Troubleshooting

Sync looks stuck

Look at the bar under the note list first. Sync Now in its menu syncs at once, and Sync Targets… shows each target’s state.

• “Offline. Changes are kept on this device and sync when the server can be reached.” Your changes are safe; they sync later.
• “The folder cannot be reached now.” A share or drive is not connected. Sync Now reconnects a share.
• “n changes not synced yet” that does not go down: check the server’s address, password (Server Settings…) and certificate, or that the folder is still there.
• “n changes waiting for iCloud to upload”: Sempere has written them to the iCloud Drive folder; iCloud has not sent them yet. Check that the device is online, signed in, has iCloud Drive on, is not in Low Power Mode and has free iCloud storage.
• “Changes from other devices arrive when the vault is unlocked”: a closed or locked vault only uploads. Open and unlock it.
• “The folder is gone or can no longer be opened”: the target folder was moved or deleted, or its permission lapsed. Choose Again… in Sync Targets, or remove the target.
• “The server refused the user name or password” or “The server’s certificate is not trusted or changed”: fix it in Server Settings….
• “The vault’s device list was changed both on this device and on the server.” Both copies were kept and notes still sync; the device that manages devices settles it with its next sync.

A note is missing on my other device

1. Is it the same vault? Two vaults can have the same name.
2. Do both devices share a target? Devices only see each other’s changes through a sync target they both use. Sync Targets… ▸ Details and Repair lists the devices whose notes each target held at the last sync.
3. Has it arrived? The writing device must have synced (look at its bar), and the other one too.
4. Is it in Recently Deleted? A deletion on any device applies everywhere.
5. Is a filter on? Select All Notes in the sidebar and clear the search field.

Joining a device stalls

• The home device never shows the request: both devices must sync with the same target. Sync Now on both.
• The new device never sees the approval: keep its join screen open and tap Check Now; make sure it syncs with the same target as the home device.
• “The request to join expired”: requests are deleted after 7 days. Ask to Join again.
• The words do not match: check them again on the other device. If they still do not match, stop: the device may have been given a different copy of the vault.

See Add a second device.

The vault does not open

• The unlock screen offers Join and Take Over instead of unlocking: this device has no key for the vault. Join it, or take over with the recovery kit.
• “Forget This Device’s Key…” on the unlock screen: this device’s key for the vault can no longer be read (for example after Face ID was set up again). Forget it, then join again or take over.
• The recovery key is refused: check that you typed the whole AGE-SECRET-KEY-PQ-1… key (each line’s checksum catches typos), and that the kit belongs to this vault. A kit that was replaced no longer opens the vault for new changes.

“This device is not on the vault’s newest device list”

The device that manages devices removed this one, or a takeover left it out. It writes and syncs nothing more. Save what it has not synced (Save Files…, or export the notes), then remove the vault from it. If the removal was a mistake, a takeover with the recovery kit that keeps this device undoes it. See Managing devices and keys.

“This vault’s device list was changed without its key”

Someone who can change the vault’s storage (a sync service, a shared folder) edited its list of devices without the vault’s key, or put back an older one. Your notes can still be read; nothing is written to the vault until the list is fixed. If a sync service or another device is at fault, the next sync from the device that manages devices puts the list back. Otherwise take over with the recovery kit.

Lost the recovery kit

• The device that manages devices still works: Settings ▸ Sync & Devices ▸ Devices ▸ Replace Recovery Kit…, and print the new kit.
• Someone else may have it: use Re-encrypt Everything… instead, so nothing on your storage opens with it any more. Watch for takeover alerts: a takeover you did not make means someone used it.

If no device opens the vault any more and you have no kit and no passphrase copy, the notes cannot be recovered. That is the price of nobody else holding your keys.

Large vaults are slow

• The first sync on a new device downloads everything; let it finish on Wi-Fi.
• Big PDFs open faster as their own notes. See Big notes, big PDFs, big vaults.
• Settings ▸ Backups & History ▸ Storage: clear caches if space is short, and remove unused attachments.

Handwriting search misses words

See Search: when a word is not found.

Reporting a problem

Open an issue at github.com/anthonytw/sempere/issues. Describe what you did and what happened; never paste a real key or real notes. For crash reports, see Support.