Why do I need to log in to restore attachments from a backup?

Attachments are encrypted with a sub-key derived from your account's data encryption key. Restoring them means decrypting them with that key and putting them back in your account — and while you are signed out, that key isn't available and there is no account to upload to.

What restores without an account, and what doesn't

In the backup	Restores while signed out?
Notes, notebooks, tags, colors and reminders	Yes
Attachments — images, files, audio, web clips	No, sign in first

If you restore while signed out, your notes come back but the files inside them stay unavailable until you log in and run the restore again.

::: tip Sign in before you restore The simplest order is: log in, let the first sync finish, then restore the backup. That way notes and attachments come back in one pass.

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Related pages

• Backup and restore — creating and restoring backups
• Attachments & files — managing the files in your notes
• How is my data encrypted? — the keys this page is talking about
• Why do I need to log in to upload attachments? — the same question, for new files