Where did OneNote on Android store its local notebook data in 2019-2020?

August 18, 2023 8:42 AM

One day in 2019-2020, OneNote on my old Android decided it didn't want to sync any of my existing notebooks when I tried to log in and sync to the cloud to get them on my laptop. I want to copy the storage folder over to my laptop, but I can't seem to find it, and I can't find the answer online anywhere.

I've tried poking around with a file explorer but I just don't see anything that looks like it.

I can make a new notebook that syncs fine, recreating section groups and sections, then copying each page over manually to the new notebook... but I would much rather find where they're stored on the device, copy the storage folder to the cloud, and then try to load them on my laptop.

I happened to be switching phones then so it's more or less in the same state it was back then, unless it auto-updated the app without me noticing. Either way, it still doesn't sync on its own.

posted by andrewxhonson to Technology (3 answers total)

I think it typically stores those in OneDrive. It doesn't looks like files from OneDrive are accessible as files in Android File Transfer, but I am able to get to all files in File Manager by going to Cloud Storage > One Drive.

This is Android vs 13 in 2023, so not your timeframe, but I suspect it's similar.

When I did try browsing in Android File Transfer, I was able to go to:

Android > Data > com.microsoft.office.onenote

In that directory I see a cache directory, but it only contains a configuration file and none of notebooks I have. I also see a files directory that is empty.
posted by willnot at 12:21 PM on August 18, 2023

Best answer: I found a response from Microsoft forum moderator saying that local versions of the files are actually stored in the Skydrive cache and aren't stored as discreet files so accessing it from the OneDrive app or the File Manager cloud drive link may be the only place to find/access these files.
posted by willnot at 12:46 PM on August 18, 2023

Response by poster: That's so disappointing. At the very least there's copy and paste... thanks so much!
posted by andrewxhonson at 6:50 PM on August 19, 2023