As a reminder, OneNote for Windows 10 support will end in October 2025. Before that, we’re helping users still on this version move the latest version of OneNote on Windows, downloadable from the Microsoft Store and available as part of Microsoft 365.
Any notes that are not synced to the cloud will not move over to the new version of OneNote on Windows, so additional steps are required.
Before you uninstall OneNote for Windows 10, we highly recommend creating a backup of your notes on OneNote for Windows 10, that you can then import into the new OneNote on Windows if needed.
To do so, please follow the instructions below (must be on version 16001.14326.21942.0 and above):
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Select Move to the newest version of OneNote in the top of your application.
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Selecting Get Started takes you the note backup screen (if applicable).
Note: If all of your changes have successfully synced to the cloud you will not see this step.
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Take note of where your notes are being backed up to:
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If you are on Windows 11 they will be in: Documents\Backup
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If you are on Windows 10 they will be in: “C\Users\*user_name*\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Office.OneNote_8wikyb3e8bble\LocalState\AppData\Local\OneNote\16.0\Backup”
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When you select Back up notes, OneNote will begin to backup any notes that are not synced to the cloud. Do not close the application while this is running.
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After the backup is complete, you can safely move to OneNote on Windows.
In OneNote on Windows
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Sign-in to your account(s) when you open OneNote on Windows, and then navigate to File > Open Backups.
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Locate the backup created previously and select import.
Notes:
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If you are on Windows 11, they will be in: Documents\Backup
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If you are on Windows 10, they will be in: “C\Users\*user_name*\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Office.OneNote_8wikyb3e8bble\LocalState\AppData\Local\OneNote\16.0\Backup”
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All your notes are now loaded in OneNote on Windows. They are located in Open Sections and need to be filed to the correct notebook. To file these sections, drag them to the appropriate notebook and section.
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You can now safely uninstall OneNote for Windows 10.
If any notes are missing, ensure you’re signed into the same accounts as OneNote for Windows 10 and have all previously opened notebooks open.
What happens if my backup failed?
The most common reason a backup would fail is because there is not enough storage on the device to create the backup. To free up storage, check out this helpful article.
If freeing up storage does not work, attempt to re-sync your notes - if that is unsuccessful, feel free to reach out to support and we’ll help you get to the bottom of it.
