Back in the days, I had a problem regarding Notes not syncing with iCloud, and I solved it myself following the steps here: Apple Notes Sync Problem + Solution . However, the same issue re-occurred on iOs 10, and the steps here didn’t really help.
After I tweeted about my sync problem with iOS Notes, @AppleSupport DM’d me and solved my problem over Twitter! I’m not sure which step solved the problem; but nevertheless, here is the message log for people having trouble with Notes sync.
Apple Support: @keremkoseoglu We’re here to help. DM us some more information on the issue and we’ll take a look with you.
Dr. Kerem Koseoglu: hello there, my mac notes syncs with icloud perfectly, iclous notes syncs with mac perfectly as well. however, my iphone notes app doesnt sync with icloud since 10.0.1. i tried everything; turning icloud notes off & on, deleting & re-installing notes on my iphone, etc – doesnt help
Apple Support: We want to team up and be sure you have access to all your notes. If you go to your Notes app on the iPhone and choose “Folders” what do you see there? A screenshot may help. You get to folders by clicking the options in the top left of the Notes app. We’ll go from there.
Dr. Kerem Koseoglu: Thats all i see. i have like 10-15 folders in icloud
Apple Support: Based on the screenshot, it appears that your notes are loading still with the spinning icon next to the word iCloud. How long has it been since you’ve noticed the notes were missing? Also, have you tried different Wi-Fi networks?
Dr. Kerem Koseoglu: 2-3 days. Yes, different wifis, 4g, doesnt work. Other icloud services work fine (such as calendar)
Apple Support: Great, thanks for the clarification! We’re happy to see that you’re taking the initiative and trying a few troubleshooting steps on your own. In the screenshot you sent, we see a note that was made. Does that note show up on http://iCloud.com or on your Mac? If you create a new note, does that sync to iCloud?
Dr. Kerem Koseoglu: no, i created that test note on my iphone. doesnt show up anywhere else. my mac <-> icloud syncs perfectly. iphone, not so.
Apple Support: We understand, thanks for checking into that for us! Typically, turning Notes on and then off again in iCloud will resolve the issue. But it seems in this case, we’re going to have to do things a bit differently. We’d like to isolate the behavior a bit before before troubleshooting. Let’s try force closing the Notes app, then turning off iCloud Notes. Once done, if you open the Notes app, does it still show iCloud is trying to sync, even with it turned off?
Dr. Kerem Koseoglu: i have followed your instructions (tried that before already). didnt help. feels like a bug.
Apple Support: Thanks for checking into that for us, we understand you’ve tried that step before. At this time we’re attempting to isolate the issue to a connection to the server or software behavior on your iPhone. Can you tell us if the ‘Notes’ app still showed iCloud was attempting to sync when iCloud ‘Notes’ was turned off?
Dr. Kerem Koseoglu: Yes it did, shows all notes on my mac nicely
Apple Support: We understand you’re able to view the notes on your Mac. What we’d like to try is isolating the behavior on your iPhone. When you turn ‘Notes’ off in iCloud on your iPhone, then force close the ‘Notes’ app and open it, does it still show it is attempting to sync to iCloud? Can you send us a screenshot of what it does after you do that step?
Dr. Kerem Koseoglu: i followed your exact steps. since icloud is disabled, it shows local notes only now, no sync attempt.
Apple Support: Great, thank you! Before we continue on our next step, do you know the password for your iCloud Apple ID? Now, let’s sign out of iCloud on your iPhone, by going to Settings > iCloud > Sign Out (at the bottom). It will give you an alert letting you know that ‘Notes’ will be deleted on this iPhone, that’s alright since we don’t have any. The rest should give you an option of ‘Keep on my iPhone’. Once we’ve logged out, let’s restart the iPhone, then we’ll log back in and click ‘Merge’. What does ‘Notes’ show now?
Dr. Kerem Koseoglu: Followed exact orders. infinite sync is back 😐 i vaguely remember a similar problem from the older notes app, can it be due to the high number of folders i have? its like 10-15 folders though, not that much.
Apple Support: We want to take a look at this. What country are you currently in? What is your Apple ID? What is your devices serial number?
Dr. Kerem Koseoglu: country: turkey. apple id: (hidden). serial: (hidden)
Apple Support: Just to confirm, after signing out and back into iCloud and restarted the iPhone, are you still having the issue?
Dr. Kerem Koseoglu: Yes
Apple Support: No worries. At this time, we’d like to have you set up with a callback from a Senior Advisor. With the information you have provided, we’ve created a case for you. That case number is (hidden). Can you give us a few dates, and times you will be available for the call back, as well as your preferred contact phone number?
Dr. Kerem Koseoglu: Strangely enough, the notes just synced! Folders and all! Thanks for the guidance!
Apple Support: That is spectacular! We’re happy to hear that the issue has been resolved. Feel free to reach out should you need our assistance again.
Dr. Kerem Koseoglu 
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