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Here is a reddit post that highlights the exact some issue that I'm having. The subreddit is full of these posts, and one solution which is updating to the latest iPadOS version doesn't work for most (which is given in this other Microsoft support discussion).
In the post you can also see how when he switches back to a pen, it automatically goes back to text mode. You simply can’t get back to it.
Double tapping the pen (to go back from eraser to the pen) doesn’t work either, and it automatically goes into text mode. It’s extremely frustrating.
This is a software issue at its core, and makes working with OneNote pretty much impossible if you’re trying to hand write things/do diagrams.
Any other solutions are welcome and I’ll give them a shot.
A family of Microsoft products that enable users to capture, organize, and reuse notes electronically.
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Hey!
My current solution is to select eraser -> restart app -> enter into OneNote -> select pen. Its the best I have found to do.
I find the reply by Rhoda, Microsoft Community Moderator, unacceptable. This issue is held by many users, as evidenced by the ease of googling the problem. I have sent feedback; others have sent feedback. It's obviously a software glitch that makes those of us who use OneNote to take notes (the app's core function) unable to use it. Yes, I have re-installed the software, and no, I'm not going to uninstall and reinstall it every time I want to take a simple note. Yes, I've checked the settings. From everything I can tell, this is a development issue that creates autoswitching to text if one tries to change a pen color etc., and only the eraser can help (sometimes) get it back into pen mode.
I just googled whether development support for the app has ended (fixes to bugs). Honestly, it would be better to know that and just give up on it than to have a scripted answer and a lack of solution for a problem that is well over 1 year old with multiple complaints.
Same issue, incredibly frustrating.......been using oneNote for a couple of years, and just recently been having this problem. Hope they fix it soon, going crazy with note taking.
All of us have this issue, and you aren't offering a solution. It's very frustrating. We can't use your product until you fix this!
Suddenly last week I started to have the same problem, one note defaulting to text mode on iPad Pro 12.9inch model number ML2I2TY/A with iPadOS 16.4.1. Onenote version 16.72. After spending a considerable amount of time combining various sequences of tool selection I hacked my way out of the problem with -select pen - draw ˆ select new pen (oh dear it’s gone into text mode, how irritating) select rubber- select new pen. In this way the pen or select tool stays selected to use until the next selection which defaults back to text.again and on it goes. Shame.I use Onenote a lot to jot down my thoughts but this hitch stops them from flowing. Should I buy a Remarkable II? Just kidding.