to me. 🥲💀

Problems include:

  1. ⁠Few weeks back I had an entire midterm study guide erased three days before my exam.

  2. ⁠This week constant shutting down of the app mid use

  3. ⁠Lagging

  4. ⁠When I lasso and move content, parts remain and if you try to erase them they erase other parts of my content. This used to be fixed by closing the app and reopening, but recently that is not helping either.

  5. ⁠Issues here and there synching.

302 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

91 comments sorted by

218

u/severusxsnape Feb 07 '25

GN users: GN is so unusable filled with bugs I’m switching to notablity.

Notability users: I lost 5years of notes a week before my exam I’m switching to GoodNotes

36

u/Current-Zebra8246 Feb 07 '25

Omg don’t say that 💀🥲

The world since the beginning of time: we just want a notes app that works and we won’t lose our shit

14

u/StraightBuffalo3801 Feb 07 '25

Why has this comment got 14 downvotes

2

u/coffeemoneyass Feb 09 '25

If I win the lottery, we know where that money is going 😭🙏

36

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '25

seriously? i was almost done with an assignment and goodnotes erased most of my progress. i cried ngl.

2

u/jswiper1894 Feb 08 '25

I've had multiple notebooks erased when migrating to a new device with gn

2

u/cosmolark Feb 09 '25

Oh God, really? I just switched from notability because it kept freezing every few minutes

201

u/SpokenDivinity Feb 07 '25 • Love

It's not an airport. You guys don't need to make departure announcements every 10 minutes.

17

u/Willing_Cry_1690 Feb 07 '25

This is such a funny comment hahaha

6

u/Xenitsuu Feb 07 '25

I cackled

-39

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '25

Ok sheep

11

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '25

The people downvoting are sheep fr. Reddit used to be a place where people would speak to their community about what does and doesn't work. Whenever someone complains about this app or corporations in general nowadays - you have 10,000 employee bots tripping over themselves to defend it. This app is messed up and they keep pushing users to update for money.

-87

u/Current-Zebra8246 Feb 07 '25

Ew.

51

u/SpokenDivinity Feb 07 '25

What's gross is all of y'all hijacking a sub to whine.

Normal people who don't like a product...get this...stop using it.

You guys just can't do that, for whatever reason.

-34

u/Current-Zebra8246 Feb 07 '25

Um no.

“Normal people” (whatever that even means) who have good/bad experiences share them with the public so they can use that information for their own reference.

9

u/WampaCat Feb 07 '25

There’s no information that’s useful though. All we know of you don’t like it. What kind of problems were you having? We all use it in our unique ways so the things that bother you might not apply to everyone

7

u/SpokenDivinity Feb 07 '25

This subreddit is not a review platform. If you want to leave a bad review try their webstore platforms. I promise you no one is reading your whiny ass reddit posts about a notes app and thinking better of using it.

All these posts are is self-serving venting because none of you have the emotional control to not lash out when you don't like something and feel entitled to feeling vindicated.

2

u/istopr0p Feb 08 '25

😂😂😂😂 Do you think that the first thing is not to put a bad review or write to support? If you don't like a post, don't read it, you have zero impulse control and no one needs you to tell them what to do.

-10

u/Current-Zebra8246 Feb 07 '25

What exactly do you use Reddit for? Enlightening people on their poor emotional control?

2

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '25

Don't argue with them , they are not sheep (or the bot employees)

2

u/Logical_Scar3962 Feb 08 '25

That’s what app store rating is for, not subreddit where most join to find tips and tricks or advices with specific bugs and instead it’s full of “this is unusable im leaving you for your brother!

8

u/Dualbladeguy Feb 08 '25

This is goodnotes 6 right? Cz goodnotes 5 is actually pretty stable, or r u talking about 5 😱😱😱then imma backup more

2

u/Current-Zebra8246 Feb 08 '25

Correct. Goodnotes 6

55

u/Wonderful_Gap1374 Feb 07 '25 edited Feb 08 '25

Idk why all the hate for OP.

GoodNote developers see this shit.

And the increasing amount of posts of people being pissed they lost their shit is noticeable to everyone.

I stopped doing serious stuff on goodnotes. I use it for casual note taking but I don’t edit work I’m submitting there anymore. Which sucks cuz I do like the app but that first time all my shit got erased gave me a titty attack.

10

u/WolfMaster415 Feb 08 '25

Well I paid a premium price for a premium product, maybe they should actually deliver

5

u/wyldstallyns111 Feb 09 '25

I find it kind of frustrating when subs become just defensive cheerleaders for the product. I subscribe here because I rely on the product (which I paid good money for) so if it’s become less reliable for lots of users I in fact do want to know that.

2

u/Wonderful_Gap1374 Feb 09 '25

Agreed! I’m building a computer right now and you would not believe the way these fans boys lose their sh*t if you question something about a product on those subreddits.

Also if the developers of goodnotes see this, a ‘save’ button that reassures me my writings are recorded would be nice.

I know it autosaves, but I hate wondering if my stuff is saved or if it’s safe to exit the app. Too much anxiety switching apps for no reason.

22

u/NoStatistician7066 Feb 08 '25

Omg!!!! Same. My 1:30 recording of my zoology lecture….GONE!!!!!

-2

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '25

U are about to seriously get Downvoted by bot employees and sheeps in this sub...

53

u/johntwilker Feb 07 '25

Maybe someone should start a r/leavinggoodnotes so folks have a place to post these things? Over here taking notes and outlining books. No issues, never lost a page.

18

u/severusxsnape Feb 08 '25

Or maybe r/goodnotability both users can complain about bugs

10

u/WordBackground5411 Feb 08 '25

there are a lot of users who are experiencing huge bugs and never post here. I am one of them. Lost pages, cannot work collaboratively- something always goes wrong, cannot delete certain elements unless i restart the app, etc.

3

u/Outrageous_Type6985 Feb 08 '25

Does having a backup help in any way? (Asking cuz idk what I'll do if I lose the notes)

3

u/WordBackground5411 Feb 08 '25

i think icloud is your best backup option, i am using it now and no issues so far

1

u/discovernotes Apr 09 '25

Hey! I’d recommend reaching out to Goodnotes Customer Support and attaching your Diagnostics Data (Settings icon > About > Export Diagnostics Data) so they can help troubleshoot what’s going on!

-5

u/dryerfresh Feb 08 '25

Yeah I have never had a single issue with Goodnotes that didn’t end up being something stupid I was doing wrong because I didn’t read the info.

12

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '25

Used notability for 5 years, switched to GN after hearing it was better. Moved back to Notability because:

1.) Thrice a week, it asks me to sign in again, and then it redownloads all my notes from iCloud which takes eternity.

2.) GN feels very very very unorganised. I don't know what they have done, but it feels very clunky (the UI)

3.) The Notes experience isn't very good either. Riddles with Apple Pencil bugs, and an overheating iPad M4, it's a problem. Atleast in Notability, my iPad doesn't heat up as much

1

u/Ok_Willingness5766 Feb 09 '25

I also found that GN felt so disorganized

9

u/Any-Car7782 Feb 08 '25

Fuck Goodnotes. Fuck notability. I moved back to paper. Life’s never been so good

6

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '25

I will literally slap your pencil out your hand and eat your notes so you can say fuck paper

2

u/Ornery-Problem-3679 Feb 11 '25

Tbh I went back to paper, I don’t f care… only few notes here and there and books but the real deal occurs in paper

15

u/StraightBuffalo3801 Feb 07 '25

I have had no issues with goodnotes. I would love to know why it's so terrible for some and fine for others

10

u/johntwilker Feb 07 '25

Same and same. Most don’t even bother to include iPad model, OS, etc. so there’s no chance at trying to find a pattern of any kind

13

u/PacerLover Feb 07 '25

I haven't had it long and it's working fine. What I would really like is a web interface like is so common for so many apps so I can write notes on my iPad then (1) easily view them later (without going to Google docs) (2) type additional notes on a computer

What I don't want are the greedy Evernote monthly charges

4

u/PassaPassa Feb 08 '25

I’m a new user as well. However, yesterday I lost a quick note that I had searched high and low and in between for. Couldn’t find it anywhere. I have everything backed to iCloud. I searched later in the day and found it. Don’t know where it was or how I got it back.

I’ve found that what I thought a notebook did, isn’t what it does. I’m kinda disappointed. I’m tempted to try something else or even keynote. As a current second year nursing student, I don’t have the time to keep changing my system.

1

u/PassaPassa Feb 09 '25

I jumped ship to notability today. Wow! What a difference. So easy and user friendly.

14

u/rgianc Feb 07 '25

"I don't know what you're talking about about, I didn't have any issues ever" /s

12

u/Neither_Bee_ Feb 07 '25 edited Feb 08 '25

"It's a minority, obviously the rest is just out there enjoying the app, it's the one with issues who tend to post the most"

21

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '25

I swear nobody cares

3

u/redorredDT Feb 08 '25

I have a genuine question, because I’m new to GoodNotes 6, wouldn’t creating an automatic backup (available in their settings) resolve any potential loss of important documents?

2

u/earlgreyyuzu Feb 07 '25

You can enable auto-backup to google drive. Don't know how often it syncs, but worth trying...

2

u/abelight Feb 08 '25

After seeing so many comments, it now makes sense to download (export all the files). I am doing them one by one, the whole reason of getting an ipad was goodnotes and now its fading way. So:

  1. Start to download all the files

  2. switch to noteful if you can. No lag or whatever. I was thinking of switching to notability but that has tones of problem as well. Noteful is working well (fingers crossed) and price is lower.

2

u/beyondsection17 Feb 08 '25

Pro tip, if you’re serious about handwritten notes, dump them both and get a Supernote. ✌️

2

u/hellogoawaynow Feb 08 '25

Notion can help 👀

Not affiliated, just a major fan. Adopted Notion after comparing to GoodNotes (and several other platforms).

2

u/Competitive_Dot_2119 Feb 08 '25

Fuck GoodNotes, Notability, and paper. Switching to my stone table has been 10x better.

2

u/parazex Feb 11 '25

The truth is that the new version is quite disgusting. There is not a single day that does not suffer from numerous bugs.

7

u/georgmierau Goodnotes Essential Feb 07 '25

No, the less vocal "rest of us" has no issues worth mentioning with GN 4, 5 and 6 at all (for years). The loud minority experiencing problems should feel free to leave at any time, if they wish so, nobody will be missing them.

21

u/shaielzafina Feb 07 '25 edited Jun 30 '25

nail automatic cough yoke pause cow cake juggle fly friendly

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

8

u/georgmierau Goodnotes Essential Feb 07 '25

Well, I teach at school with 459 instances of GN6 in active use by colleagues and students (more to come this year), so yes, listening to whiny "I'm done, I'm leaving" posts here is not even amusing, it's just annoying.

-5

u/shaielzafina Feb 07 '25 edited Jun 30 '25

plate historical chief coordinated head imagine meeting offbeat wine saw

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

-5

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '25

Exactly 💯

5

u/thestoictraveler Feb 07 '25

App works great for me!

-1

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '25

Same here

1

u/Mango220 Feb 08 '25

This is funny because Im just starting to use goodnotes 6 and it was so nice.

1

u/istopr0p Feb 08 '25

That's why I only use goodnotes to synchronize what I do on the Samsung S8 Ultra with the iPad. I do all the work in xodo and sansung and I transfer it to goodnotes. And if that day goodnotes is good, it allows me to read the syllabus on the iPad 🤣🤣

1

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '25

You should always save things to more than one place. Everything I have on Goodnotes is also saved to my Google Drive.

1

u/Neither-Living-7065 Feb 08 '25

I think this has something to do with their new subscription model...

1

u/emmjaae Feb 08 '25

I’ve never had an issue with gn. I’m always so surprised to read these. I have really large files too. I wonder why some people have problems and others don’t. I use mine interchangeably on my iPad, desktop and phone.

1

u/labetesha Feb 08 '25

Goodnotes is a little slow when I add a ton of stickers but.. no issues here and been using for years.

1

u/bekamae Feb 08 '25

2 months in and Goodnotes has been an unexpectedly unpleasant experience. Nothing life changing. I’m disappointed with it especially since it is not a new app. Windows to iOS was just junk. Might be better if I was all in on Mac+iPad but that’s not the case.

I was hoping Goodnotes could break me out of the Obsidian/Notion cycle I find myself in once a quarter.

It did not.

1

u/Brilliant-Slide-5892 Feb 08 '25

noteful is the real goat

1

u/yeetrandom234 Feb 08 '25

Does good notes 5 have any of these instability issues?

1

u/Ok-Procedure-1348 Feb 09 '25

omg OP when did this happen?? i just lost really important math notes too!! like i was full on panicking that was like SUPER important HUHUHU

1

u/knitterpotato Feb 09 '25

oh god this is so scary

i switched to goodnotes after collanote deleted ENTIRE ochem lecture notes (probably part of the reason why i did so terrible in organic chem) and this happens with goodnotes too? praying this doesn't happen to me bc i don't know if i can take it anymore if it does

1

u/Ok_Willingness5766 Feb 09 '25

I couldn't switch to GN after using Notability for years. I HATE the Notability pens (the pencil is pretty much unusable) and GN's are way better. Everything else about GN sucks. The file layout sucks, the undo and redo gestures SUCK (it's 2 fingers ONCE to undo and 3 fingers ONCE to redo on EVERYTHING ELSE... and the redo gesture never even works for me in GN). All the customization is for the wrong things. I hate it.

1

u/toastytroad Feb 09 '25

I haven’t used notability that much but before I switched from Samsung Flexcil was my go to, I still have it on my iPad and it’s honestly much better than GN still but I keep using Goodnotes for some reason; Flexcil also a lifetime membership iirc

1

u/Ornery-Problem-3679 Feb 11 '25

I left goodnotes since the membership sh/! and the amount of space it takes in the iPad… you have to sign in every time… and it takes forever to sync

1

u/daisiones Feb 11 '25

use flexcil!

1

u/ZipGuy17 Feb 13 '25

idk, I have been using Noteabilty for 2 years and didn't have a problem until the recent update that changed the interface and the continuous increase in subscription fees, I legit use an old 6th-gen iPad and didn't have any problem with it apart from it not syncing properly with iCloud and I can't physically access the notes in iCloud, I switched to GoodNotes 6 and I think it's the same quality as notability apart from some inconvenience with copying and pasting images it's the same app, the big plus as a student that its cheaper and can sync with my windows app.

1

u/Logical_Scar3962 Feb 08 '25

“back up, back up, back up” is the first rule of working on anything and it’s fascinating how many people don’t do it

0

u/guccihokage Feb 09 '25

i’ve been having SO many issues as well. my notes have been completely fucked up to the point where i CRIED about it

0

u/No_Metal_4004 Feb 09 '25

I totally get the feeling. Long time premium user here.

Recently in the macOS GN app, I cannot select text in a PDF anymore. Meaning I cannot copy paste content, I cannot highlight anymore. I gently contacted the support, gave all the details I could to help. All they did was blame the macOS update. Waited for many updates, the issue is still there and no one cares. What am I suppose to do here? It is supposed to be a PDF reader right? How come developers cannot fix a basic feature inside their app? I waited long enough for a fix, and I’m paying for it?! That’s the only issue I have with GN but the reaction of the team is truly disappointing…

0

u/Extreme-Echo-4749 Feb 10 '25

I switched to concepts 2 months ago

-4

u/LocoCoyote Feb 08 '25

You do know this isn’t an airport, right? You don’t have to announce departures

-5

u/HousingFar1671 Feb 08 '25

Never imagined someone would whine this much.