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How to Open OneNote 2016 Notebooks on a New Windows 11 PC

WPS Content Manager Oct 12, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user needs to recover and open their older OneNote 2016 notebook files after upgrading to a new computer.

How to Open OneNote 2016 Notebooks on a New Windows 11 PC

Product: Microsoft OneNote
Device & OS: Windows 11, Windows 10
Scenario: Transitioning from an older Windows 10 PC running Office 2016 to a new Windows 11 PC running Microsoft 365.
Observed behavior: The user wants to locate and successfully open their old OneNote notebooks on the new operating system, handling both cloud-synced and locally stored notebook files.

Before you start

Check your old Windows 10 computer to verify whether your OneNote 2016 notebooks were synced to your Microsoft OneDrive account or saved locally on your hard drive. If they were saved locally, you will need a USB flash drive or external hard drive for the transfer.

Solution 1Recommended

Open Cloud-Synced Notebooks via OneDrive

Use this method if your old OneNote 2016 notebooks were automatically or manually synced to your Microsoft account.

If you used a Microsoft account on your old PC, your notebooks were likely backed up to OneDrive. The Microsoft 365 OneNote desktop app on your new Windows 11 PC can easily fetch these from the cloud.

Sign in to OneDrive

Open a web browser on your new Windows 11 PC, navigate to OneDrive.com, and sign in using the same Microsoft account you used on the old Windows 10 computer.

Locate your notebooks

Browse your OneDrive files and look for a folder named 'Documents' or 'Notebooks' to find your OneNote files.

Open in OneNote Web

Click on the notebook file you want to access. It will automatically open in OneNote for the Web in your browser.

Launch the desktop app

In the top ribbon of OneNote for the Web, click 'Editing' and select 'Open in Desktop App' to launch and sync the notebook with your Microsoft 365 OneNote application on Windows 11.

Open Cloud-Synced Notebooks via OneDrive

Sync Completion: Once opened in the desktop app, the notebook will remain pinned to your application and automatically sync any future changes.

Solution 2

Transfer and Open Locally Stored Notebooks via USB

Use this method if your notebooks were saved directly to your old computer's hard drive and were not synced to OneDrive.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Switch to WPS Office for Seamless Document Management

If navigating different versions of Microsoft Office apps and file types feels overwhelming, WPS Office offers a free, lightweight, and highly compatible alternative. It supports all standard Office formats, ensuring your transitions to new computers are effortless without worrying about version conflicts.

1. Download and Install: Visit the official WPS website to download and install the free WPS Office suite on your Windows 11 PC.
2. Sign In to WPS Cloud: Create or sign in to your WPS account to activate your free cloud storage space for seamless syncing.
3. Open Your Files: Drag and drop your existing Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files into the WPS interface to instantly continue your work.

Seamless compatibility with Microsoft Office formats (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx)Free, lightweight, and fast-loading alternative to Microsoft 365Built-in WPS Cloud for easy file syncing and sharing across all your devicesFamiliar, easy-to-use tabbed interface for managing all documents in one window

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can't OneNote for Windows 10 open my local notebooks?

OneNote for Windows 10 is a cloud-only UWP (Universal Windows Platform) application and does not support opening local .one or .onetoc2 files. To open local notebooks, you must use the full OneNote desktop application that comes bundled with Microsoft 365 or Office 2019/2021.

Where is the default save location for OneNote 2016 local notebooks?

By default, OneNote 2016 saves local notebooks to your Documents folder under a subdirectory named 'OneNote Notebooks' (C:\Users\[Username]\Documents\OneNote Notebooks).

How do I move my local OneNote notebook to OneDrive?

Open the local notebook in the OneNote desktop app, click on 'File', select 'Share', choose your OneDrive account, and click 'Move Notebook'. This will sync your notebook to the cloud, allowing you to access it easily on any device.

Document & File Issues