Experiencing trouble with note-sharing on your iPhone can be a real hassle, especially when you’re trying to collaborate or keep others in the loop. This guide directly addresses the ‘Can’t share notes on iPhone’ issue and offers series of straightforward, practical solutions.
Common causes such as unreliable network connections, outdated iOS versions, incorrect app settings, or glitches can hinder the sharing functionality. We’re here to provide you with efficient and easy-to-follow solutions to tackle these challenges head-on.
Why won’t my iPhone let me share notes?
1. Restart Your iPhone
The first thing you should do is ensure that the note you’re trying to share for collaboration or as a copy isn’t password-protected. You can’t share those notes. To unlock a note in iPhone notes, select it from the list and tap on the 3-dots menu at the top. Select Remove to remove the passcode/password protection. Only then you can share the note. 
The second important thing concerning notes collaboration is that both parties need to have iCloud enabled and need to be signed in with their Apple ID. Unfortunately, collaboration with Android users is not possible. We recommend using Messages instead of Mail or any other available sharing option.
The third thing to do is navigate to Settings > Notes > Accounts and ensure that you’re using your iCloud Account as the default account for Notes.
Finally, if you met the previous requirements and still can’t share notes with fellow iOS users, restart your iPhone. Give it a quick reboot and check if the issue persists.
2. Check Network Connection
A stable network connection is essential for sharing notes. Whether you want to share notes via Message or Mail, you’ll need either Wi-Fi or cellular data.
Therefore, navigate to Settings > Wi-Fi or Settings > Cellular and make sure that you’re connected to a stable network and have internet access.
If you can’t connect to Wi-Fi, you can try the following steps:
- Restart your iPhone and wireless router.
- Enable Airplane mode and disable it after a minute or so.
- Forget the network and connect again.
- Reset Network Settings.
Concerning cellular data, you can learn what to do if cellular data is not working on iOS in detail.
3. Update iOS Version
Keeping your iPhone updated ensures optimal functionality for Notes collaboration. We tested functionality sharing notes via Messages on two iPhones running iOS 17.1 with no issues.
Here’s how to update iOS on your iPhone:
- Open Settings.
- Select General.
- Choose Software Update.
- Swipe down to check for updates.
- Install available updates.
If you still can’t share notes on your iPhone, try removing and adding Notes backup in iCloud.
4. Disable and re-enable iCloud for Notes
Since the Notes Collaboration feature relies on iCloud, you can try disabling Notes in iCloud and enabling the feature again. This usually kickstarts the sync from your iPhone to iCloud and, accordingly, allows your collaborators to access them upon sharing.
Have in mind that this action shouldn’t delete the notes you’ve already synced, but we recommend backing the important ones, just in case. You can use an alternative account in Notes or another app.
Here’s how to disable and re-enable Notes sync in iCloud on your iPhone:
- Open Settings.
- Tap on your account at the top.
- Choose iCloud.
- Select Show All under the Apps using iCloud section.
- Tap Notes.
- Disable Sync this iPhone.
- Tap Delete from iPhone.
- Re-enable Sync this iPhone. All your notes should sync to your iPhone again from iCloud.
- Try sharing the note in Collaboration mode again and ensure that the other side accepted.
5. Update drawings
If you have drawings in your notes dating from iOS 13 (2019), you should update them before being able to share them on iOS 17.
To update drawings, just tap on the drawing and select Update drawing.
6. Reinstall Notes
Finally, you can uninstall Notes from your iPhone and install the app again. Although Notes come pre-installed, you can still remove it just like any other third-party app and install it again. Hopefully, this will address the bug causing issues with notes-sharing.
Follow these instructions to reinstall Notes on your iPhone:
- Tap and hold onto the Notes icon in the Home Screen or App Library.
- Select Remove app.
- Tap Delete App and confirm when prompted.
- Open App Store and look for Notes. Install the app.
- Open the Notes app and try sharing notes again.
And, on that note, we can conclude this article. Do you have any alternative solutions to recommend if none of the listed helped you out? Tell us in the comments section below.
