How to fix an issue with the Obsidian app not opening and syncing on your iPhone¶

I recently had issues with the Obsidian app not opening and syncing properly on my iPhone. I am a habitual note-taker, so having access to my notes at all times is extremely important to me. Because of that, I've tried a variety of different troubleshooting methods, which I describe in this post.

This issue is a bit strange. The Obsidian for iPad app opens and syncs my notes as expected, so I don't think the Obsidian app is causing the issue. My iPhone is configured to install iOS beta builds, so that might be the issue.

Anyway, on to fixing the issue!

Resolve iCloud sync issues with Obsidian¶

To get iCloud to sync your Obsidian vault again, perform the following steps from your iPhone:

1. Confirm that you are connected to a Wi-Fi network.
2. In the Settings app, select [your name] and choose iCloud. Then, select iCloud Drive and disable Sync this iPhone.
3. Restart your iPhone.
4. In the Settings app, select [your name] and choose iCloud. Then, select iCloud Drive and enable Sync this iPhone. Wait for the contents in iCloud to sync.
5. Open the Files app. If you do not see any folders in the Files app, make sure you are connected to Wi-Fi.
6. Go to your Obsidian folder.
7. Long-press the folder with the name of the Obsidian vault that you want to access, then select Download Now. Wait a while for the contents to download. Repeat this step for any other vaults that you want to access.
8. Open the Obsidian app. After waiting a few seconds for the configuration files and your notes to sync, you should be able to access Obsidian on your iPhone.

Previous set of troubleshooting methods¶

The following troubleshooting method requires using your iPhone and accessing iCloud from your desktop.

1. On your iPhone, Open the Files app.
2. Go to the folder that contains your Obsidian vaults.
3. If any of the folders in your vaults have a cloud icon with an arrow pointing down, long-press the folder and select Download Now. Depending on the folder size, downloading the files may take some time.
4. After the files have finished downloading (you can check the sync status if you scroll to the bottom of the Files app), open the Obsidian app.

Were you able to open the Obsidian app on your iPhone and confirm that your notes are accessible? Great! You're done!

Did the troubleshooting steps above not work? Let's proceed to the next set of troubleshooting steps.

1. On your computer, rename the problematic folder that has the cloud icon with an arrow pointing down. For example, if the original folder name was test, change the folder name to test1.
2. Create a new folder named test.
3. Copy the items from the problematic folder (test1) into the new folder (test).
4. Delete the problematic folder (test1).
5. On your iPhone, open the Obsidian app on your iPhone.

Were you able to open the Obsidian app on your iPhone and confirm that your notes are accessible? Great! You're done!

Did the troubleshooting steps above not work? Let's proceed to the next set of troubleshooting steps.

1. On your computer, go to the problematic folder. This problematic folder should be the one on your iPhone that has a cloud icon with an arrow pointing down in the Files app.
2. Copy your notes to a folder on your desktop, outside of iCloud. We are doing this to ensure we have a backup of our notes.
3. On your iPhone, delete the problematic folder that has the cloud icon with an arrow pointing down.
4. Open the Obsidian app. If the app opens as expected, check that the notes in the previously problematic folder are displayed.
5. After confirming that your notes are accessible again in the Obsidian app, delete the backup notes you saved to the folder on your computer desktop.

Wrap-up¶

These are the steps I took to troubleshoot and resolve the issue with Obsidian not opening and syncing my notes on my iPhone. If you have any troubleshooting methods that have worked for you, please share what steps you took to resolve the issue!