Update : The App performance has been significantly improved & there are also a ton of other features which have been added. Check out the “What’s new” section for more details!!
Microsoft Whiteboard provides a freeform intelligent canvas where individuals & teams alike can ideate, create, and collaborate visually via the cloud. Designed for touch, type & pen, it lets you write or draw as smoothly as you would with ink, you can even type in text, add sticky notes or notes grid to express your ideas & use reactions to visually communicate your thoughts. It enhances teamwork by allowing all team members to edit the canvas in real time, no matter where they are. Get started quickly by inserting a pre-built template or draw your own flowchart using our expansive shapes library. No matter what your use case, we have the right set of tools for you and all your work stays safe in the cloud, ready to be picked back up from another location or device.
-- Create freely, work naturally – Microsoft Whiteboard provides an infinite canvas where imagination has room to grow: draw, type, add a sticky note or a notes grid, move them around – it’s all possible. The touch-first, pen-first interface frees your ideas from the keyboard, and the intelligent inking technology transforms your doodles into great-looking shapes and lines that can be copied, pasted and combined with other objects. Moreover, you can also, ink on your sticky notes & text boxes and magically see the ink get converted to text using Apple Scribble functionality (on iPads with Apple Pencil).
--Collaborate in real time, wherever you are— Microsoft Whiteboard brings every member of a team together working from their own devices across the globe. On the Whiteboard canvas, you can also see what your teammates are doing in real time and start collaborating on the same area. It’s about getting everyone on the same page – or board.
--Save automatically, resume seamlessly – Forget having to take photos of your whiteboards, or marking them with “Do Not Erase.” With Microsoft Whiteboard, your brainstorming sessions are saved automatically to the Microsoft cloud, so you can pick up where you left off, whenever – and wherever – inspiration strikes next.
What’s new:
• Improved App Performance & Reduction in crashes which has been a strong customer ask.
• Modern look and feel: 1. Streamlined user experience - an unobtrusive app UI maximizes your canvas space. 2. Creation gallery - a highly discoverable, simple way of finding and using objects and features in the application.
• Interactive content features: 3. 40+ customizable templates – get started quickly and collaborate, brainstorm, and ideate with brand new templates. 4. Shapes & Lines - Choose from an expansive library of shapes & lines to visually collaborate & ideate with your team members 5. Reactions - provide lightweight, contextual feedback with a set of fun reactions.
• Inking features: 6. Apple Scribble – Ink on text boxes & sticky notes and see your ink strokes magically convert to text (on iPads with Apple pencil) 7. Ink arrows – smoothly draw single and double-sided arrows using ink to better facilitate diagramming.
Dichiarazione di accessibilità: https://www.microsoft.com/it-it/accessibility/declarations
Microsoft Whiteboard App Comments & Reviews
POSITIVE REVIEWS
NEGATIVE REVIEWS
Microsoft Whiteboard Positive Reviews
EXACTLY What I WantedI draw on my iPad, and I wanted a very simple, yet functional space to keep my references in one place so that I could access them quickly and scribble on them if needed. There’s no ads to ignore, no subscriptions, no micro transactions. If I need to access the same resources on my computer, I can simply pull up the website. Being able to lock the images in place is helpful.
My only peeve so far is that when I undo an action, it automatically selects the last image I inserted, which is kind of distracting, but it doesn’t appear to change the locked setting, so it’s not a huge deal.
Also, the glitter pens? HUGE plus, lol. They’re so pretty!.AlymeboVersion: 20.10210.0
Whiteboard crashing on iPhone 13 every time I try to openI can’t open the app on my iPhone 13. It works fine on my iPad and I’ve had it on previous iPhones. Currently, it just won’t open on my phone. Acts like it’s trying to sync and populate an existing whiteboard from my O365 account, then it crashes before opening the board.
I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled several times to no avail.
The Whiteboard app, in general, has SO much potential if they would just invest a little more into it.
The fact that you can accidentally (or intentionally) delete a whiteboard and have no way of recovery is really a major flaw and has a frankly scared me away from using it. I would like to use it for ongoing, long term project planning and prioritizing, but the fear of losing all of my work in an instant is a major negative.
The fact that I could have one massive, continuous, and practically unlimited whiteboard surface is a brilliant concept, however.
It would also be great if you could “lock” whole sections of a board at once, but retain the ability to unlock them as well. Perhaps this is already available and I just haven’t figured it out yet.
Should also consider adding the ability to change font and font size, color, etc.
Basically take the whiteboard concept and add most of the OneNote functionalities.
Major potential for this app..M B KnoxvilleVersion: 22.10712.0.9055
So close to perfect, and yet one fatal flaw…I was looking for a good free infinite canvas app for ipad, and was reminded of microsoft whiteboard. i gave it a try and it was so nearly perfect; image imports, pressure sensitivity (which oddly enough apple’s new freeform app doesn’t have), change background color, grid lines, etc… but there is one fatal flaw: no apple pencil double-tap support, which is odd because there is such support in microsoft’s onenote app for ipad. perhaps i’m lazy, but the lack of that double-tap feature in this app actually kills my workflow in an app that’s meant for my ideas to flow freely. the double tap allows me to switch to my eraser and back without fussing with any menus, which is especially valuable given my adhd (aka less friction in a process makes things infinitely more likely to get done). so why did i give this 3 stars then, if it’s so close to perfect except for that one issue? because it’s so major that for me i’ve resorted to using onenote as an infinite canvas. i wanted to give it 4 stars, but it didn’t seem fitting given that i don’t use the app. microsoft, i plead and beg with you to fix this one compatibility issue. the whiteboard app is something i absolutely wanted to love and, if you do add double-tap compatibility, i will preach microsoft whiteboard from the mountaintops. it really is that close to perfect..Jazzy the disappointedVersion: 22.11028.0.9070
Missing Basic ToolsThis app has a great opportunity to be a great teaching, office work, and most importantly work from home tool! But there are things that you could call creature comforts that in this day and age should be included as a base app support. I’m talking Apple Pencil (1st and 2nd gen) support, left handed support (please please please as a left handed user its very hard to write/draw when it detects input from my hand as I’m trying to write), and I think smarter selection support should be included.
For Apple Pencil support, you have the basic drawing support, but for Gen 2 pencils it lacks double tap on the pencil’s flat side to change to a previous tool or eraser tool which would be awesome to have.
Left handed support is a basic need. Add it as a setting to toggle on and implement. Otherwise you just infuriate people like myself who are left handed and can’t draw or write without jumping around on the screen or leaving random lines about.
On apps like Notability, selection is very easy, you just draw around an object, if you just get part of a line/photo/box etc it is considered selected. Here you have to get the entire object to select it which is fine, but is a tad bit annoying and makes you have to go slow to get everything included you want to select. Maybe have the option for both and include it as a setting to toggle on/off..Midian_BreachVersion: 20.10309.0
Good for a free app, could be better.First up, I have not tried all the bells and whistles of the app.
The way I use it is, I start a call in Zoom/Teams, do share screen and then switch to this app to teach my students. The interaction is one way as in I can write on the screen while they cannot but it does not matter as most of them do the call from a desktop/laptop and in a traditional class the students do not write on the blackboard.
I wish Microsoft would add this app as a feature on Microsoft Teams, that way the app switching will not be necessary and it would be possible to move beyond the paradigm of traditional class. Another wish is to have dark mode with appropriately colored pens as having a white screen for a couple of hours can get a touch tiring..HrpanjwaniVersion: 21.10726.0.5744
Really helpful for schoolwork!I was looking through the App Store trying to find a decent drawing board app, and eventually found this one! It helps soooo much, especially when I’m doing physics or calculus homework. ☺️
However, an amazing feature you might want to consider: locking the screen in place. I don’t know how many times the screen just zooms in or out or just completely goes somewhere else on the board since I write with my hand laying on the tablet (it’s easier for me to write that way, rather then my hand floating above the tablet as I write). But locking the screen in place would help immensely! 😄.Marcy_QueenVersion: 1.19101281
Great free app butThere are some issues. If you have a iPad Pro with the high refresh screens it doesn’t take advantage of those, does not support gesture support on the Apple Pencil generation 2. Otherwise it is easily one of the best infinite whiteboard type apps imo and has PC/Mac support so you can easily change platform and have access to your notes. Great for individuals in med school if you need to draw out pathways or think about concepts. Some improvements such as pencil 2 gesture support, ability to add more pens on the tool bar, 120 hz refresh support, better latency support when zooming and zooming out like OneNote and this could easily be the best infinite cavas type app on the App Store..AN-94 BF3Version: 22.11028.0.9070
Great for DnD PlanningFor most of my life, I have been a loyal OneNote user, but since I lost my laptop, I’ve needed a new note taking and planning software for DnD planning on the go, and i cant take my desktop with me. I tried Google Jamboard, which I thought was ok on computer, but was absolutely terrible on phone! But then I discovered Microsoft Whiteboard, and then everything changed. Tons of templates for everything you could need, outlines for everything, it’s incredible. And it works (almost) as well on phone!.Yes please, señerVersion: 22.10922.0.9062
Fix this issues to make a flow less experience1. I just installed this app on my windows and iphone and i could say I absolutely love it but there are some issues which i prefer to be fix as soon as possible such as:
1.if you wish to select something with lasso you need to take all the object at once but in some apps you could just make a quick circle around a little part of object and it will considered as selected.
2. I really need to change the aspects of sticky notes instead of just keeping it as a big or little square like if I need to make a mind node , i prefer to put a little rectangular
3. I’m Persian so I really wish to see language support (I mean when im using to write at both languages ENG & PER in one line it will be a total mess!!)
4. And some new extra features such as changing the color of your shapes which you just draw , giving some of the shapes a fixed separate background color instead of highlighting it)
5. And please add left hand support , please please please remove stacking highlights!.NavidabasiVersion: 20.10420.0.5074
A few bugsLove the app, visuals are great and definitely a good app compared to others, but there’s a 4 things, kind-of-not-really bugs that I wanted to point out.
1) I don’t know whether this is just my iPad being my iPad, but the app is a tad slow. Like, I’ll draw something and the stroke is a little laggy, or I scroll down and it’s choppy.
2) (edited) The stylus thing is working fine now, there was some weird problem with my old iPad and stylus. Anyways, new #2: the app crashes every now and then. Sometimes it takes away some of the notes I was writing.
3) When I zoom in or out, the paper, no matter what background I’m using, turns to graph and it’s kind of discombobulating.
4) The spaces/squares when I use variations of graph paper or dotted always stay the same size even if I zoom in, and it kind of gets rid of the concept of zooming in in those cases.
Most of these don’t bother me at all, but if the app crashing problem could be fixed, that would be great..A fellow living organismVersion: 21.10601.0.5694
Good features, one flawAs a teacher, I was looking for a whiteboard app to use on my iPad so I can eliminate my dependency on dry erase markers and stick with the Apple Pencil instead. Having used Microsoft apps before and being happy, Microsoft Whiteboard was the first one that I installed. Overall, I like it and find the features useful, but there is one major problem that prevents me from incorporating this into my classroom. When I use my Apple Pencil to draw, there is noticeable latency and the lines I draw are not exactly what I did with my Pencil. If this can be fixed, I will definitely use this app regularly..Squilliam_RVersion: 21.11118.0.9025
Unusable on iPhoneI want to love this app. It works great on my iPad; however, when I try to work with the same whiteboard on my iPhone, it keep showing a pop-up “Loading board content…”. This occurs if I simple tap on the board. I can do some things like resize and edit, but that annoying pop-up keeps it from being useful. Also, there is no option in the app to specify that I only want to use the Apple Pencil. I want the option to not use my fingers - only the Apple Pencil for the iPad..OracleJavaNetVersion: 22.10801.0.9061
Touch/Write IssuesIt would seem there is work to do on the IOS app from the product team. The touch and write capabilities when using the app on an iPad mini is not what I would expect from a mature Microsoft product. The app locks up regularly and requires frequent relaunch to get pen capabilities back. Product team feel free to reach out for further details..Gus-busesVersion: 21.11212.0.9036
Feature Parity**UPDATE**
The jumpiness from switching pens has FINALLY been addressed! Hence the revised rating. However, a new bug I’ve found is when I’m on my iPad and I try to insert a document onto the whiteboard, it places a placeholder for the document, but the document doesn’t display. Hopefully Microsoft will read this and make the fix!
*****************************************************************
There needs to be more seamless connection and experience when transitioning between different devices. Right now, it’s too fragmented, but has great potential. There’s been a long standing bug that causes the screen to jump to a different part of the canvas when I’m switching pens or resting my palm back down on the display. It’s so irritating that I gave up using it because I couldn’t quickly pick up my iPad and just write my students’ next set of instructions. I’ll change my review when (and if) this gets fixed…..Zach31Version: 22.10712.0.9055
Great idea, ok executionThe idea behind this app is great. I love to rewrite my notes on my iPad. I make concept maps by hand and save them as PDFs. I used to use another app but gave whiteboard a try. It has great lag with the Apple Pencil, and the app itself horrible lags when you zoom in and out into a big canvas. The lasso and move tool is gravely inaccurate and unpredictable . You go to select a portion to move it and when you swipe your finger to move it it won’t budge. The highlighter could be improved by adding color options and size. I really want to stay with this app as it has potential, but If they don’t update it soon with good changes I might abandon it..CalexgoVersion: 1.19101281
So quirky but also best free toolBeen scouting plenty of times for a good tool to jot ideas down. This is the closest thing to such a thing but it’s better used on pc. There are some quirky situations where it couldn't detect my intentions of selecting objects and moves the grid but i wanted to resize my text. It’s close. Imagine if they actually funded their projects. I’ll give them credit it’s better than Google’s draw and yet their corp has too much money to do what again? I wish this app is a bit more usable instead of struggling like their pc version..Artie chuVersion: 24.10103.0.9116
Freezes too much, too sensitive to the hard pressThis app keeps freezing too much on me, and when I use the Apple Pencil, it keeps switching to hard press mode which changes the input mode from drying to moving around and selecting. It is really annoying and I have to keep switching back to drum mode but I keep switching back as I try and draw because it reads that I’m pushing too hard, despite how much I try and press softly. This is way too annoying.
Needs to change to long hard press without motion..Iamthemagicman_12Version: 21.10405.0.5651
Wasting timeSometimes the app does not save. For instance, I swipe out of the app to copy a picture or find a document I want to paste on the white whiteboard. I come back to the whiteboard to paste all is fine. Until I click the home button and come back to the whiteboard later and find that my precious work did not save! How can this not save in the background?! Microsoft product, really?? How is this so hard for a billion dollar company to figure out??.AdstravVersion: 22.10208.0.9044
Lots of Potential but Needs WorkThere are many apps like this one, in one form or another. What drives me batty is laggy performance, jagged handwriting and illustration. I can understand it on older devices, but it shouldn’t be this way on reasonably newer ones and with a Pencil. If an app’s handwriting is laggy and jaggy, it gets tossed aside. There’s no excuse. That said, the app has potential. By the way, One Note’s handwriting was awful for a long time. It’s better now but not as good as it could be. Handwriting quality is such a large part of the user experience and satisfaction, why scrimp on it?.DlangendorfVersion: 1.1811105
Good but could easily be greatThe ability to edit on the iPad and see live changes on a browser or different devices is awesome. But the iPad app stops working if you lose internet connectivity. So even if you just want to see a previous whiteboard, you can’t. The writing could be more crisp for readability, too. Apple’s Freeform and even OneNote are a good examples of how it could be if you’re using an iPad. And it’d be much more intuitive if double tapping the pencil changed the pen to the eraser (like in OneNote)..Mbull01Version: 24.10729.0.9130
Awesome!This app works great for sketching down ideas.
• There’s a major bug in the app that I encountered. Once in awhile when I try to draw, the bottom dock menu keeps switching back to where I cannot draw. I tried switching it back so that I could draw, but it keeps switching back to the default menu where the cut & paste is located at. As a result, I cannot draw on the board due to the menu switching..Mi had Powell.Version: 19.10701.0.3
Great tool but poor aesthetic optionsI’m really enjoying the Whiteboard app because it’s inside the 365 ecosystem of products, but it lacks options to make it look aesthetically pleasing. I like to use this for brainstorming and presenting concepts to my team, but it’s time consuming to make it look reasonable. It would rank higher to me if it had more formatting options or if i could create custom templates to reuse..Elrod 68Version: 22.10201.0.9040
Please fix the ios app!It has been a reliable online board that I could upload a pdf and write on it without issues. Then the update rolled out and it all crashed! Now it doesn’t open boards on iOS devices! I understand that this is a free app but it used to work great before all this unnecessary updates! Us teachers don’t need stupid smiley faces we need a simple reliable product which this board was before it got “fancy update”.Jane-chickVersion: 22.10712.0.9055
Lacking in every wayIf you have been on the search to find a good place to throw your ideas and brainstorm new and exciting thoughts to life, you should bring out your wallet and buy procreate. I legitimately was expecting a decent experience, but i was disappointed within the first 5 minutes of using this app, and here are the main reasons why.
1) Display Latency
2) Cannot rotate whiteboard, i needed to move my whole device
3) Couldn’t change opacity on pens
I knowingly got this app expecting a whiteboard, but granted, if i had these things fixed/implemented i would be satisfied. If these are not a bother to you then feel free. I expect some people to use this even for note taking. But really, procreate can do this and so, so much more. You don’t have to an artist to throw ideas around in an artists app:).Spf2313Version: 20.10309.0
Decent, but could be betterI definitely like where MS is going with this app, and it’s one of the better “collaborative whiteboard” solutions for sure.
But I have one main pet peeve, and that is an inability to “lock” the board in place. I use it a lot with my Apple Pencil, but even though it rejects my palm from making markings on the board, it frequently interprets my palm as moving the board around. I wish there was an option to lock the board in place so that the canvas wouldn’t accidentally get moved around..FyreousVersion: 1.19104223
Moving ToolbarIs there a way to move the toolbar from the bottom of the screen? Inadvertently, buttons get pressed as you rest your wrist when writing with Apple Pencil.
Ideally there would be a way to move the toolbar to the side or top of screen..SunnyD_123Version: 1.19101281
No Pixel eraseThe old version had either pixel erase or stroke erase. The new version has no pixel erase!! Even the update created yesterday has not added pixel erase back in… its such a small feature but super important while sketching.Bring back pixel eraseVersion: 21.11115.0.9023
Good lightweight app. But needs improvement.This app is pretty good. My drawings and sketches get easily synced and uploaded to my Microsoft account and accessible from my pc. It is fairly lightweight and easy to use.
However, the app needs to integrate apple pencil well. It needs to include double tap gesture to change to eraser and back to pen. Also it needs to have gestures for quick undos and redos..Rayhades050Version: 22.10208.0.9044
Some tweaks neededI’ve enjoyed whiteboard, with a few caveats. The “copy link” doesn’t work from the iOS app, which is annoying. And some tooltips would be helpful, as I don’t understand all buttons and what they do. For instance, I use an Apple Pencil, and when adding shapes, the little menu for the shape has a pen button. My assumption was that this would allow me to write in the shape - but no. So what is the pen button in the shape menu? I still don’t know..Da_kneeVersion: 24.10103.0.9116
Best whiteboard app, but doesn’t work offlineIt’s the best whiteboard app I’ve used, but it doesn’t work offline. Microsoft, please add offline support so I can use it while studying on the subway!.Tim C VIIIVersion: 24.10729.0.9130
Incorporate a grid/ alignment tool to keep white board symmetrical for us OCD fiends plsThank you.LilmonstazdadVersion: 22.10712.0.9055
EpicJust a white bird.Ima touch youVersion: 24.10103.0.9116
Love customizationIn the next ver you could please add more colors lol.Life day😺Version: 24.10103.0.9116
Love itIt is easy to use and has everything you want.OtmannaserVersion: 24.10103.0.9116
Very FinickyIt’s great when it works as expected but it almost never does. Lots of errors, unsaved changes, frozen screens.MoshimehvVersion: 23.11204.0.9111
Excited to use it but keeps crashingI’m on an iPhone 13 mini.MshabzVersion: 23.10529.0.9099
Finally, as a Creative CEO……I can communicate things easily and effectively without scribbling a cocktail napkin! I have no technical skill at all and this is a game changer for me..Ambusch1Version: 23.10117.0.9071
Very good for brain stormingI will give 5 stars if it’s available for personal account. I have to use Freeform meanwhile..Happy guy17573926Version: 23.10117.0.9071
It’s awesomeI just downloaded Microsofwhitebow and it is so good.EmithedogVersion: 22.10922.0.9062
Working like it used toStopped using the app when it changed to mirror the web based version as one major draw back was they removed the pixel /small eraser. Opening the app today and noticed there is now an option to have the small eraser or entire stroke. I’ve missed using the app and looking forward to working on my boards again!.Fix-this_featureVersion: 22.10406.0.9050
Why isn’t this five stars?!This app is EXACTLY everything it should be. The perfect digital whiteboard! What did people expect, procreate? This is my new favourite app. I used to use physical whiteboards on a daily basis but they are obviously quite cumbersome. You can collaborate on here. I am so amped about this, thank you so much Microsoft! I am on an iPad Pro using the Apple Pencil. There are no bugs at all, not sure what other reviewers are talking about..Ptrck7Version: 20.10601.1.5253
Nice idea, average implementationThe whiteboard is simple and functional. Most favourite feature is the infinite canvas. Biggest default: palm rejection is very bad on ipad (only with this specific app). Other thing missing is a button for shapes..AquaeDualVersion: 21.10823.1.5770
Lots of freezesThe app freezes a lot when I am trying to write notes for school I have the most recent updated version but it constantly freezes.KittenDeath14Version: 20.11020.1.5506
Easier to write in OneNote but not this oneThe response time to Apple Pencil is slow. iPad version of oneNote have no problem like this...
How come this one is so bad and the other Microsoft app is useful lol.KojikojirjbbVersion: 20.10824.0.5403
Pretty basic appHas simple drawing tools, very similar to Apple’s Notes app..Alexandra 🫧Version: 20.10420.1.5102
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Microsoft Whiteboard Negative Reviews
Total buggy mess on iPadA friend recommended this to me (he is on pc) and while it’s simple, that’s better for simple note taking and I really liked the tools and workflow of the interface. However, the app has become unusable for me.
I ran into lots of little (but still annoying bugs) like: when changing pen stroke size, you cannot increment by 1 number or it just rebounds back to the original setting. E.g. you cannot change it from 3 -> 4, you would have to do something like 3 -> 1 -> 4. Another example: in the ink color options card, the last two options show the incorrect icon (you can see the correct one for a fraction of second, then they change to incorrect icons). One final example: my board would just randomly refresh even when I wasn’t touching the screen (and it had only been idle a few seconds). Side note: “Loading board content” is just slow enough to be annoying when flicking between boards. Can it not do a checksum against the server and then load a local copy of the board?
The deal breaker was after a few hours of taking notes during class while dealing with the building frustration, it randomly tried to refresh the board and never recovered. Now I cannot open the board even after deleting/reinstalling the app. It will “load board content” for a while, show the board for a second, then start loading again - indefinitely.
I’m told it works great on PC, my friends love it..Mr.White477Version: 22.10801.0.9061
Dumpster Fire - Lacks basics - Anti-productiveThis app has serious usability issues.. it’s great MS decided to make a white board.. but c’mon - no spell check, no fonts or sizing, no text color, no changing shape colors, templates are not adjustable… so so so many basic and simple functionality missing.
Want to edit the text in that box? Try 10 different steps on iPad… horrible usability and work flow… double-click.. does NOTHING! Microsoft, you need to sit down with anyone and watch them attempt to use this app and you will have 100 major defects and improvements to make in 10 minutes..
So frustrating that we find instead of concentrating and putting our time on the work, we struggle to use the app, argue, get confused and drift off into what a poor app experience this is… it’s the ultimate distraction from making tangible work progress..Kring101Version: 22.10922.0.9062
Horrible update, huge step backwardsI was excited for the new whiteboard since it has been the best of all whiteboard apps on iPad. Unfortunately, the new update missed its mark. I use the whiteboard with a dark background, and now there is a bright white border along the top that I can’t get rid of (instead of the whiteboard area simply being full screen). On top of that, the eraser no longer “dynamically” erases strokes, it erases full lines at a time, which is a HUGE problem. Another problem is that sometimes when selecting a tool, I am unable to draw with it until I perform some magic steps to get it working again. Lastly, there is still no double tap support for Apple Pencil. Until these things are fixed, looks like I’m back to searching for a new whiteboard app that is functional and doesn’t require a subscription service to use..Elentrepreneur123Version: 21.11008.0.9018
Great idea, poor executionI really wanted to love this app. The idea is great, and I love that there no page boundaries while writing as there are in other writing apps I use. However I found several issues with this app.
1) The lag time while writing is HORRIBLE.
2) It is full of unexplained glitches. I would be writing on top of a drawing, and sometimes the writing would get sent behind the drawing (making it unreadable) and sometimes wouldn’t with no explanation or way to bring it to the “front.” This was extremely frustrating and cumbersome. Every time I hit the “undo” button, the screen jumped around. It is also hypersensitive to touch while resting your hand on the iPad while writing.
3) There is no way to enlarge your entire drawing, which was a bad surprise when I exported my work and saw that my writing was too small.
4) The app repeatedly kept logging me out while I was working. Further, the sharing function seems not to work properly, as I was unable to share it with my friend to collaborate even though she has a whiteboard account.
I would not recommend this app. The pros do not outweigh the many flaws and frustrations..EmangusoVersion: 19.11021.0
Great idea, borderline unusable collaborationLove the idea, the sticky note lists, templates, and google docs style collaboration are killer features. BUT, the implementation is HORRIBLE. I did a 4 person collab session. One person took 15 minutes to get logged in (for some reason you have to install the Microsoft Auth app but you don’t even need to open it???). People kept getting disconnected. The app crashes every time I accidentally double tap my Apple Pencil gen 2 (the eraser function). The lag is unbelievable, getting so bad at points that ink shows up a second after you draw. Panning around the art board is choppy. The smart grouping makes it impossible to select individual items. Filled with inconsistent UX (example: shapes work different than drawings so eraser won’t effect them)..DevalexwhiteVersion: 20.10630.0.5323
Horrible updateBefore the new update the app used to be very useful for online teaching. I don’t understand how Microsoft turned very useful and powerful app into a useless one. The app no longer permit copy/paste. The app very slow and crash several times in the middle of the class. Every time it crash I have to reset the pens. No longer you can add pictures. It has so many problems to synch between my different devices. Whiteboard is not accessible if not connected to the internet even if you don’t want to be live on the net. Many others issues such the ruler and the different choices of pens also gone. I wish I could revert to the older version. I have no choice but to switch to another app. Very disappointing Microsoft 👎👎👎.Waah95Version: 21.11026.0.9020
So much potential...... but still not ready for prime time. After the latest update that included “stability improvements,” I can’t use this app for longer than 2 minutes (not an exaggeration) before it either crashes or freezes and needs to be restarted. That’s not to say it was much better before. I’m using an iPad pro 3 - a pretty powerful device, but still experiencing freezing and crashing.
The export to OneNote feature always freezes at some point and requires a restart - I’m not sure if it sends as PDF, SVG or link to OneNote because I’ve never been able to complete the process.
The export to Teams feature will export then freeze and require restart. That shares a link to web version of whiteboard.
Web version of whiteboard only allows for inking and viewing... doesn’t even support typing which is a little weird to me.
When I can use the app, the templates are really cool, the inking works well (as good as OneNote) and I really love the idea of the collaboration features. Unfortunately I can’t use this at all with colleagues because the experience is pretty awful at the moment..Josey4628Version: 20.10127.0
Cool new features but hand recognition is still brokenThe new stuff is great, but until the hand recognition is fixed, it is unusable. Please fix this in the next release. It was working great until the release before this current one. Not sure what happened or how it was missed in regression testing but please fix it.
Update: I figured out what’s causing the issues with handwriting. The page zoom controls in landscape mode are directly under your palm for right-handed users. It’s recognizing and zooming as you draw, causing a lot of the issues. Can this be either relocated to the top of the page, or user-positionable? Either solution would restore the usefulness of this app!.TraingamerVersion: 22.10712.0.9055
Save yourself the headacheI only gave it 2 stars because I wanted to love it. This app is possibly the most glitchy and frustrating app I’ve ever used. Impossible to write on because the tool bar at the bottom (which can’t be moved or minimized) constantly picks up anything you even slightly touch while writing, constantly jumping around the screen, zooming out, or moving things white you’re just trying to write. Not to mention the fact that it freezes every 8 minutes, requiring you to close out of the app to unfreeze it. Took me about 3x as long to finish my project as it should have. Would not recommend to anyone. I’m now looking for a different app to replace this one..Dgvft6Version: 21.10913.0.5785
Decent StartThe app is decent enough. It feels a lot like a barebones version of OneNote’s drawing mode.
However, it also feels a lot like a barebones version of OneNote’s drawing mode. Yes, I meant to say that twice.
It features the same basic tools as OneNote, but it lacks any of the pen customizations:
• Ink/Stroke Thickness
• Ink Color
These may sound like simple and unimportant features, but they really do improve the drawing; writing experience, much like bolds and italics do in type.
They way it organizes whiteboards on the home page is nice, but it feels a bit barebones, both in style and in animation. Opening and closing whiteboards is a bit jarring as there is no UI animation for on/off-boarding the user from the whiteboard. A simple “zoom” animation would suffice for this purpose; and a simple, subtle lighting effect on the background of the home page would add more depth without being gaudy or too skeuomorphic. Mild rounding of the whiteboard corners would be nice as well.
In all, it’s the little things that count. This has potential, not only for business use, but personal use as well, as an idea-board and brainstorming utility..MisutaaUrufuVersion: 1.1811022.2
Be careful with this one, may lose your workWhen it works, it’s actually decent I guess. But! I spent a couple days working on a page- sometime in the middle I got a sync error but figured “it’s Microsoft, when it can sync again it’ll just take these offline changes and publish them” today I opened up the app to find a super early version of what I was working on. It sounds like this app doesn’t save offline changes to sync up- it’s just whatever it has in memory so if you have a sync issue you’ll probably have to keep the app open until it resolves. This behavior is unacceptable, and I’m uninstalling right after I hit send on this review..LuckyRome7Version: 22.11028.0.9070
Extremely glitchy and no option to export high quality graphicsI tried… I tried to make this at work and give Microsoft another chance. But as usual they failed, offering an extremely glitchy application, and no ability to export my whiteboards to a vector format so they are all very low quality pictures. Don’t waste your time, instead pay for a really good app like GoodNotes 5. I wish I would’ve found that out before. Note I do not work for GoodNotes five I am just telling you that after probably 12 to 15 hours of work on the free Whiteboard app, I finally gave up because I was having toRestart the app so many times and I cannot export to a good format. I finally pulled the trigger and bought good notes five and it is excellent should have done that from the start..JcaprinoVersion: 20.10601.1.5253
Great Features, Poor StabilityI really like this app. Has the features I need and is simple and easy to use. But I cannot recommend it on iOS. It’s constantly crashing for me. I’ve waited for updates with hopes it would fix the issues. But I usually have to open it, wait for the first crash/lockup, force close, reopen go into note I want to edit, wait for it to crash/lockup again, reopen and have about 30 minutes or so of use then it will crash and lock up again. Reinstalled, resign in etc etc, all the normal app troubleshooting provides no meaningful results. I still hobble through it because I really like the app and having it sync with my work O365 account makes it easy to remotely collaborate. Shame it’s doesn’t run reliably..Aceman1991Version: 20.10210.0
Overhauled with less features and worse performanceMicrosoft has been on a role with nuking their product line, making their apps less and less usable with each iteration.
This app happened to appear next on the chopping block.
I used this app for tutoring because it was light weight, simple, and I could later export the final product as an SVG.
All three reasons I use the app no longer apply.
They removed the export the SVG functionality in favor of PNG, a format with worse quality and higher data consumption.
They have made the application an always online app, which increases power consumption of the app and thus no longer makes it light weight.
They made the app contain more note taking feature and changed how writing works, making working with the app more convoluted than it was previously. Meaning the app is no longer very simple to use.
I honestly don’t know why people just don’t use OneNote at this point, another app in the Microsoft suit of products. It is basically just the same app just stripped down and some how worse..Gray JackelVersion: 22.10801.0.9061
Awful in every wayThis requires you to log into a Microsoft account to even use the app, it says you need to log in to share information about you with Microsoft. I don’t want to share anything about me with Microsoft, not even debugging info about the app, which is not the only thing they are uploading about you from your device.
Then the app itself simply does not work. Every time I load it there are errors. Errors about connecting to Microsoft, waiting for stuff to download from Microsoft, things look like they’re waiting to download, but the app is basically hung.
I don’t even like Microsoft and their mostly awful software. But how bad this is surprises even me..FreesausagesVersion: 23.10529.0.9099
Very very poor palm detectionWhen using Apple Pencil, if any part of my palm touches the screen, it detects both my palm and pencil as my fingers. Then when I try to write something, it thinks that its a zoom or the whole page moves. It’s almost impossible to write anything on this app.
I’ve seen many posts about this issue which have been open for many years but seems like there’s no solution yet. I had to download other Apps just to overcome this issue. I bought an Office 365 account mainly for Whiteboard and OneNote but drawing mode on both apps are pathetic. I’m regretting getting Office 365 now.
This is the kind of thing that pushes people to move away from your ecosystem. FIX THIS MICROSOFT !!.TheHarinatorVersion: 21.11212.0.9036
Great app if palm rejection on iPad with Apple Pencil works properlyI was so glad when I found this app, it is what I was looking for to record what I learnt and share it with others. However, right after starting using the app, I started to run into problems with the app while using the Apple Pencil. My iPad is the 11” Pro 2018.
1/ The app is super laggy! I would love to use it more if this UX issue is fixed.
2/ The app keeps interacting with my palm and zoom in, zoom out, moving the canvas around without me intentionally doing so. I never encountered the same issue with other apps like Notes (Apple), GoodNotes or even iBook. Searching the Internet, I found that people have been reporting the same issues above since 2018. I am not sure why they have not been fixed until now. At the moment, the app is still usable if you have patience, but the experience is horrible! It could be so much better..Ben HaisonVersion: 21.10628.0.5709
:cI see so many people in the reviews using this for art so I tried it AND ITS TERRIBLE FOR ART!! Like first of all what you need to do for drawing is move the camera clockwise and counterclockwise for those perfect shapes or cute sketches second: when I’m using the pen I can zoom in or out I can’t go back or erase and it’s very confusing and I think you should fix these problems. I know you probably don’t care what I say because you people probably think “oh look at this little kid” and that’s fine think what you want I’m just saying for artists I would use this a lot if it had these things and if you still don’t care and you read all of this then sorry for wasting your time..Hayden070707Version: 20.10420.2.5136
Doesn’t SaveSpent about 3hours today writing down notes I’ve been meaning to make for quite a while. Then I went to work and come back and nothing I SAVED is there anymore, and everything is scrambled. I capitalize “save” because I hit the save button on everything. Even went to the home icon and tapped into another file. Everything was still there before I left for work. Both of them are distorted now and have no texts from what I saved before, which is really frustrating considering that was 3hours of brainstorming. Wish there was a way to recover it. 🙄.NymphaeaceaeXVersion: 22.10406.0.9050
Worst app ever from microsoftThis app does not function correctly on mobile devices due to the free ability to scroll around the white board without holding 2 fingers down so in that case the program is having a hard time determining whether we want to move an item on whiteboard or scroll around on the whiteboard in view so default it does the scroll view option so doing any editing after placed is near to impossible. I deleted the app cause microsoft is known to not fix things instantly maybe i will come back in a year or 2.Shaggyz_5150Version: 24.10729.0.9130
Awful on iPadI’ve used Microsoft Whiteboard extensively on both PC and Mac, and bought a drawing tablet specifically for it. It was simple but did not feel barebones, and it just WORKED - truly a hidden gem in the Microsoft application space.
Skip the iPad version. It is hilariously bad, quite literally the laziest port I’ve ever experienced. Did this really get signed off by the Product Owners? Did anyone actually test this on an actual iPad before pushing out to release? Do you guys even have QA anymore or do they just run a couple scripts and call it a day?
Get your act together, Microsoft..MichienessVersion: 22.11028.0.9070
Was useful, now broken and frustratingPre Summer 2021 this app was a fantastic replacement for using a whiteboard during hybrid lectures. The interface was responsive, and intuitive with an Apple Pencil, I could easily save my work, and the heel of my hand placed on the screen did not immediately recenter the document, causing a disruption in the flow of writing. Current iteration has far few features, save was only recently fixed months later, and is unstable (loses whiteboards randomly). As of Jan 2022 cannot recommend..Dev/nullVersion: 21.11212.0.9036
Typical MicrosoftI saw the featured app in the App Store & considering it was Microsoft it actually looked really cool.
Downloaded & opened the app , then the small minded developers decided they knew a way to antagonize people that do not want a Microsoft account & no I don’t wish to create one !! Offer general email signup which I always prefer then you will have & get more customers, until then it’s been deleted off my phone.....
Shame I was actually looking forward to using it !!
I gave it 2 stars only because I think it’s probably quite good but then I doubt I will ever know..Rarely ReportVersion: 20.10309.0
So, So Close, but Critical BugI have been trying to find a good Whiteboard/brainstorming app, and I thought I’d found it with this one. It came SO close to having all the features I want. But lacking the one or two things I really wanted isn’t the problem, I was okay with working around them.
The critical problem is I’ll spend an hour working on a project, then exit when I’m done, only to find most of my work from the last hour hasn’t been saved.
Kinda a big problem..JmilusVersion: 22.10628.0.9054
Constantly crashes - unable to access workThe app has the right idea. The problem is that it constantly crashes and is unable to load notes. I entered in 6 notes and now able unable to access that board. While I was entering those notes the app kept crashing also. I have an iPhone 11 and am running the latest iOS. I really wish it worked because it is exactly what I need to organize my ideas. But as it stand the app it worthless since it cannot maintain a connection with the server..ElfmangVersion: 22.10801.0.9061
FreezesWithin a couple of minutes it froze right away. Not impressed since this is a Microsoft app..SNJ1992837465Version: 19.11125.0
Missing feature1. Used to recognize palm rest. No longer works. Makes it very difficult to sketch or write now.
2. Used to have a ruler. Gone!
3. Double tapping the pencil would switch to erasure before. No longer working..Blue5647364Version: 21.11026.0.9020
New version drops ruler. Sucks nowStill have issues on iPad where it freezes. New version dropped the ruler. Sucks now without it.Rom CGYVersion: 21.11008.0.9018
Buggy and needs to get on par with Windows versionBackground images on a whiteboard come through pixelated, despite being high res in the Windows app. Crashes now and then and not too smooth with zoom/moving around a whiteboard. Needs some work before really becoming useful on the iPad Pro..Dan EngbersVersion: 20.10922.0.5431
Good app but lags too muchNice app with nice options but it lags constantly. I have my class notes on it and I had trouble revising my exams cuz the app kept lagging.Utilisateur du canadaVersion: 24.10729.0.9130
DisappointingOI generally like MS products but Whiteboard is difficult to work with. I found manipulating shapes near impossible. Moving, deleting or re-sizing a basic arrow was nearly impossible. Overall, it was a disappointment and frustrating. I have abandoned it..Grumpy90210Version: 24.10103.0.9116
Inking is stickyOnly on apple devices I have noticed. When your using the pen to ink, the ink is sticky meaning it doesn’t stay put. Imagine your writing the letter w, it has 5 points of movement from start to end. The ink will not register each point, it will slope the and stick to the pen as it changes direction. This problem is not in apples Freeform or whiteboard on windows..ApapnejaVersion: 23.11204.0.9111
No offline useI was trying to use in the classroom and the schools internet was not stable. It disconnected every 30 seconds. You can not use this while using your iPads wifi to connect to an external display either. This is only usable with a stable internet connection..Metal movementVersion: 23.10927.0.9107
Deletes work in progressWill randomly delete my work when I leave a file and return. Do not trust with important work or assignments!.Ezzy BusyVersion: 23.10117.0.9071
ErrorNothing but sign in issues and error messages. Owned it for over a year. App will not open...The sturdyVersion: 22.11028.0.9070
Can’t open files from OneDrive on MobileWhen trying to open a .whiteboard file from OneDrive on mobile (iOS), there is no file association to open with the Whiteboard app, so the file never opens. Makes it pointless now that whiteboard saves to OneDrive..LofgrebVersion: 22.10922.0.9062
Lost all my notesSpent all day working on a the app, closed my iPad and when I opened it everything was gone. Lots of bugs, tried to write and it kept making arrows..Rhello1435Version: 22.10922.0.9062
Doesn’t work on iPadI was very surprised to see Microsoft building such a crapy app. This app doesn’t work on an enterprise iPad(SSO). And there is no Mac app.
Don’t waste your time. Be careful you might loose your work and rework somewhere else. I took screenshots and moved my stuff to Miro..Ani.....Version: 22.10801.0.9061
Doesn’t workI used this app daily until iOS 15.6.1
Now it doesn’t open any of my saved boards; just flashes loading screens that keep trying but fail. I’m using an iPhone 13, so I’m not sure what the issue is? Deleted app and reinstalled…. Same issue persists. Any ideas?.Tru VoordwireVersion: 22.10801.0.9061
Not impressed. Terrible palm rejection when using pen, can’t erase individual line segments.I whiteboard regularly for work and was provided an iPad plus pen at my last job to enable remote whiteboard collaboration. I enjoyed the experience and when I changed job, I bought another iPad + Pen to continue the experience. The new whiteboard app replaced the old one and turned it into a terrible experience.
The palm rejection, which works fine in OneNote or Concepts, doesn’t work in whiteboard, it’s unusable with a pen. The screen jumps around anytime I lift my pen from the screen. The eraser is useless as it only erases whole line ‘objects’ not individual segments. Overall, the whole experience of the new app is a significant step back from the old system..Deus_CaelumVersion: 22.10406.0.9050
Horrible.Horrible, that's the word I'd use. No proper palm rejection, board just zooms randomly somewhere else when I try to start writing, glitches every ~10 minutes, and exports horribly. How did a product team at Microsoft think this was stable enough to release on iPad? Please rethink that lol..LaurahallsaVersion: 22.10201.0.9040
What an unimaginable POSPalm rejection is pathetic and therefore frustrating. App and sheet load times are insufferable. Pen choices keep defaulting to initial colour and thickness. Apple Pencil double tap unsupported. What an inconceivable shameful piece of garbage..QueensmannVersion: 21.11118.0.9025
Palm rejectionThis app has the potential to be great, but the lack of palm rejection when using Apple Pencil makes it terrible.
I’m assuming there is no internal QA as it would take only two minutes to realize that the setup is unusable..DropfromdbVersion: 21.11118.0.9025
Awful UpdateThe new update is absolutely awful. It changes what I’m writing even when I turn off the shape feature, and it randomly moves to a different part of the page while I’m writing which is extremely frustrating when attempting to study. PLEASE FIX THIS!.Lach77Version: 21.11118.0.9025
Why the board is moving away when I rest my palm on screen?Hi,
Why the sheet is moving away when I rest my palm on screen to use Apple Pencil?
I can write 2 to 3 lines of text and then, resting my palm again on the screen to write something else moves away the board I’m writing on. So I got to move back up where my text is and not put my hand on the screen while I’m writing. This is annoying. Is there a way to deactivate this?.Danvin67Version: 21.11115.0.9023
Latest update is a broken appUsed to be one of the best app from MS. Now I’m not too sure.
Current list of issues:
- When drawing with Apple Pencil, the entire canvas shift after zooming in and out.
- Enhance shape automatically feature is not functioning anymore. Shape are not formed automatically.
- The ink down indicator icon function is VERY confusing
- The color select dialog box is not closed automatically after selecting a color + start drawing. No close dialog button either.
- Inserting shape requires finger to control the size and position. Apple Pencil will become drawing tool instead of allowing control..Ethereal DragonVersion: 21.11026.0.9020
Freezes moments into useThis is broken.PemadiasVersion: 20.11020.1.5506
App freezes constantlyI like this app. The drawings are simple but effective and you can create simple sketches right up to fairly complex diagrams...
... except for the constant freezing up. Seems to happen when I zoom in on a part of the workspace. Screen becomes unresponsive. There’s a shadow of the box that shows the zoom %. The only thing that seems to “fix” it is to force-close the app and restart. Except that it will frequently lock up again in a few seconds.
I thought it was the known iPad screen unresponsive thing due to a charger grounding issue. But it does it to me without being plugged in.
Fix that issue, and I’m up to at least 4 stars..Annoyed in NSVersion: 20.11020.1.5506
BruhI can’t even log into my school account. Honestly Docs and Whiteboard.fi are better. Don’t get this app! Just go to Whiteboard.fi for better service..FtydtydrfstrfytfyVersion: 20.11020.1.5506
Does not workI tried too log in with my account and all I was getting was errors after I put in my password when I had just done the reset protocol moments before I hope that they can get these issues resolved quickly on my device..BomoboclattVersion: 20.10824.0.5403
TerribleI don’t know what the clown who rated it 5 stars is talking about... this app is brutal it constantly zooms in and out which basically makes any work flow interrupted. If you are aiming for any sort of efficiency in laying out information on this app don’t bother find something else. Anything else..CripplingcandycandVersion: 20.10727.0.5366
TerribleVery laggy in general. Sometimes the palm rejection goes nuts and zooms you wayyyy out. Just awful software..Maximeblzz1Version: 20.10601.1.5253
UnreliableIt only works like half the time and the other half it’s just ridiculously slow and frozen.LilirennicksVersion: 20.10518.0.5186
Cannot open shared boardsThere is a bug within the app and I cannot open or edit the boards that were shared with me.O.brassardVersion: 20.10420.2.5136
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What do you think Microsoft Whiteboard ios app? Can you share your thoughts and app experiences with other peoples?