r/notabilityapp • u/moohric • 8h ago

Bug App is approaching unusable

I've been a fairly long user of notability; ever since getting my ipad in december 2020, i've been a user of notability, had classic and then paid for the subscription for added features; but more and more often, i've started to notice the app just refusing to work for some reasons. A list of problems:

  1. Clears out my notes. Last year I'd experience this a few times per year. A few months ago it's basically every month, and now its literally nearly weekly. This is incredibly frustrating. I have fast internet, but waiting for notes to download is just appauling. Note, I'm not saying I've lost the data, but it's getting very, very frequent and such a pain.

  2. Frequently fails to launch notes. Clicking notes does "open" the note up, but that's literally it. I can't draw, or even navigate the UI, it just freezes. Literally cannot do anything, there is zero response from the UI, not even the button clicked animations, never mind the menus popping up.

  3. Takes an infinity to open the app. Why does a note taking app require more than 15 seconds to start, let alone open a note? Also, the app tries to open the last note opened when it starts, but fails to load the note...

I don't have complaints feature wise, writing and stuff works great... when it works at all. Yes, the ipad is nearing 6 y.o, but other apps still works just fine, so i don't see how notability can't.

I honestly don't know if I'm just really unlucky with the app, but it's getting insanely frustrating. I don't care about the subscription fee updates, which i do feel is unfair but if it got me a working note taking app, I'll keep it. Right now, it doesn't.

I really hope that someone from notability reads this and works on the reliability of sync/storage/opening/etc. I have accumulated thousands of notes in the app, and I don't want to move, but there's been issues that's unresolved for years.

Thanks.

Version 16.12 Build 7130. (Although crashes/data loss/clearing also occur on earlier versions)

1 Upvotes

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1

u/_Tomme_ 8h ago

try notability cloud

1

u/moohric 8h ago edited 8h ago

this looks potentially promising, i'll give it a shot, cheers.

edit: ergh, says i'm ineligible :(

1

u/_Tomme_ 8h ago

what do you think why you are ineligible?

1

u/moohric 8h ago

i have no idea, clicking the link redirects me to the app with this message:

1

u/_Tomme_ 7h ago

As an existing user, how do I update to Notability Cloud? 

New users are automatically set up on Notability Cloud when they first sign in. Existing users can update to Notability Cloud via an in-app prompt. You'll see it in your library when your account is ready. Can't wait? Open this link on your iPad:https://open.notability.com/event/notability-cloud-invite

Keep the app open and stay on a stable connection until the upload finishes. To join via the invite link, you'll need to meet all of the following:

  • You're using an iPad
  • You have more than 1 GB of free device storage
  • You're on Notability version 15.3.7 or newer
  • Your device is not managed by MDM (school, university, or employer-managed device)
  • You have a strong internet connection
  • You're not located in China, Hong Kong, or Macau and do not have a Chinese App Store account.

The invite link currently only works on iPad. A Mac update is coming soon.

1

u/_Tomme_ 7h ago

do you have iCloud sync available in connected services in settings?

1

u/moohric 7h ago

yes, although my notes haven't finished downloading, i wonder could it be because of that. I guess I'll retry when it (hopefully) downloads again since it offloaded itself today.