Sessions Not Syncing Between Devices

If a Hedy session recorded on one device isn’t appearing on another, the most common cause is that Cloud Sync is off on one of the two devices. Both must have Cloud Sync enabled, and both must be signed in to the same Hedy account. Audio files have a separate sync setting (iCloud Audio Sync) on Apple devices.

How Hedy Sync Works

Hedy syncs two separate things:

Session data (transcript, summary, notes, highlights, action items) — synced via Cloud Sync, which uploads to Hedy’s servers and pulls down on your other devices. Works across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows, and Android.
Audio recordings — synced via Sync Recordings to iCloud, which uses Apple’s iCloud Drive. Available only between Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac) signed in to the same Apple ID.

Cloud Sync and iCloud audio sync are independent. You can have Cloud Sync on without iCloud audio sync (your transcripts sync but audio files don’t), or vice versa.

Step 1: Confirm Cloud Sync Is On — on Both Devices

Open Hedy on the device where the session was created
Open Settings
Go to the Privacy & System tab
Under Privacy Preferences, find Cloud Sync — make sure the toggle is on

The subtitle next to the toggle reads: “Upload new sessions to access from any device”.

Repeat on the device where you want the session to appear. If Cloud Sync is off on either device, the session won’t sync to the other.

Note: Cloud Sync uploads only new sessions created after it’s enabled. Sessions recorded before turning Cloud Sync on are not retroactively uploaded — you’ll see them only on the device they were created on. Move them manually by exporting/sharing if needed.

Step 2: Confirm Both Devices Use the Same Account

Hedy syncs only across devices signed in to the same Hedy account. Different accounts (even with the same email if you signed up via two different methods) will sync into different buckets.

To check:

Open Settings on each device
Look at the account email shown in the top section

If the emails differ — or if one device shows you’re signed in via Google and the other shows Apple — sign out of one and sign back in with matching credentials.

Step 3: Confirm Network Connectivity

Cloud Sync requires the device to reach Hedy’s servers. If you’re on a corporate network or VPN that blocks Hedy’s hosts, sessions won’t sync. See Hedy Can’t Connect (VPN, Firewall, Corporate Network) for the allowlist.

If a session shows “Could not copy link: Session not synced.” when you try to copy a sharing link, or “This session hasn’t been synced to the cloud yet. Please try again later.” when exporting to a webhook, that means the session has no cloud ID yet. The session may not be synced because Cloud Sync is off, the session is older than your Cloud Sync activation, or the upload is still pending. Network issues are one possible cause — but not the only one. Check Cloud Sync status first, then network connectivity.

If enabling Cloud Sync itself fails with “Failed to enable Cloud Sync. Please try again.”, check your network connection — Cloud Sync activation needs to reach Hedy’s API.

If a session is being actively sync’d between devices in real time and the connection drops, you may see “Session Sync Issue” with messages like “Connection lost. Session sync paused.” That’s expected — sync resumes when network is restored.

Step 4: Audio Recordings — Enable iCloud Sync (Apple Only)

If transcripts are syncing but audio recordings aren’t appearing on your other Apple device, the audio is handled by a different setting:

On each Apple device, open Hedy’s Settings
Go to the Sessions tab
Under Save Session Audio, make sure Enable Audio Recording is on
Turn on Sync Recordings to iCloud

The subtitle reads: “Hedy will sync recordings to your iCloud account so you can play them on every Apple device you sign into.”

Both devices must be signed into the same Apple ID, and iCloud Drive must be on for Hedy.

When a session has audio in iCloud but no local copy on the current device, a “Recording available” bar appears at the bottom of the session screen with a Download button. Tap it to pull the recording onto the current device.

For full details, see Recording and Managing Audio Sessions.

Audio sync limitations:

Apple devices only (no Android, no Windows)

Only new recordings sync — retroactive sync isn’t supported

You need enough free iCloud storage to receive audio files

If a download fails (“Couldn’t download recording from iCloud…”), confirm iCloud Drive is on for Hedy in iOS/macOS Settings, then try again

How Sync Retries Work

There is no “force resync” button — sync retry is automatic, but the trigger depends on which kind of sync:

Cloud Sync (transcript / session data): Hedy uses Firestore offline persistence. When the device is offline, writes queue locally; when the device reconnects, the queue flushes automatically. No timer-based retry is needed.
Audio sync to iCloud: retries happen automatically when (a) you bring Hedy to the foreground after being away, or (b) you toggle “Sync Recordings to iCloud” off and back on. There’s no visible retry button.

If a session has been “stuck” for a long time, bringing Hedy to the foreground on the source device usually triggers a retry.

Common Symptoms and Fixes

“Session is on my iPhone but missing on my Mac” Cloud Sync is likely off on one of them. Check both.

“Transcript is on both devices but I can’t play the audio on my Mac” That’s the iCloud audio sync, not Cloud Sync. Enable Sync Recordings to iCloud on both devices (Apple only).

“Older sessions didn’t appear after I turned Cloud Sync on” Cloud Sync only handles new sessions after it’s enabled. Older sessions stay on their original device.

“I’m getting ‘Cloud Sync Required’ when trying to use webhooks” Some advanced features (Webhooks, API, integrations) require Cloud Sync to be enabled. Turn it on in Settings.

“Sessions sync between two of my devices but not a third” The third device probably has Cloud Sync off, or is signed into a different account.

Why Cloud Sync Might Not Be Right for You

Cloud Sync uploads your session data to Hedy’s servers. If you have privacy or compliance requirements that prohibit cloud storage:

Keep Cloud Sync off — sessions stay local on the device where they were recorded
You can still use Hedy fully without Cloud Sync; you just lose multi-device access and a few cloud-dependent features (webhooks, API, some integrations)

See Understanding Cloud vs Local Storage for the full breakdown.

Recording and Managing Audio Sessions — iCloud Audio Sync details
Understanding Cloud vs Local Storage
Data Residency
Hedy Can’t Connect (VPN, Firewall, Corporate Network)

Still having trouble? Contact us with: which devices you’re trying to sync between, whether Cloud Sync is on on each, when the missing session was recorded, and any error message you’ve seen.