Top 3 Ways to Access iPhone Notes on Windows

With the exception of a few essentials such as iCloud Drive and Photos, Windows users cannot use most of the apps and services in the Apple ecosystem. Some of them are pretty basic, and it’s surprising that Apple still resists providing support directly. This includes the Notes app on the iPhone, which does not work with Windows.

But don’t give up hope. If you want to access the notes on your iPhone from your Windows PC, you can count on some workarounds.

These methods involve accessing Notes as a web application, using a browser setting to have Notes run as a desktop application, and synchronizing your iPhone notes with Gmail. So without further ado, let’s check them out.

1. Web Notes application

Apple offers several key online applications and services, including Notes. Go to iCloud.com and log in with your Apple IDs; you may need to enter an authentication code from your iPhone to continue. When prompted, select “Trust” only if your computer is yours.

On the iCloud Launchpad that appears, you will see shortcuts to many Apple applications. Click Notes, and you should have instant access to notes on your iPhone.

Not only can you read your notes, but you can also edit them, create new notes, add or rename folders, as easily as on iPhone. You can also share notes with other people. Any changes you make will be synced to your iPhone via iCloud. However, the Notes web application does not allow you to archive or lock notes.

If you don’t see your notes, you need to enable iCloud syncing for Notes on your iPhone. Next, go to Settings> Apple ID> iCloud and turn on the switch next to Notes.

That said, you can’t view or edit the notes in the On My iPhone folder in the Notes app on your iPhone. If you still want to access it, you need to move the notes to a folder in the iCloud section of the Notes app.

Important: If you’re using a public or shared computer, be sure to sign out of iCloud after accessing your iPhone notes. When you are prompted to confirm, click the Logout option (not the Approve and Logout option).

2. Create a progressive web application (PWA) for notes

If you plan to regularly access your iPhone notes, you can make the experience of opening and using the Notes Web application much more convenient by forcing it to function as a PWA (progressive Web application). To do this, you must use Google Chrome or the new Microsoft Edge Chromium web browser.

Warning: Do not create PWAs on public or shared computers.

Start by logging into iCloud.com. Check the box next to “Keep me signed in” when inserting your Apple ID credentials, then click Trust when prompted.

On the iCloud dashboard, click Notes. When the Notes Web application has finished loading, open the Chrome browser menu, point to More tools, and then click Create shortcut.

Check the box next to Open as window, then click Create.

On Edge, open the browser menu, point to Applications, click “Install this site as an application,” then click Install.

You can now access Notes by clicking the iCloud Notes icon on the desktop.

The web app will open in a dedicated Chrome or Edge window without the address bar and provide an experience very similar to an app. You can view, add, edit or share notes without any problems.

Since you have chosen to stay connected to iCloud.com (and have also trusted your computer), you can easily open Notes using the desktop shortcut and access your iPhone notes at any time.

Start scribbling

The three methods listed above should help a lot when you are processing your iPhone notes on a PC. Since there is nothing on the horizon in terms of a dedicated Notes app for Windows, you better get used to it quickly.