Solution: Evernote Sticky Notes Could Not Create SSL/TLS Secure Channel Error 411 On User Account Activation

Issue

A week ago I started getting Synchronization Failed error messages in Evernote Sticky Notes for Windows, which meant my Sticky Notes stopped being synced to Evernote server and consequently across all of my devices.

I have tried removing my Evernote user account in the settings menu of the Evernote Sticky Notes application in order to fix the issue. When trying to activate my user account again by clicking on the Request activation link button, the dreaded “The remote server returned an error: (411) Length Required” error message came up.

Update (20 September 2023): A few days ago a new error message started appearing – “The request was aborted: Could not create SSL/TLS secure channel” because Evernote dropped support for older TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 security protocols on their servers.

I have tried uninstalling the Sticky Notes, cleaning the register, re-installing an older version of the software but nothing solved the mentioned problem. Sticky Notes would only synchronize with Dropbox or Google Drive but not with Evernote.

I use Evernote Sticky Notes on a daily basis and since developers at Edo-Soft no longer actively maintain it, I have decided to repair it myself and offer an updated authentication library (DLL) file for download on this blog.

If you would like, you can skip technical writing and go straight to the solution.

As a safety feature, Evernote incorporates an authorization / authentication process, through which, applications such as Evernote Sticky Notes need to go, in order to allow them access to Evernote accounts on users behalf. The mentioned process is called an OAuth flow and it uses OAuth authorization framework to enable applications a limited access to a HTTP service such as Evernote Cloud API.

A correct authorization process should work like this – When user clicks on the “Request activation link” button, Evernote Sticky Notes application requests a temporary token from the Evernote server, using a GET request method. After it receives the temporary token from the Evernote server, it creates a unique activation link to the Evernote authorization page, using the mentioned token. User clicks on the link and is redirected to Evernote authorization page where he grants the Sticky Notes application, access to his account for the limited time period (1 year maximum). After granting access, user receives another token in the form of a verification code, displayed on the Evernote authorization page. User then copies the received code into the verification code window in the Evernote Sticky Notes application. Application uses this token (valid for 1 year) every time it connects to the Evernote server in order to gain access and synchronize notes to the cloud.

The issue with the Evernote Sticky Notes application is that it uses an outdated OAuth library (DLL) file which prevents it to communicate with the Evernote server correctly and thus cannot request a temporary token from it. User sees this only as a “https://” text where an activation link should be, since the application is unable to create an activation link without the temporary token.

Solution

I was able to fix an outdated OAuth authentication library file by decompiling it, updating the source code and recompiling it. Evernote Sticky Notes now communicates with the Evernote server correctly. It is once again able to request a temporary token and thus complete an activation process successfully.

Update (20 September 2023): Recently Evernote dropped support for older TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 security protocols on their servers which lead to “Could not create SSL/TLS secure channel” errors in Evernote Sticky Notes so I had to modify one additional file – StickyNotes.Wpf.exe.config. The security protocol is now chosen by the operating system instead of the app and the synchronization works once again.

Below are instructions for replacing an outdated authentication library (DLL) and the StickyNotes.Wpf.exe.config files with an updated versions, available for download on this blog. Updated files are compatible with Evernote Sticky Notes v1.5.9, which is the latest available version of Sticky Notes. If Evernote Sticky Notes v1.5.9 application is not already installed on your computer, download / (alernative download link) and install it before following instructions below.

*If you would prefer to synchronize your Evernote Sticky Notes with Chinese version of Evernote – Yinxiang Biji (印象笔记), please follow this instructions instead.

1. Download and unzip the updated files

An updated authentication library (.dll file) and the StickyNotes.Wpf.exe.config files are compressed inside a .zip file. Click on the link below to download Evernote-Sticky-Notes-Modified-Files-GetGui.zip file to your computer. After the file is downloaded, you will need to unzip it in order to extract the files. If you are using Windows, right click on the downloaded Evernote-Sticky-Notes-Modified-Files-GetGui.zip and select “Extract All…”. A new folder will appear, with the StickyNotes.OAuth.dll and StickyNotes.Wpf.exe.config files inside it. Do not change the filenames – the names of the files should remain as they are.

• • Evernote-Sticky-Notes-Modified-Files-GetGui.zip (Downloaded 6484 times)

*File is hosted on Dropbox. If link doesn’t work, please contact me at info@getgui.com.

2. Close the Evernote Sticky Notes application

Evernote Sticky Notes application needs to be closed before following the next step. Make sure it is not running, by going to the taskbar and searching for the Evernote Sticky Notes icon. If the icon is present in the taskbar, right-click on it and click on “Exit”. Click “Yes” on the Exit application confirmation dialog.

3. Replace an outdated files

Go to the folder where you have saved the new StickyNotes.OAuth.dll and StickyNotes.Wpf.exe.config files, right-click on the two files and choose “Copy”. Now go to the folder where your Evernote Sticky Notes is installed, by default that’s in “C:\Program Files\Evernote Sticky Notes\” or “C:\Program Files (x86)\Evernote Sticky Notes\” on 64 bit operating systems.
Right-click on the empty space inside the installation folder and choose “Paste”. The “file replacement” or “file overwrite” confirmation dialog should open, asking if you would like to replace the files in the destination. Choose to replace the files in the destination. Restart your computer.

4. Activate your user account in Evernote Sticky Notes application

Open Evernote Sticky Notes application. Go to “Settings” and make sure that under the “Please select the account type you want to synchronize your notes with” Evernote is selected. Click on the “Request activation link” button. A working activation link should now be displayed. Click on it and follow directions on the Evernote website to Re-authorize Sticky Notes to access your account for a period of 1 year. Copy the received verification code and paste it inside the verification code window in the Evernote Sticky Notes application. Click on the “Complete activation” button.

You have now successfully linked Evernote Sticky Notes application to your Evernote user account and enabled the synchronization of your local notes to the Evernote server. Activation or authorization is valid for the period of 1 year and will need to be repeated after that.

Update (02 May 2018): On 23 April 2018, the Evernote Sticky Notes authorization script was taken down from the server at Edo-Soft.com, which resulted in new authorizations no longer working. I have examined the authorization process again and wrote a script that parses and displays the authorization token provided by the Evernote server. The mentioned script was uploaded to the getgui.com server, which means Evernote Sticky Notes no longer depends on the Edo-Soft.com server to finalize the authorization process.

Update (20 September 2023):
Evernote Sticky Notes starts displaying Synchronization failed error (Couldn’t connect to server: System.Net.WebException: The request was aborted: Could not create SSL/TLS secure channel.)
This happens because Evernote recently dropped support for older TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 security protocols on their servers.
Solution: I have modified the StickyNotes.Wpf.exe.config file so that the security protocol is now chosen by the operating system instead of the app.
You can repair your existing Evernote Sticky Notes installation by follow the steps below:
1. Download the modified StickyNotes.Wpf.exe.config file
2. Close the running Evernote Sticky Notes (Right-click on the Evernote Sticky Notes icon in the taskbar and click on “Exit” and “Yes” on the confirmation dialog)
3. Unzip / Extract the modified StickyNotes.Wpf.exe.config file from the downloaded StickyNotesUpdatedConfigSept2023.zip file, copy it and paste it into the Evernote Sticky Notes folder (usually inside C:\Program files or C:\Program Files (x86) ), overwriting the existing StickyNotes.Wpf.exe.config file.
4. Restart your computer and enjoy the Evernote Sticky Notes synchronizing your notes once again

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