Troubleshoot Obsidian Sync

Understand sync status icons, diagnose common sync issues, and find solutions to conflicts, errors, and connectivity problems.

This page covers the sync status icon, how to read the sync log, and solutions to common sync problems. Before diving in, check the Obsidian server status page to rule out a service outage.

Sync status icon

The sync status icon appears in the status bar on desktop and in the right sidebar on mobile. It reflects the current state of sync at a glance.

Icon state	Color	Meaning
Synced	Green	Your vault is fully up to date with the remote vault
Syncing	Purple	Obsidian is uploading or downloading changes
Paused	Purple	Sync is paused but still connected to the remote vault
Disconnected	Red	The Sync plugin is active but not connected to a remote vault

Tap or click the icon to open a quick menu with options to pause/resume sync, open the sync log, view version history, and access settings.

Sync activity log

The sync log records every interaction between your local vault and the remote vault: uploads, downloads, deletions, conflicts, and errors.

Open the sync log:

• Click the sync status icon and select Open Sync log
• Go to Settings → Sync → Activity log
• Use the Command palette and search for Sync: Open activity log

You can filter the log by All, Errors, Skipped, and Merge Conflicts, and search it with the search box.

The sync log is not saved when you close Obsidian. If you need to share it with support, copy its contents before closing the app.

Common log messages

Connecting to server

Obsidian is attempting to connect to your remote vault’s server. This is normal on startup.

Connected to server. Detecting changes...

Obsidian has connected and is comparing your local and remote vaults. If this message appears repeatedly and sync doesn’t progress, contact Obsidian support.

Fully synced

Your local and remote vaults are identical. No changes are pending.

Merging conflicted file

A conflict was detected and the file was automatically merged. If the merge result is incorrect, restore the previous version from version history.

Rejected server change

The incoming remote change is older than your local version, so the local version is kept.

Unable to download file with illegal name

The file contains a character that isn’t allowed on the destination operating system. Rename the file on the source device, removing any special characters except - and _.

On Android, files with multiple periods (.) in the name are also affected.

Out of memory

Not enough storage space or memory is available to download the file. This typically happens on mobile with large files such as videos. Free up device storage or exclude large file types from syncing.

Vault limit exceeded

Your account has exceeded its storage limit. Attachments and version history count toward this limit.

To reduce storage usage:

1. Open Settings → Sync.
2. Under Vault size over limit, select View largest files and delete files you no longer need.
3. Select Prune to remove deleted files from the remote vault.

Vault not found

The remote vault no longer exists. This can happen if:

• The vault was deleted from another device
• Your subscription was inactive for over 30 days (remote vault is removed)
• Your subscription was canceled or refunded

Disconnect from the vault and create a new one. Your local data is not affected.

Failed to authenticate: subscription expired

Your Sync subscription has expired. Resubscribe from your account dashboard to continue.

Failed to authenticate: Not logged in

Obsidian Sync can’t confirm your login. Log back in from Settings → General → Account.

If the issue persists, a community plugin may be interfering. Enable Restricted Mode and try again.

Disconnected from server / Unable to connect to server

Sync lost its connection to the server. This is usually temporary — Sync retries automatically. If the issue persists, check your internet connection and the server status page.

On iOS, this may appear as: Null is not an object (evaluating 'this.socket.send'). This means the same thing and is not a sign of a deeper problem.

Common issues and fixes

Conflict resolution

A conflict occurs when you edit the same file on two or more devices before they sync. Conflicts are more common during extended offline periods.

How Sync resolves conflicts:

• Markdown files: Sync merges changes using Google’s diff-match-patch algorithm.
• Other file types (including Canvas): The most recently modified version wins.
• Settings files: Sync merges JSON files, applying local keys on top of remote keys.

Starting in Obsidian 1.9.7, you can choose how conflicts are handled:

• Automatically merge — combines all changes; may sometimes produce duplicate text.
• Create conflict file — saves a separate file for manual review. Named as original-note-name (Conflicted copy device-name YYYYMMDDHHMM).md.

To configure: go to Settings → Sync → Conflict resolution.

To check when conflicts occurred, filter the sync log for Merge Conflicts.

Sync deleted a note I just created on two devices

If you create a note on one device and, within a couple of minutes, Sync downloads a remote version of the same note, Sync keeps the remote version without merging.

Recover the local version using the File recovery plugin (a separate, device-local snapshot system).

This most often affects users who auto-create notes on startup, such as Daily Notes or Templater-triggered notes.

Plugins and settings aren't updating on other devices

Obsidian does not live-reload all settings. After updating settings or plugins on one device, restart Obsidian on other devices to apply the changes. On mobile, force-quit the app.

Example: You change your theme on your computer. The sync log on your phone shows the appearance.json file was received, but the theme hasn’t changed. Reload or restart Obsidian on the phone — the theme should then update.

Files keep disappearing as soon as I restore them

Windows Defender quarantine: Windows Defender may quarantine notes that contain code blocks. Add your vault folder to Windows Defender’s exclusion list.

Double-syncing: Running Obsidian Sync alongside another sync service (Dropbox, iCloud, etc.) on the same vault causes files to appear deleted. Move your vault to a folder not managed by another service.

Illegal filename characters: If a restored file has illegal characters in its name, it gets skipped on secondary devices. Rename the file on the source device.

Sync won't start

Check the following:

1. You’re logged in — go to Settings → General → Account.
2. Your Sync subscription is active — visit obsidian.md/account/sync.
3. The Sync core plugin is enabled — go to Settings → Core Plugins.
4. Your remote vault exists — check Settings → Sync → Remote vault.
5. The server is up — check status.obsidian.md.

Android: attachments received through Sync are being deleted

Google Photos or Android may be managing the files Sync downloads. To prevent this, add a .nomedia file to your vault folder.

The community plugin Android Nomedia makes this easier. Note that .nomedia files themselves are not synced by Obsidian Sync.

Sync is running but no changes are uploading

Your remote vault may have reached its storage limit. Open Settings → Sync and check Storage usage. If you’re over the limit, the Sync log will show a “Vault limit exceeded” message.

To free up space, use View largest files under Vault size over limit to delete large attachments, then select Prune.

Frequently asked questions

Is Obsidian Sync a backup service?

No. Sync keeps your notes consistent across devices, but it is not a backup. Deleting a file on one device will delete it on all devices after sync. Use a dedicated backup solution (a local copy, Time Machine, Git, etc.) alongside Sync.

Can I use Obsidian Sync with Dropbox, iCloud, or Google Drive?

Obsidian does not recommend using Obsidian Sync alongside another sync service for the same vault. Running two services on the same files causes conflicts and can lead to data loss.

Cloud services with “files on-demand” or “online-only” features are particularly problematic — Obsidian Sync will interpret locally-unavailable files as deleted and remove them from the remote vault.

If you need both, store your vault in a location not monitored by other sync services and use cloud storage only for backups.

Are files synced in the background?

No. Files are only synced while Obsidian is running. Changes made offline are queued and uploaded the next time you open Obsidian with an internet connection.

How long is data kept after my subscription expires?

Remote vault data is kept for 30 days after your subscription expires. If you renew within 30 days, nothing changes. If you renew after 30 days, you’ll need to create a new remote vault and re-sync. Local vaults are never affected.

How do I contact support?

Go to Settings → Sync and select Email support. Use Copy debug info to attach diagnostic information to your message. This helps the support team investigate faster.