Evernote - how to perform a deep reinstallation (Mac)

I rely heavily on Evernote on a daily basis for all kinds of note taking, but I especially rely on Evernote for work. One day, I was unable to open the Evernote app on my Mac. The app icon was now a default Xcode icon, and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why.

How do you fix it? Did I lose everything? I turned to Evernote support for the answer, and they kindly gave me permission to post the solution that worked for me.

If you are able to see your notes and notebooks while logged onto Evernote Web from a browser at https://www.evernote.com/Login.action then try performing a deep reinstall of Evernote to troubleshoot this issue. If you have local notebooks, contact Evernote support for specific guidance.

Quick reminder, back up your Mac before following the steps outlined below.

To uninstall and reinstall Evernote for Mac using AppCleaner, follow these steps:

  1. If Evernote is running, press Command + Q to quit the Evernote application.
  2. Navigate to http://www.freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/ to download and install AppCleaner. This program is completely free.
  3. Once AppCleaner is installed, open it and drag-and-drop the Evernote icon from your Application folder in to the interface and confirm deletion.
  4. Reboot your computer.
  5. Empty the Trash on your Mac.
  6. Download and install the latest version of Evernote from http://www.evernote.com/evernote or from the Mac App Store.

This process reinstalls the Evernote application on your Mac and also rebuilds the local database of notes and notebooks stored on your Mac using the information you have synched to your account at Evernote Web.

– Evernote Support

I decided to switch from the Mac App Store version to the direct download version. When I followed the steps above and logged in to the Evernote App on my Mac for the first time, the initial synch took some time but nothing was lost and this process was ultimately a 100% success.

Oftentimes, updates are released to the direct download version a few days in advance of the App Store, because Apple takes some time to review any submission to the App Store. The best way to stay up to date with the latest version is to go with the direct download.

– Evernote Support

I hope this helps!