The last time I opened Obsidian from my iPad Pro (2023 iPadOS 16.6) I used an iCloud vault. Now, a day later, when I open Obsidian from the iPad, the message “Waiting for iCloud to synchronize Obsidian configuration files…” appears indefinitely. If I click the “Skip” button, it shows “Loading plugins” and then “Loading vault…”. But the vault doesn’t load.
I understand that there may be a problem with iCloud, but I do not detect any problems. The vault directory is visible in Files and is downloaded. Vault itself works fine from my MacBook Pro.
Let’s assume, however, that there is a problem with this vault, OK. What worries me is that Obsidian won’t let me switch vaults. Obsidian opens the last one that was opened and that’s it. It won’t let you open any other vaults.
Does anyone know if Obsidian can be started using another vault?
If you don’t have too many files and folders, open your vault in Files and look for any files that have a cloud icon next to them. If you find any, long-press and choose to download them.
If that’s not feasible or you don’t find anything (or just don’t feel like doing that), reboot your iPad.
If that doesn’t work, you could try turning Obsidian’s access to iCloud off and on again. To do that, go into your iPad’s Settings > Your name > iCloud > (Apps using iCloud) Show all and toggle off access for Obsidian. Then turn it back on.
To get Obsidian to open in a different vault, you might need to move the vault folder out of Obsidian’s iCloud folder. Make sure you have backups first. If you turn off your iPad’s internet access first, maybe you can prevent the movement from from affecting your other devices. If Obsidian lets you in, make a new local vault, then restart Obsidian to make sure it launches into that vault. After that you should be able to move your other vault back into Obsidian’s iCloud folder and turn the iPadks internet back on.
I hope something here helps (preferably one of the less annoying ones!).
I think it may be interesting to open a modal when starting Obsidian Mobile with a simple list of your available vaults. So, if a vault does not work, you can open another vault and continue working.
IMHO, iCloud + Obsidian is not a reliable option. I’m migrating to Git.