it is now possible to upgrade from MN3 to MN4 on MacOS with a licence purchased from the website (DMG version). I have translated the instructions from the Chinese forum and it worked for me as follows:
check the email address and licence from Marginnote 3. If the activation number comes from Devmate (recognisable by the initial letters ‘id’ and the ending ‘uks’), the code must be converted to paddle format. If the licence number is already in paddle format (format: XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXXXX) go to step 3, the licence does not need to be converted
convert Devmate licence to Paddle licence: convert the old licence code on the following website: https://license.marginnote.com.cn (The website was overloaded the last few days, the conversion took me one night).
Hi Niklas! This worked and I appreciate it very much. I also did the upgrade to Premium. However, I can’t seem to get my MN3 files into MN4. It says I have to update to MN 3.7.26 and I have 3.7.25 and I can’t seem to find a way to update it. What can I do to get this to work?
Thanks for finding this! I wonder why this hasn’t been shared widely by developer.
Quick question - I did see the 7 USD upgrade option. I don’t mind paying it. However, is the upgrade the same as Max? that option is grayed out on my MN, and I do use Margin Note often on iPad, so want to make sure I buy the correct item.
I have MN3 on my iphone and ipad. How do I get MN4 to sync the files I have now synced using the macos version please?
The ios versions want to get me to subscribe and I am now on a one-day free trial, but my plan is to subscribe on my mac to get a $7 MAX upgrade and somehow get the other devices to see that I don’t need to pay any more.
Hello ChemBob. If you are using MN3 with dmg version and want to transfer notes from MN3 to MN4, you can click ‘File → Export Backup of Notes Dataset & All Documents’ in the menu bar, and MN3 will generate a .marginbackupall file. Then, you can right-click the .marginbackupall file to choose ‘open with MN4.app’. All MN3 files/notes will be imported to MN4.
By the way, after converting the Devmate licence to the Paddle licence, the old Devmate licence will be invalid. Hence, the MN3 may be deactivated. You need to use the new Paddle licence to activate MN3 and MN4 to transfer all notes/files from MN3 to MN4.
Hi notasmias, according to the explanation by the product manager in the Chinese community, the features of MN4 Premium and Max versions on MacOS are the same. However, suppose you own MN4 Premium on MacOS and MN4 Pro on ipadOS. In that case, you need to click ‘MaginNote 4 → Share MAX Feature Pack to iOS devices’ in the menu bar on MacOS every month to upgrade MN4 Pro to MN4 MAX on iPadOS. Compared to buying MN4 MAX, upgrading to MN4 Premium is a little more inconvenient, but you can save your money if you own MN3 with the dmg version.
How is this monthly “sharing” working for everyone? I completely forgot to do this, and wanted to get it now. However, I’m weary of paying the $7 because the “Share MAX feature to iOS devices” is turned off. I have been using MN4 on my Mac, however, I’m weary of sending the $7 and then not being able to get anything. I’m starting to wonder if I’m safer by paying through the App Store. As far as I know, developers have not shared anything else publicly about this, which I find very strange and fishy. Is app still being developed?
I am trying it out in Aug 2025 and it’s still; working well for those wondering. I ended buying for Max feature that enhance my pro app on iOS. I will share with you guys how it goes, so far the integration is smooth.
Here’s what I do:
Use my MN3 license (already paddlet version) to MN4 (it activates smoothly but it still asks if I want to upgrade to premium). As per my understanding the premium offers Max upgrade although some post says it is not exactly the same, I am not sure what is the main difference but one thing is that it will be able to do Max sharing to iOS if I use the same credential (which I am) so I decided to pay $7 (10 AUD)
next I export my notes from MN3, it works well since it is synced on iCloud
I upgraded my iOS app for Pro for $12,8 (20 AUD) and export Max from my Mac MN4
I received pop up that now the app version on iOS is now max version
Would be more worth it if you have an iPad with a pencil, unfortunately I dont.
You could also get students discount, but the above method is most cost-effcicient, you get activated version for FREE (with MN3 DMG) or $7 for Max/ premium version. Even with student discount it will cost you $22.75 for premium version (from $35).
