How to move your notes to a new iPad

A new iPad is exciting right up until you realize two years of class notes live on the old one. The move itself is usually quick. What goes wrong is the order: people wipe or trade in the old iPad before checking that everything arrived on the new one.

This guide covers the safe order of operations for any notes app, then the two ways to move your notebooks in Scribba: iCloud Sync, or a backup file you save and restore.

The golden rule: don't erase the old iPad yet

Keep the old iPad exactly as it is until you've opened your notes on the new one and checked them. Trade-in offers and resale listings can wait a day or two. An erased iPad can't give your notes back.

If the old iPad is broken or lost, skip ahead to the backup section: you'll be restoring from whatever copy already exists off the device.

Before you start

A little preparation on the old iPad makes the move smoother:

1. Update both iPads if you can. Scribba needs iPadOS 17 or later on the new one.
2. Open Scribba on the old iPad and let it finish anything in progress, like a lecture still being transcribed.
3. Charge both iPads and keep them on Wi-Fi. Moving recordings can take a while.
4. Make a backup anyway, even if you plan to use sync. It's your safety net if anything goes wrong. In Scribba, that's Settings › Backups › Save a Backup.
5. Note your Apple Account. Use the same one on the new iPad. Your iCloud data and App Store purchases and subscriptions follow it.

Tip: setting up a new iPad from the old one moves many apps and settings, but don't assume every app's data comes along. Check your notes yourself, whichever way you set up the new iPad.

Option 1: move with iCloud Sync

If you already use iCloud Sync, this is the simplest path, because your notebooks are already in your private iCloud.

On the old iPad:

1. Open Scribba's Settings › iCloud and check that iCloud Sync is on.
2. Look at the sync status, and tap Sync Now to make sure the latest changes have gone up.
3. Decide about recordings. If you've been leaving recordings out of sync to save iCloud space, they aren't in iCloud. Either turn on Include Recordings for now so they sync, or use a backup file for them (Option 2).

On the new iPad:

1. Sign in with the same Apple Account and install Scribba from the App Store.
2. Open Settings › iCloud and turn on iCloud Sync.
3. Give it time. Notebooks, folders, ink, photos, PDFs, flashcards and, if you included them, recordings come down from iCloud. Each page syncs on its own, so a big library fills in gradually rather than all at once.

Sync also means you can keep using both iPads for a while if you want to. If you happen to write on the same page on both, Scribba keeps the ink from both rather than throwing one away. More in syncing notes between iPads.

Option 2: move with a backup file

Use this if you don't use iCloud Sync, if your iCloud storage is full, or if you want to bring recordings across without syncing them.

On the old iPad:

1. Open Scribba's Settings › Backups and tap Save a Backup.
2. Choose where it goes. A folder in iCloud Drive is easiest, because the new iPad can see it right away. You can also save to another cloud service you use in the Files app, or to an external drive you'll plug into the new iPad.
3. Open the Files app and check that the backup file is there with today's date.

On the new iPad:

1. Install Scribba and open it.
2. Go to Settings › Backups and tap Restore a Backup.
3. Pick the backup file you just saved.

Restore on a fresh install, before you start writing new notes on the new iPad. It keeps things simple and makes it easy to see that everything came across.

If the old iPad is gone, use Restore a Backup with the newest file your Auto Backup saved. That's one reason how to back up iPad notes recommends keeping Auto Backup in iCloud Drive: the file is there when the iPad isn't.

Which option should you pick?

• You already use iCloud Sync: Option 1. Add a backup file for safety.
• Your iCloud storage is tight, or you don't sync: Option 2.
• You want recordings but don't sync them: sync for notes, plus a backup file that holds the recordings, or simply Option 2 for everything.
• The old iPad is lost or broken: whatever exists off the device, either iCloud Sync or your latest Auto Backup.

Check before you wipe

Spend five minutes on the new iPad before you touch the old one:

1. Count your notebooks and folders. Compare the library on both iPads, semester by semester.
2. Open a recent notebook and scroll to the last page you wrote.
3. Open an old notebook from a past semester, so you know the archive came across too.
4. Play a recording and tap a line of ink to check it jumps to the right moment.
5. Open your flashcards and see that your decks are there.
6. Try a search for a word you know you wrote.

Then set up the protections again on the new iPad: turn on Auto Backup in Settings › Backups and pick a folder, and check your iCloud Sync choice in Settings › iCloud. If you lock private notebooks with Face ID, Touch ID or a passcode, open one to make sure it behaves the way you expect.

Then erase the old iPad

Once everything checks out, you can sign out of your Apple Account on the old iPad and erase it from its Settings. If you're keeping the old iPad as a second device instead, leave sync on and use whichever one is closest.

A new iPad is also a good moment for a fresh start. If your library has drifted into a mess of "Untitled" notebooks, organizing your notes by semester takes about as long as the move did.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to buy Scribba again on a new iPad?

App Store purchases and subscriptions follow your Apple Account, so sign in with the same one you bought it with.

Will my lecture recordings move to the new iPad?

Yes, if they're included. iCloud Sync carries them unless you chose to leave recordings out, and a backup file can carry them too.

Can I move my notes without iCloud?

Yes. Use Save a Backup on the old iPad, put the file somewhere the new iPad can reach in the Files app, then use Restore a Backup.