Mobile app keep reload after sync around 5K note

Help
1

I have created an automation to see all my Pieces Workstream Activity notes to Obsidian. So totally I have created around 5K markdown files. I do not have any issues in the Macbook app but last night I tried to sync all my notes to iOS app and now iOS app reload after every 5 seconds

It took so long, so I have decided to keep on my device and this morning I saw my Obsidian iOS app keep reload every 5 second. It just sync 4.3K notes and I cannot anything!

I am not sure what is wrong and I hope 4K note not too huge for Obsidian sync.

Update: Now it dropped every 2 seconds.
App open -> Loading plugins -> Loading cache -> Loading workspace -> 5 second
Then circle again the same

Using Obsidian Sync

Device: iPhone 12
iOS: 26.0.1
Obsidian: 1.9.14

2

I cannot do anything with my Obsidian in my mobile phone right now except delete and re-install.

Wanted to share a quick video here: ScreenRecording_10-20-2025 20-35-06_1 - TechSmith Screencast

Please let me know what is the issue

3

I believe some plugin is causing obsidian to consume too much memory and the OS kills it.

You can try disabling plugins on desktop and the create/connect the vault on the iphone.

4

Thank you for the response @WhiteNoise. I also hoped this is not Obsidian sync issue but

  1. I know you cannot check every plugin for each details but how we can know this? I am using around 50+ plugin and do I need to try all one by one?

  2. What about if any plugin I need to use?

5

First, I would try with no plugins. To determine if this is a plugin problem or not.
Mobile phones resources are more limited than desktop, the mobile OSes are also more aggressive in killing apps that use too much memory.
It’s possible that the plugin, or obsidian itself, is not doing anything wrong. it’s simply a matter of limitation of the phone.

If it is a plugin, you can try a divide and conquer strategy to identify it.

Obsidian 1.10.x will have a way (shake to debug) to disable plugins from within the app for emergencies like yours.

6

Hi @WhiteNoise, thanks again for pointing me in the right direction :folded_hands:
I wanted to share my step-by-step process in case it helps others:

  1. :white_check_mark: Removed the Obsidian app on iOS.
  2. :white_check_mark: Removed some plugins I rarely use and deleted a few suspicious ones on desktop:
    a. Smart Connection
    b. Copilot
  3. :white_check_mark: Re-installed 1.10.x via TestFlight to test the new “shake to debug” option.
  4. :white_check_mark: Amazed that all ~5K notes synced in less than 3 minutes (previously took hours).
  5. :white_check_mark: App performance was smooth, no crashes.
  6. :white_check_mark: Turned plugin sync back on to test after removing the above plugins.
  7. :warning: The app was faster, with only occasional reloads, but still laggy — switching between notes took several seconds.
  8. :warning: Saw an error: “Simple icons were not installed” from the Notebook Navigator plugin.
  9. :white_check_mark: Removed Notebook Navigator → app became much smoother, only slightly slower than with no plugins synced, but no reload loops at all.

At this point I’m not sure if the issue is caused entirely by Notebook Navigator, or just the icon package it depends on. I really like the plugin and don’t want to use Obsidian without it.

For now, I’ll likely turn off plugin sync and manage plugins separately on desktop and iOS. That seems like the best compromise until I find a workaround.

Thanks again for the help! :raising_hands: