I’m a longtime Anki user, but after switching to a new laptop, I’ve been unable to access my existing account from the new laptop. I appreciate any guidance! More specifics:
The desktop version
When I open the desktop version on my laptop, it shows a new blank deck. (And also an error message related to timezone: Your Anki client does not support the new timezone handling yet. Please ensure your Anki is up to date.).
If I click the sync button, it doesn’t sync to my existing Ankiweb, and it shows the same error message again. It doesn’t seem to have a way to know that I have an existing account. I can’t find a button to change account/email, etc.
I thought I might import the data from Ankiweb, but if I click the Import button, it seems to look for data only on my computer and not from the web. And of course my laptop doesn’t have that data.
Ankiweb:
My Ankiweb account shows all of my decks, and they are successfully synced with my Android app. But it doesn’t show a link to download the data onto my laptop. If I click on my account, it only shows me options to change my email or password. The other links I see across the top of the screen are Decks/Add/Search, and none of these links are helpful. The individual decks have a Share option, but when I click the help menu for information about private sharing, it says to go to the File menu and choose Export. I don’t see a File menu on my Ankiweb account.
What am I missing? This should be simple, but none of the troubleshooting tips I’ve seen have addressed the configuration I’m seeing.
For what it’s worth, the new laptop is a Linux laptop, and I’m not an experienced Linux user. Perhaps there’s a Linux issue that’s causing it to display incorrectly? I logged into Ankiweb using Thunderbird, then tried Firefox with the same results.
Are you using a version from your Linux distro? It is likely outdated. You need to upgrade to a more recent version of Anki. For advice on dealing with the most common Linux installation issues, see: Linux - Anki Manual – or search here.
Yes, that’s normal. “Import” is for importing local files. You want “Sync,” which you’ll be able to do after you upload.
That’s normal as well. You can’t export from AnkiWeb, or control syncing with your devices.
Are you using a Debian-based distro (Linux mint, Ubuntu, etc.)? If so, their latest version from apt is currently 2.1.15 (from 5 years ago). We are currently on Anki version 24.11. You can check your Anki version by going to Help > About.
If yes, I personally use and install Anki from Flathub. If you are on Ubuntu, you might also be interested with the snap version of Anki.
Installing from these options helps you to keep Anki constantly updated. Installing from the website’s tarballs might be too technical for some people.
Keep in mind both Flatpak and Snap versions are unofficially maintained by the community and not the Anki team.
I’m really illiterate with Linux and perhaps I shouldn’t be a Linux user. I had to look up what a distro is. I think the answer to your question is that I’m using Mint. But I downloaded directly from the Anki website, so I assume it’s the most current version (24.11)
I looked at the manual, and it was written in language beyond my technical understanding. I had hoped there was a simple solution that I was just overlooking. I think my best option is to ask my tech-literate son (who set up my Linux laptop) to read the manual on my behalf.
Thanks for responding line by line to my issue. You gave me some useful background info.
OK, I’m so Linux illiterate! I had to do a bit of research to understand your reply. Here’s what I know. I’m using Mint 22, Cinnamon 64 bit. I downloaded the newest version of Anki for Linux directly from the Anki website, version 24.11.
Following your suggestion I looked at Flathub. I’ll ask my Linux-literate son to install it from Flathub for me, so I can be sure the installation is done correctly.
“Installing from the website’s tarballs might be too technical for some people.” - Yes I agree. After looking it up, I still don’t quite know what a tarball is.
I’ll forward your suggestions to him, and I’ll repost with any progress. Thanks for your help!
I used Mint before and I had to download Anki using the flatpaks. Flathub is like an app store that aims to make installing programs in linux easier. Flatpak support is built into Linux Mint.
You can install Anki as easy as searching for the flatpak on google (‘anki flatpak’) or going to the flathub page and search there.
There should be a blue install button on the top right. It will download a .flatpakref file. You can open that file and it should open up also the app store for mint and you can install from there!
Thank you for your patience and I commend you for trying something new and learning Linux. No, it’s fine, Linux welcomes and is for all!! These are probably just growing pains and learning curve - happens all the time. The next time you will install an app like Anki will be easier because you learned how.
Woot! Tech son downloaded again from the Anki website, and added some additional steps from the download manual. It works! Thanks everyone for your support!