Not Receiving a One-Time Password (OTP)
When signing in to Goodnotes with your email address, you may be prompted to enter a One-Time Password (OTP) sent to your inbox. If that email never arrives, this article explains why it happens and what to do next.
How OTP sign-in worksEmail OTP sign-in is only available to users who already have a Goodnotes account linked to a Google, Apple, or Microsoft sign-in or whose organisation has configured SAML/SSO for your email domain. If you do not have an existing account with one of these providers, the OTP flow does not apply to you — see the section below on who can use email sign-in.
Why you may not receive an OTP email
Your account has been deleted
OTP sign-in requires a live Goodnotes account. If your account was previously deleted — either by you or by your organisation's admin — Goodnotes cannot send an OTP because there is no account to authenticate against.
What to do: Contact your IT administrator or Goodnotes support to check whether your account still exists. If it has been deleted, you will need to create a new account or ask your admin to reinstate access.
Your email provider is blocking or filtering the message
Certain email providers — including Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, and some corporate mail filters — may delay, block, or silently discard automated one-time password emails.
What to do:
- Check your Spam or Junk folder.
- Search your inbox for emails from
noreply@goodnotes.com. - If your organisation manages your mailbox, ask your IT team to allowlist Goodnotes sending domains.
- Try signing in with the original provider you used (Google, Apple, or Microsoft) instead of using email OTP.
You signed up with Apple's "Hide My Email"
When you sign in to Goodnotes using Sign in with Apple and choose the Hide My Email option, Apple creates a private relay address in the format xxx@privaterelay.appleid.com and uses it as your Goodnotes account email.
Your Goodnotes Account Info page will display this relay address. Because it is managed entirely by Apple, it cannot be edited within the Goodnotes app.
If you enter this relay address on the sign-in screen and expect an OTP, the email may never arrive — Apple's private relay addresses do not always forward messages reliably from third-party senders.
What to do:
- Sign in using the Sign in with Apple button instead of entering your email address manually. This bypasses OTP entirely and uses Apple's own authentication.
- If you need to update the email address on your Goodnotes account, please see How do I update my address shown on Goodnotes View Account?
Who can sign in using an email address?
Not every user will see the email OTP option. You can sign in by entering your email address only if one of the following applies to you:
| Your situation | Email sign-in available? |
|---|---|
| New or returning user whose organisation admin has set up SAML / SSO for your email domain | ✅ Yes — you will be redirected through your organisation's identity provider |
| Returning user who previously signed up using Google, Apple, or Microsoft | ✅ Yes — an OTP will be sent to verify your identity |
| Brand new user with no existing Goodnotes account and no SAML set up | ❌ No — you must sign up using Google, Apple, or Microsoft first |