I was wondering what the smoothest workflow is for getting books and documents onto the device. Can I manage everything wirelessly through built-in software, or do I need a wired connection? I saw people mention tools like MacDroid for USB transfers over MTP. Does MacDroid work reliably with the Onyx Boox Go 10.3 on Mac?
The easiest option is usually BooxDrop, which is already installed on the Go 10.3. Launch it, then enter the IP address it gives you into Safari or Chrome on your MacBook. From there, you can drag files into the browser and transfer them wirelessly. Both devices need to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network, and your router can't have client isolation enabled.
You can also use LocalSend if you want something that works across different devices and platforms. It's lightweight and handles wireless transfers between macOS and Android without much setup.
For USB transfers, try MacDroid. It lets macOS access MTP storage through Finder, so the Palma 2's internal storage, along with a microSD card if installed, should appear more like a regular external drive. Still, unless you specifically need a wired connection, BooxDrop is generally the simpler route.
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Copying the EPUB/PDF itself is easy, but preserving NeoReader annotations is a separate job. MacDroid can handle the files over USB, but export any notes or marked-up PDFs on the Boox first, since copying the original book may leave annotations behind.
Unlock the Boox before plugging it in, then pull down the notification shade and change the USB mode from “Charging” to “File transfer.” That setting is easy to miss, and a charge-only USB-C cable will produce exactly the same “nothing shows up” result, so try another cable if the option never appears.
Even with the correct mode, the Go 10.3 normally won’t mount in Finder like a flash drive because it uses Android’s MTP protocol. MacDroid can bridge that gap, but you still need to select the file-transfer mode on the Boox first. Once connected, look in folders such as Books, Download, Push, or whichever folder you chose when saving the documents. NeoReader’s library view is not necessarily a real folder, so finding a title in the library doesn’t tell you where its EPUB or PDF is stored.
A few practical checks if files seem to be missing:
- Confirm the book was downloaded locally rather than opened from a cloud account or third-party reading app.
- Search by filename, since the displayed book title can differ from the actual filename.
- Copy the files to the Mac before deleting or reorganizing anything on the Boox.
- Open a couple of transferred files on the Mac to verify they copied correctly.
@fullgoldenhub7899’s annotation warning matters here. Plain EPUB highlights and handwritten notes may live in NeoReader’s database rather than inside the EPUB itself. PDFs are a little easier if you use NeoReader’s export or embedding option first. Copying the source document alone should be treated as a book backup, not automatically as an annotation backup.
If you only have a handful of documents, wireless transfer avoids the whole MTP mess. For a large library or several gigabytes of PDFs, USB through MacDroid is likely less tedious once the cable and USB mode are sorted out.
Don’t treat the Boox as the master copy of your library. A wireless upload can look like synchronization, but BooxDrop is really an inbox. It will move files, not keep folders mirrored, resolve duplicates, or reliably carry reading data back to the Mac.
A cleaner setup is to keep the organized library on the MacBook, preferably in Calibre if you care about metadata, covers, filename cleanup, or format conversion. For occasional transfers, start Calibre’s content server and open its local address in the Boox browser. You can then browse the Mac library and download the titles you want without installing another Android app. Keep that server limited to your trusted home network and check the macOS firewall if the Boox cannot reach it.
I’d use different methods for different jobs:
- BooxDrop for a PDF or two that you need immediately.
- Calibre’s content server for selecting books from an organized Mac library.
- USB for the first large transfer or when copying several gigabytes.
- A normal cloud folder for documents you actively revise on both machines, provided you understand how that cloud app handles offline copies and conflicts.
Avoid putting files directly into obscure app folders. Create something obvious such as Books/EPUB, Books/PDF, and Documents/Work, then have NeoReader scan those locations. That makes recovery much easier later. It also prevents the common situation where a title appears in NeoReader but nobody remembers whether the actual file came from Download, Push, or an app cache.
For transfers back to the Mac, copy into a dated import folder first rather than dropping files straight into your Calibre library. Open a few PDFs and EPUBs, check that the file sizes look reasonable, and only then sort or delete anything on the Boox. This matters especially with cloud-opened documents, since what looks available in the library may only be a temporary local copy.
The comments about annotations are correct, but I’d go further: assume the book file and your reading work are two separate things. Export marked-up PDFs and notes from NeoReader before reorganizing folders. EPUB annotations deserve their own export or backup routine. No transfer method, wired or wireless, turns the original EPUB into a complete backup of everything you did while reading it.
Forget the microSD advice. The Go 10.3 has no card slot, and the earlier reference to a Palma 2 is for a different device.
Before installing MacDroid or fighting with MTP, try a USB-C flash drive. The Go 10.3 supports USB OTG, so you can copy EPUBs and PDFs onto the drive from the Mac, plug it into the Boox, then move them into a sensible folder with the built-in file manager. It works in reverse for bringing documents back to the Mac. There is no network setup, account, server, or Android transfer software involved.
Use a filesystem both devices recognize. ExFAT is the obvious first choice. If the Boox refuses to see the drive, reformatting it as FAT32 is a fallback, though FAT32 cannot hold an individual file larger than 4 GB. Safely eject the drive on both ends instead of simply pulling it out during a copy.
For day-to-day transfers, BooxDrop is still less physical fuss. For a large batch, though, a thumb drive is often simpler than making macOS cooperate with MTP. It still will not carry NeoReader’s separate annotation database, so export marked-up PDFs and notes deliberately rather than assuming the book file contains them.
Big wireless transfers over BooxDrop have a quiet failure mode nobody mentioned: the Go 10.3 can drop the Wi-Fi radio or throttle it when the screen dozes, and a browser upload that stalls halfway usually gives you a truncated file with no error. You find out later when a PDF opens blank or an EPUB won’t parse. So if you go the BooxDrop route for anything chunky, keep the Boox awake and actually open a couple of the files afterward. Same verification @sys_alex89 mentioned for USB, just for a different reason.
The OTG flash drive tip from @s0l4r_cursor is the one I’d lean on hardest, and it’s underrated in this thread. No IP addresses, no server, no firewall guessing. You copy, you plug, you move files with the built-in manager. The only snag is remembering to safely eject, since yanking it mid-write on ExFAT is a decent way to corrupt the whole drive, not just one file.
On MacDroid, it does what it says for MTP, but I’d only bother if you genuinely want Finder-level browsing of the internal storage or you’re moving gigabytes regularly. For a one-off library dump the flash drive gets you there with less software to babysit. And everyone’s right about the annotations being a separate problem, so I won’t repeat it, except to say the moment you assume the EPUB carries your highlights is the moment you lose them.
The hidden snag is that “books on the Boox” may be DRM-protected downloads inside Kindle, Kobo, or another app, not normal EPUB files you can copy back to the Mac. For sideloaded EPUBs and PDFs, BooxDrop is fine for routine transfers and USB/OTG makes sense for bulk moves. Check the file source first, because no transfer method will turn an app-locked book into a usable Mac file.
Heads up on MacDroid specifically: the free mode is read-only, so if you actually want to push EPUBs onto the Boox over USB you’ll hit the paid tier pretty fast. Worth knowing before you install it expecting a full Finder-style drive. For a one-off bulk move I’d just grab the OTG flash drive @s0l4r_cursor mentioned and skip the whole MTP dance.
Expect an OTG drive to pick up macOS junk files such as .DS_Store and ._filename. They’re harmless, so ignore or delete them instead of mistaking them for duplicate or broken books.