How To Resolve Notion Desktop App Stuck on Loading or Black Screen

The Notion desktop app can be a real pain sometimes, especially when it gets stuck on that loading screen or just shows a black window. Sometimes it feels like it can’t connect to its servers properly, or maybe those startup files aren’t loading right. Common culprits are server outages, flaky internet, corrupt cache files, or even VPN conflicts. Before jumping into anything fancy, it’s a good idea to check the Notion status page to see if their servers are having issues. If everything’s normal on their end, then it’s time for some troubleshooting.

How to Fix Notion’s Loading Problems in Windows

Method 1: Kill the Notion Process in Task Manager

This is kind of basic but surprisingly effective. If Notion’s stuck, it might have a frozen process hanging around in the background. Killing it completely resets its state, and sometimes that’s enough to fix the loading bug.

1. Hit Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager. Sounds obvious, but it’s the fastest way.
2. Under the Processes tab, type “Notion” in the search box at the top-right corner. That filters out the noise, so you only see relevant processes.
3. Right-click on each Notion process and pick End task. Make sure you close all instances.
4. Now, reopen Notion and see if it loads. On some setups, it works instantly, but on others, you might have to do a full reboot or a couple of tries.

Besides fixing the frozen processes, it’s good practice — and it’s quick to do— and occasionally, that’s all that’s needed.

Method 2: Switch to Mobile Data or a Different Network

This step sounds weird, but sometimes, your internet connection or IP address is the culprit. Maybe your Wi-Fi is acting up, or your ISP is blocking something. Switching to mobile data or another network resets your IP route and can sometimes bypass connection issues.

1. Enable mobile data on your phone and turn on the hotspot feature. You know, the little gadget or toggle in settings.
2. Disconnect your PC from Wi-Fi, then connect it to your phone’s hotspot.
3. Open Notion again and cross fingers—it might just connect normally without that loading hang.

If it works, yay. If not, try flushing your DNS cache or renewing your IP before switching networks. That can sometimes help in the background.

Method 3: Disable VPNs

VPNs are notorious for messing with app connections. Notion might see VPN-routed IPs as suspicious or just get throttled, especially with free VPNs that aren’t super reliable. Disabling the VPN can clear the path to Notion’s servers, sometimes instantly fixing the issue.

1. Open your VPN app.
2. If it’s connected, simply click “Disconnect”.
3. Reopen Notion and test if it loads now. Usually, this is enough to fix the connection hiccups.

Apparently, the app doesn’t like VPNs sometimes, especially when the CDN or server asks for a more “direct” connection.

Method 4: Clear Notion Cache Files

This one is a classic. Corrupt cache files can sabotage the startup process, making it freeze or just go black. Clearing these files forces Notion to start fresh, rebuilding cache data from scratch.

1. Close Notion completely from Task Manager — don’t skip this; if the app’s still running, the cache files won’t unlock.
2. Navigate to C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming. Replace <YourUsername> with your actual Windows username.
3. Find and delete the “Notion” folder. This wipes out cached data and hopefully clears out whatever was corrupted.
4. Reboot your PC to ensure everything resets properly.
5. Launch Notion again and see if it loads correctly.

Heads up: deleting cache means you might lose some offline data, so if you’ve got unsynced notes, better to sync first.

Method 5: Open Notion via Browser and then Switch to Desktop

Sometimes, opening Notion in the browser first can kick-start the desktop app if it’s bugged out. It’s like a handshake between the browser and desktop, getting things to sync up.

1. Open Notion in your browser.
2. Click on the three dots or menu icon (top right).
3. Scroll to find and click on “Open in Windows App”.
4. When prompted, click “Open Notion”. The desktop version should open up. If it doesn’t, a quick relaunch might do the trick.

This can be useful if the app itself is having trouble starting normally, but your browser can communicate fine with Notion’s servers.

Method 6: Reinstall Notion

If nothing else worked, resetting everything by reinstalling might be the thing. It ensures you get rid of broken or outdated files and start fresh.

1. Press Win + R, type “appwiz.cpl”, hit Enter. This opens Programs & Features.
2. Find Notion, right-click, then pick Uninstall.
3. Navigate to C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming and delete the Notion folder. Better safe than sorry — removes whatever sneaky corrupt files were hiding there.
4. Head over to Notion’s official download page to grab the latest installer.
5. Run the installer as admin (right-click > Run as administrator), and follow the prompts.
6. Once installed, log in and see if Notion finally launches without issues.

Yeah, it’s a hassle, but sometimes, fresh install is the only way to go.

Yeah, not the most glamorous fixes, but these have saved the day more often than not. Just gotta figure out what’s causing the hiccup, and these steps usually do the trick.