# I paid, but NoteOwl Pro isn't active > Paid for NoteOwl Pro but it's still off? Sign in with the email you bought with, choose Activate this Mac, and match the message NoteOwl shows below. Source: https://www.noteowl.ai/docs/troubleshooting/paid-but-not-pro · Last updated 2026-09-28 · Checked against NoteOwl 1.0.0 If you've paid but NoteOwl Pro isn't on, open **License…**, sign in with the email address you bought with and click **Activate this Mac**. If NoteOwl Pro still isn't on, NoteOwl shows a message that says why. Work through the checks below in order. ## Why isn't NoteOwl Pro active after I paid? NoteOwl turns Pro on only when it can match your payment to this Mac. It can't if it stopped checking before the payment arrived, you're signed in with another email address, the payment is still on its way, the licence is active on another Mac, or you're offline. You'll know NoteOwl Pro is on when the bottom of the sidebar shows **NOTEOWL PRO**. **NOTEOWL (FREE)** means it isn't, and a line starting **TRIAL —** means you're on the trial. ## Activate this Mac Do this in **License…**. It's the screen that shows exactly what went wrong and the buttons to fix it. Your Mac needs an internet connection. 1. Click **…** next to your name at the bottom of the sidebar and choose **License…**. 2. If you're not signed in, type the email address you bought NoteOwl Pro with in the **Your email** field and click **Continue**, then type the code NoteOwl emails you in the **Code from your email** field and click **Verify**. 3. Check the email address shown under **Licence**. If it isn't the one you bought with, see [the first check below](#are-you-signed-in-with-the-email-you-bought-with). 4. Click **Activate this Mac**. 5. If NoteOwl says **NoteOwl Pro is active on this Mac.**, you're done. If it says **Please sign in again.**, click **Sign out** if it's shown, sign in again and click **Activate this Mac**. For any other message, find it in the checks below. ## Are you signed in with the email you bought with? Your purchase belongs to the email address you were signed in to NoteOwl with when you clicked **Buy NoteOwl Pro**. With any other address, **Activate this Mac** says **We couldn’t find a purchase for this email yet.** To switch addresses: 1. In **License…**, click **Sign out**. NoteOwl says **Signed out. Your licence on this Mac is untouched.** 2. Sign in with the email address you bought with, and click **Activate this Mac** again. If you're not sure which address you used, try each one you might have signed in with. ## Has the payment reached NoteOwl yet? It can take a moment. If **Activate this Mac** says **We couldn’t find a purchase for this email yet.** with the right address, or **We’re still confirming your purchase. This usually takes a moment.**, wait a minute and click **Activate this Mac** again. After you click Buy, NoteOwl looks for the payment on its own for up to 15 minutes, and again when you switch back to NoteOwl, but only while the screen you clicked Buy on stays open. If you closed it, or the payment took longer, **Activate this Mac** is how NoteOwl finds it. If NoteOwl still says **We’re still confirming your purchase.** after a while, contact support: see [still not active](#still-not-active). ## Is your licence active on another Mac? A NoteOwl Pro licence activates one Mac. If yours is already active on another Mac, **Activate this Mac** says **This Mac can no longer use its saved activation.**, even on a Mac that was never activated, and offers **Replace a broken or lost Mac**. * **If the other Mac is broken, lost or stolen,** click **Replace a broken or lost Mac** to move the licence to this Mac. It's free once in any rolling twelve months, and NoteOwl confirms with **This Mac is now the activated one.** For every step, see [move NoteOwl Pro to a replacement Mac](https://www.noteowl.ai/docs/pro/replace-a-mac). * **If you want NoteOwl Pro on both Macs,** buy a second licence on this one: click **Buy NoteOwl Pro — $79** in **License…**, pay, then click **Activate this Mac** if NoteOwl Pro isn't on yet. * **If you moved to this Mac with Migration Assistant,** NoteOwl may say **This activation belongs to your previous Mac.** Click **Replace a broken or lost Mac** there. If the replacement has already been used, NoteOwl says **Your complimentary replacement has already been used in the last 12 months.** and offers **Contact Support** and **Purchase another licence**. ## Are you offline? Activating needs an internet connection. Offline, **Activate this Mac** says **noteOwl could not reach the activation service.** with a **Retry** button. Connect to the internet, then click **Retry**. If signing in fails the same way, NoteOwl says **noteOwl could not reach the activation service. Free capture and export are unaffected.** Connect and try again. Once this Mac is activated, NoteOwl Pro works offline: see [use NoteOwl offline](https://www.noteowl.ai/docs/data/use-noteowl-offline). ## What do NoteOwl's other licence messages mean? These are less common. Where NoteOwl shows a button beside the message, it does the next step for you. | NoteOwl says | What it means | What to do | | ---------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Activation did not finish. No licence was used.** | An earlier attempt to activate this Mac didn't finish, and no licence was used up | Click **Retry**, or **Activate this Mac**, while you're connected | | **This Mac couldn’t prove its identity. Try again.** | NoteOwl couldn't complete the check that ties the licence to this Mac | Click **Activate this Mac** again | | **This purchase is no longer active.** | The payment was refunded, reversed or disputed | Click **Contact Support** | | **Please sign in again.** | NoteOwl's licensing service no longer accepts this Mac's sign-in | Click **Sign out** if it's shown, sign in with your email address and the code NoteOwl emails you, then click **Activate this Mac** | ## Still not active? Email support@noteowl.ai with the email address you bought NoteOwl Pro with and the message NoteOwl shows. **Contact Support** in NoteOwl opens the support page in your browser. Messages that come with buttons also offer **Copy diagnostic code**. Click it and paste the code into your email. It includes the app and macOS versions and what went wrong, and no email address, payment details or anything you've recorded. ## Common questions ### I paid for NoteOwl Pro but NoteOwl still says NOTEOWL (FREE). What do I do? Click … next to your name at the bottom of the sidebar, choose License…, sign in with the email address you bought with and click Activate this Mac. NoteOwl looks up your purchase and turns NoteOwl Pro on for this Mac. ### Why does NoteOwl say it couldn't find a purchase for my email? Either you're signed in with a different email address from the one you bought with, or the payment hasn't reached NoteOwl yet. Check the address shown in License…, and if it's the right one, wait a minute and click Activate this Mac again. ### Can clicking Activate this Mac charge me again? No. Activate this Mac never charges anything. It only looks up a purchase you've already made, and if an activation is interrupted, trying again finishes that same activation instead of using up another licence. ### Can I activate NoteOwl Pro without an internet connection? No. Activating a Mac goes through NoteOwl's licensing service, so connect to the internet first. Once the Mac is activated, NoteOwl Pro keeps working offline. ## Related - [Buy NoteOwl Pro and activate this Mac](https://www.noteowl.ai/docs/pro/activate-this-mac): Buy NoteOwl Pro inside the app and pay in your browser. NoteOwl activates this Mac when the payment lands, or you choose Activate this Mac. - [Move NoteOwl Pro to a replacement Mac](https://www.noteowl.ai/docs/pro/replace-a-mac): A NoteOwl Pro licence covers one Mac. If yours is broken, lost or stolen, Replace a broken or lost Mac moves it free, once in any rolling twelve months. - [Use NoteOwl offline](https://www.noteowl.ai/docs/data/use-noteowl-offline): Once its on-device AI models have downloaded, NoteOwl works with no internet connection, including dictation, meetings, Chat and a NoteOwl Pro licence. - [What's free and what's in NoteOwl Pro](https://www.noteowl.ai/docs/getting-started/free-and-pro): NoteOwl Free gives you unlimited dictation into any app and voice notes. NoteOwl Pro adds meetings, summaries, memory and Chat for $79, once. Learn more: [NoteOwl support, on the Support page](https://www.noteowl.ai/support)