Out of all Google apps, Google Keep Notes is probably the most underrated one and we can only hope they don’t get any crazy ideas and kill it off or merge it with some other app. And we all know Google tends to do that. That would be quite unfortunate considering Google Keep Notes is one of the most complete note-taking apps on Android and it’s only getting better. And, although issues are rare, some do appear to bother users around the world. Some report that Google Keep is not working at all on Android.
This usually refers to frequent app crashes, the inability to save notes both offline and online, and sync with other devices under the same Google Account. If you have any issues with Google Keep on Android, check the steps we listed below.
Table of contents:
- Check to Keep permissions
- Clear local data from Google Keep
- Reinstall Google Keep
- Remove and add your Google Account again
Why my Google Keep is not working?
1. Check to Keep permissions
Start by restarting your Android and open Keep again. Test to see if the app is working or not. If that didn’t help, we suggest inspecting permission settings in Google Keep.
Here’s how to grant permissions to Keep on Android:
- Open Settings.
- Tap Apps.
- Select All apps.
- Open Keep Notes from the list of installed apps.
- Tap Permissions.
- Grant all permissions required by the app and check for improvements.
In addition, make sure that Google Sync is enabled. Without it, Google Keep won’t sync any changes you made on other devices and won’t be visible on your Android app.
Here’s how to enable Google Sync on your Android handset:
- Open Settings.
- Select Accounts.
- Tap on your Google Account.
- Tap Sync.
- Make sure that Keep Notes sync is enabled.
2. Clear local data from Google Keep
The next thing you should do if Google Keep Notes is not working is to clear the local data. This is the most suitable troubleshooting step whenever an Android app starts failing. Have in mind that all notes are cloud-based so you won’t lose anything by clearing data from the app.
Here’s how to clear local data from Google Keep Notes on Android:
- Open Settings.
- Open Apps.
- Expand all apps and open Keep Notes.
- Tap Storage.
- Clear data and restart your device.
- Open Google Keep and check if the app is working as intended or not.
3. Reinstall Google Keep
If clearing local data wasn’t enough, you can go a step further and reinstall Google Keep. This isn’t a built-in app so you can reinstall it completely on any Android device.
Here’s how to reinstall Google Keep on Android:
- Open the Play Store and look for Google Keep.
- Expand the app and tap Uninstall.
- Restart your device and, once it boots, open Play Store again.
- Install Google Keep and open the app to see if it works as intended.
If the issue persists and Google Keep Notes is still not working or it’s crashing, we have one more thing to suggest.
4. Remove and add your Google Account again
Finally, if none of the previous steps worked for you, try removing and adding your Google Account again on your handset. Google Keep, like all other Google services, is dependent on Google Account so that’s where the problem might lie.
Follow these instructions to remove and add Google Account again on your device:
- Open Settings.
- Choose Accounts.
- Select Google.
- Tap More and remove the Google account.
- Reboot your device and sign in again.
In addition, you can report the problem to Google Support. That should help speed up the fix in case the problem is on Google’s side. This might happen from time to time, considering apps like Keep rely on servers to work and frequent server-side and regular updates occasionally break the apps they are supposed to improve.
That should do it. Thank you for reading and don’t forget to share your questions or suggestions with us. We look forward to your feedback so make sure to share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.
Editor’s note: This article was initially published in October 2021. We made sure to revamp it for freshness and accuracy.
