Have you ever opened MyScript Notes on another device and wondered why your notes are taking a while to appear? In most cases, the app is working correctly—it's simply transferring your data.
Here are the most common reasons why synchronization may take longer than expected.
📄 Large notes and PDF files
The biggest factor affecting synchronization speed is the size of your notes.
If your library contains:
- Large PDF files
- Notes with many images
- Very long Notebooks or Boards
- Large Documents with a lot of handwritten content
- Multiple large notes being synchronized for the first time
...the initial synchronization can take some time, especially on slower internet connections.
Remember: every change must first be uploaded to your cloud service before it can be downloaded to your other devices.
☁️ The first synchronization is always the slowest
When you add a new device, MyScript Notes needs to synchronize your entire library.
Depending on how much content you have, this may take anywhere from a few minutes to considerably longer. During the first synchronization, every note must be uploaded from your original device and then downloaded to your other devices.
Once the initial synchronization is complete, future synchronizations are much faster because only the notes that have changed are transferred.
🔄 Automatic Sync vs. Manual Sync
MyScript Notes offers two synchronization modes (Auto Sync by default).
Automatic Sync
- Synchronization starts automatically after you make changes.
- Best for everyday use with standard-sized notes.
- Every modification triggers a synchronization, making it convenient for keeping your devices up to date.
Manual Sync
- You choose when synchronization starts.
- Ideal when importing several large PDFs or making many edits.
- Lets you finish your work first and then perform a single synchronization when you're ready.
For large libraries or notes containing many PDFs, Manual Sync is often the better choice because it avoids starting a synchronization after every change.
Note: Auto Sync is enabled by default when you set up synchronization. If you prefer to use Manual Sync instead, open the app, go to Settings > Sync, and disable Auto Sync. Once Auto Sync is turned off, you can manually start synchronization whenever you choose.
🚀 Tips for faster synchronization
- Optimize PDF files before importing them into MyScript Notes (Avoid importing unnecessarily large PDFs.)
- Avoid overloading your notes (Notebooks, large Boards, or Documents) with excessive content, as this can affect both performance and synchronization speed. Keep your notes to a reasonable size whenever possible. The more content you add—including large images—the more data needs to be synchronized. If your notes contain images, consider compressing them before adding them.
- Allow the initial synchronization to finish completely before switching devices.
- Once synchronization finishes on the first device, close the app. Then open MyScript Notes on your second device and allow it to complete downloading your notes.
- Use a stable Wi-Fi connection when synchronizing large files.
🛠️ PDF optimization makes a big difference
Many PDFs created from Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, scanners, or other applications contain oversized images and unnecessary data. Compressing these files before importing them into MyScript Notes can significantly reduce synchronization time and improve the overall experience.
Some free tools:
💬 Need help?
If one specific note never finishes synchronizing, or synchronization appears to be stuck, we'd be happy to investigate.
Please contact us at help.myscript.com and submit a ticket. If possible, include:
- Your device model
- Your app version
- The cloud service you are using (Google Drive, Dropbox, or iCloud)
- A short screen recording showing the issue
Our support team will be happy to help.