When Youdao Translate vocabulary or favorites won’t sync, first confirm you can enter the account: can’t sign in, repeated timeouts, or session drops → leave for the login timeout and network checklist. Signed in but lists empty, devices disagree, or a phone swap looks “wiped” → match the same account, whether each device finished a pull, and whether signed-out local favorites were mistaken for cloud data, then handle local cache and any on-screen import/export. Treat the download page and client UI as source of truth — do not invent cloud retention periods or support promises.
A coworker’s new Android opened an empty word list and assumed total loss. The old phone had saved favorites in a guest/signed-out state; the new one signed into a different NetEase email — two datasets, not one wipe. Another PC stayed signed in while favorites froze on last week’s snapshot; phone adds didn’t appear for half an hour until the corporate proxy was off and both sides refreshed. Neither case was “the app is broken” — account and sync path were misaligned.
This page covers vocabulary/favorites sync and local cache when you already can sign in. It is not a first-time memorization tutorial. Login failures, whole-app won’t-open, and client update-channel fails belong on their own articles.
Split “signed in but out of sync” from “can’t sign in”
Queries like “Youdao vocabulary sync” and “favorites not syncing” often collide with login failures. Signed in but out of sync: avatar/account page fine, main translate works, only word books, favorites, or counts disagree. Can’t sign in: captcha spins, timeouts, kicked back to login — that’s session/network; wiping the vocabulary cache won’t help.
Before changing settings, note whether account IDs match across devices (or old vs new phone); whether the whole library is empty or only recent rows are missing; and whether you just reinstalled, cleared data, swapped phones, or changed sign-in method (phone / email / third-party). Empty library ≠ “missing a dozen words.”
Skim the FAQ for account/install notes. Don’t fold login timeouts, list sync, and whole-app crashes into one Clear all data.
Account and devices: one identity, check each endpoint
Sync assumes the same Youdao identity. Phone on a mobile number, PC on another email — both “signed in successfully” — still won’t merge word lists. Open Account / Profile on each device and match nickname, bound email, or phone tail digits; unify to the account you actually use before debugging sync.
Under one account, a tablet, old phone, or office PC with a stale session can produce “wrote on A, invisible on B.” Keep only two devices for a controlled test — add one recognizable test word on A, pull-to-refresh or fully quit/reopen on B. Restore daily devices after the test; don’t let five clients fight over writes.
Corporate or campus proxies may allow login but block sync APIs, so favorites stay on an old snapshot. Compare on a phone hotspot; if it still fails, check whether the client build is very old and confirm the platform entry on the download page.
Local cache, signed-out favorites, and data that only looks like “cloud”
Words saved while signed out or in a guest state often stay on-device only. A new signed-in phone showing nothing does not prove a cloud wipe — upload may never have happened. While the old device still opens: sign into the same account, wait for any in-UI sync progress, confirm words appear under the signed-in list, then retire the old phone.
Signed in but missing recent favorites: first rule out “saved into another word book / folder.” Default books and “Favorites” are not always the same list. Open each group, or search for the word you just added. Confirm it landed in the intended book before blaming sync.
Corrupt cache often shows spinning lists, jumping counts, or repeated sync-fail toasts. Prefer in-app Clear cache (wording varies by build) over Clear data / factory reset first — the latter wipes local words that never uploaded. If an export control is visible, take a backup you’re willing to keep before clearing cache.
After a phone swap or reinstall: empty list checks
A fresh install may show an empty vocabulary UI, then fill in on stable network. Weak links or data-saver modes stretch the first pull. Stay on solid Wi‑Fi with the app foregrounded for a few minutes and pull to refresh; don’t reinstall in a loop and stack half-built local stores.
If the old phone ran Clear data while signed out or before upload finished, on-device words may already be gone. This site does not invent how long cloud copies live or whether support can restore them. What you can do: confirm the account, retry on another network, and check any still-working old device for a copy. If the old device is empty too, treat it as “never backed up and never uploaded,” not as a reason to keep wiping the new phone.
Reinstalling the client differs from “modules broken right after an updater.” If the timeline ties to a just-finished upgrade wizard and the library looks wrong, run version checks in update failed first; if the main app is fine and only the word list is wrong, return here for account and cache steps.
Multi-device mismatch: don’t bulk-edit both sides at once
Phone just deleted a batch while PC still shows the old list, or counts differ by a chunk: stop, pick one trusted device as reference, and only refresh the other. Selecting delete/merge on both ends in the same minute is how you get conflict copies or “deleted then reappeared.”
Refresh order: stable network → fully quit Youdao → reopen into vocabulary → pull or tap Sync if the UI offers it → then open the second device. If they still disagree, note both counts and the newest headword so you can tell delay from “wrote into a different folder.”
Desktop users running multiple Youdao copies (portable folder + installed build) may read different local stores. Keep one install, confirm the entry on the download page, and retire extra shortcuts. Install paths: PC download & install guide.
Visible export/import only — no invented channels
Some builds expose import/export under vocabulary settings (often text or spreadsheet-style files). Follow the menus on your client: use what you can see; don’t chase “hidden export” from forum screenshots. UI-oriented learning steps live in the vocabulary learning guide — this article does not invent an official channel the UI never shows.
Backup before phone swaps, cache clears, uninstalls, or major upgrades. Keep the file in your own drive or PC folder, not only inside the app sandbox. After import, spot-check a few spellings and folders so you didn’t land in a blank book.
This site cannot inspect your cloud word list and does not promise support SLAs or recovery rates. If sync fails for a long stretch while account and network look fine, keep the dialog text and decide next steps via the FAQ and official channels — no invented support scripts here.
When to divert to crash / update fail — and habits that help
Opening vocabulary flash-quits, or Sync exits the app: use crash / won’t open for permissions and bad cache first; list sync second. Whole client odd right after an update → update failed. Only the login step fails → login timeout checklist.
Useful habits: keep a local copy when export is visible; before a phone swap, confirm the signed-in list on the old device; don’t bulk-delete the same book on two devices in the same minute; disable proxy/VPN briefly while comparing sync. Memorization workflow itself is in the vocabulary guide — this page only covers “won’t line up.” If words sync but the horn is silent or TTS cuts off, switch to pronunciation / TTS troubleshooting instead of clearing sync cache.
More platform notes sit under the FAQ and Guides — open the matching symptom page.