Common problems
Common symptoms with their causes and fixes. If nothing here helps, check service status and get in touch.
Applies to Web · Mac · iPhone app
Here are common symptoms with their usual causes and fixes. If you see a message saying a note isn’t saving or you’re disconnected, start with When you are offline or sync stops.
Signing in and your account
| Symptom | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
| After several wrong passwords, you can’t sign in for a while | Five attempts are fine; after that you have to wait 10 seconds → 30 seconds → 2 minutes → 5 minutes → 15 minutes → 1 hour. Wait and try again, or if you’ve forgotten the password, use Forgot your username or password? on the sign-in screen. See Forgot your password or username. |
| You signed up but can’t sign in | Your account opens once you click the link in the verification email. The link is valid for 24 hours. Check your spam folder, or click Resend signup verification email on the sign-in screen. |
| You were signed out after a break | A sign-in lasts up to 30 days and expires after 14 days without use. Sign in again. |
| You can’t create a new passkey in the Mac or iPhone app | The apps can’t create new passkeys. Register one in a browser under Account security → Passkeys. See Secure your account. |
Shortcuts and the screen
| Symptom | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
| ⌘N or ⇧⌘N opens a new browser window | The browser takes those keys first. In a browser, use ⌥N for a new note and ⇧⌥N for a new notebook. The original keys work in the Mac app. |
| ⌘K opens a window instead of inserting a link | In the app, ⌘K is the command palette. Insert a link with ⇧⌘K. |
| You can’t find a “Settings” menu | There isn’t a separate settings menu. Fonts, spacing, alerts and similar options are in View options (the slider icon) in the top bar; password, passkeys and API tokens are under the profile menu → Account security. |
| “A new version is available — refresh to update” appears | Click Refresh now to switch to the new version. In the Mac app downloaded from commonnote.app you can also use View → Reload (⌘R). The App Store versions of the Mac and iPhone apps get new screens only through an app update. |
Sharing and colleagues
| Symptom | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
| The note has no Share button | Only the note’s owner can change sharing. If you are the owner, check whether the note is locked — locked notes can’t be shared. |
| You can’t find the person you want to invite | Invitations need the exact username (case doesn’t matter). Partial names and email addresses won’t find anyone. |
| There’s nobody to hand a task to | The recipient must already share the note with you. Share the note or notebook first. See Hand off a task. |
Files and storage
| Symptom | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
| A file won’t upload to a note | Note attachments can be up to 50 MB each. If you’re told storage is full, your storage is used up — or, on someone else’s note (including notes you created inside a notebook someone shared with you), the note owner’s storage. See Plans and storage. |
| A file won’t send in Messenger | Sending files only works in one-to-one conversations. Each file can be up to 200 MB, and the files you’ve sent are kept for 24 hours up to a combined 400 MB or 50 files. Files go one at a time, so if one is still sending, wait and try again. See Send files. |
| You can’t download a file you received | Messenger files are deleted automatically after 24 hours. Ask the sender to send it again. |
| Notes are still there after emptying Trash | Locked notes have to be unlocked before they can be deleted. See Restore or permanently delete from Trash. |
| Notes are missing from the full backup ZIP | Trash, templates and locked notes you haven’t unlocked aren’t included. See Export notes and back up everything. |
Notifications
| Symptom | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
| No push notifications in Safari on iPhone | A Safari tab can’t receive push. Use the Share button → Add to Home Screen, then open the new home-screen app and click Turn on acknowledgment push in the notification bell. With the iPhone app you don’t need to do this. |
| No notification banners in the Mac app | macOS asks for permission the first time a notification arrives. If you declined, allow CommonNote in System Settings → Notifications. |
More detail is in Get notifications.
Settings keep disappearing in the browser
If your browser blocks this site from storing data (Chrome’s site-data blocking, some privacy settings or company-managed policies), CommonNote keeps working by storing things in the tab’s memory instead. The catch is that values kept only on this device — such as your calendar table view settings — are lost when you close the tab. Allow site data for commonnote.app in your browser settings.
If your problem isn’t listed here, check the service status light in the top bar first. If that doesn’t help, reach us as described in Check service status and contact support.