diff --git a/Mergin/project_settings_widget.py b/Mergin/project_settings_widget.py
index 4f499f9f..31c6470b 100644
--- a/Mergin/project_settings_widget.py
+++ b/Mergin/project_settings_widget.py
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
     QgsMapLayer,
     QgsVectorLayer,
     QgsFieldProxyModel,
+    Qgis,
 )
 from qgis.gui import (
     QgsOptionsWidgetFactory,
@@ -51,6 +52,7 @@
     excluded_layers_list,
     get_fields_for_checkbox,
 )
+from .qgis_properties_version_4 import read_mergin_properties, is_qgis_version_4
 
 ui_file = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), "ui", "ui_project_config.ui")
 ProjectConfigUiWidget, _ = uic.loadUiType(ui_file)
@@ -82,6 +84,11 @@ def __init__(self, parent=None):
         QgsOptionsPageWidget.__init__(self, parent)
         self.setupUi(self)
 
+        if Qgis.versionInt() < 40000 and is_qgis_version_4(QgsProject.instance().fileName()):
+            props = read_mergin_properties(QgsProject.instance().fileName())
+            for key, value in props.items():
+                QgsProject.instance().writeEntry("Mergin", key, value)
+
         self.cmb_photo_quality.addItem("Original", 0)
         self.cmb_photo_quality.addItem("High (approx. 2-4 Mb)", 1)
         self.cmb_photo_quality.addItem("Medium (approx. 1-2 Mb)", 2)
diff --git a/Mergin/qgis_properties_version_4.py b/Mergin/qgis_properties_version_4.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b22e5108
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Mergin/qgis_properties_version_4.py
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET  # nosec B405
+from xml.etree.ElementTree import Element  # nosec B405
+from typing import Dict
+import zipfile
+
+
+def _read_xml_tree_from_project(project_path: str) -> Element:
+    if project_path.endswith(".qgs"):
+        with open(project_path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
+            return ET.parse(f).getroot()  # nosec B314
+    elif project_path.endswith(".qgz"):
+        return _read_xml_tree_from_qgz(project_path)
+    else:
+        raise ValueError(f"Unsupported project file format: {project_path}")
+
+
+def _read_xml_tree_from_qgz(qgz_path: str) -> Element:
+    qgs_filename = next(
+        (name for name in zipfile.ZipFile(qgz_path).namelist() if name.endswith(".qgs")),
+        None,
+    )
+
+    if qgs_filename is None:
+        raise ValueError(f"No .qgs file found inside {qgz_path}")
+
+    with zipfile.ZipFile(qgz_path, "r") as input_zip_file:
+        entries = {name: input_zip_file.read(name) for name in input_zip_file.namelist()}
+
+    return ET.fromstring(entries[qgs_filename])  # nosec B314
+
+
+def is_qgis_version_4(project_file: str) -> bool:
+    root = _read_xml_tree_from_project(project_file)
+
+    version = root.attrib.get("version", "")
+    if not version.startswith("4."):
+        return False
+
+    return True
+
+
+def _parse_properties(element, prefix="") -> Dict:
+    """Recursively parse nested <properties> elements into a flat dict with path keys."""
+    result = {}
+
+    for child in element:
+        if child.tag != "properties":
+            continue
+
+        name = child.attrib.get("name", "")
+        key = f"{prefix}/{name}" if prefix else name
+        prop_type = child.attrib.get("type")
+
+        if prop_type is not None:
+            if prop_type == "QStringList":
+                result[key] = [v.text for v in child.findall("value")]
+            else:
+                result[key] = child.text
+        else:
+            result.update(_parse_properties(child, prefix=key))
+
+    return result
+
+
+def read_mergin_properties(project_file: str) -> Dict:
+    root = _read_xml_tree_from_project(project_file)
+
+    version = root.attrib.get("version", "")
+    if not version.startswith("4."):
+        return {}
+
+    mergin_elem = root.find(".//properties[@name='Mergin']")
+    if mergin_elem is None:
+        return {}
+
+    props = _parse_properties(mergin_elem)
+
+    return props
diff --git a/tests/conftest.py b/tests/conftest.py
index f24af13d..bbd90feb 100644
--- a/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/conftest.py
@@ -71,3 +71,9 @@ def layer_field_filter(test_data_path: Path) -> QgsVectorLayer:
     layer = QgsVectorLayer(str(test_data_path / "data_field_filter.gpkg"), "field filter layer", "ogr")
     assert layer.isValid()
     return layer
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def qgis_project_4_path(test_data_path: Path) -> Path:
+    """Fixture for a QGIS project file created with QGIS 4.x."""
+    return test_data_path / "test_variables_4.0.qgz"
diff --git a/tests/data/test_variables_4.0.qgz b/tests/data/test_variables_4.0.qgz
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2e1a09f7
Binary files /dev/null and b/tests/data/test_variables_4.0.qgz differ
diff --git a/tests/test_qgis_properties_version_4.py b/tests/test_qgis_properties_version_4.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ce9da9c6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_qgis_properties_version_4.py
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+
+# GPLv3 license
+# Copyright Lutra Consulting Limited
+
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from Mergin.qgis_properties_version_4 import is_qgis_version_4, read_mergin_properties
+
+
+def test_is_qgis_version_4(qgis_project_4_path: Path):
+    assert is_qgis_version_4(str(qgis_project_4_path))
+
+
+def test_read_mergin_properties(qgis_project_4_path: Path):
+
+    mergin_properties = read_mergin_properties(str(qgis_project_4_path))
+
+    assert isinstance(mergin_properties, dict)
+    assert len(mergin_properties) > 0