This troubleshooting guide helps you if your NI hardware device is not recognized by your Mac computer. The symptoms include:
- The LEDs on the hardware do not light up / do not flash when connecting it to the USB port.
- The USB LED on the connected device is blinking instead of remaining continuously lit.
- Audio interfaces only: The device is not available from the list of device drivers in the audio settings of your audio application or in the audio preferences of your Mac operating system.
This article is divided into the following chapters:
- Compatibility issues
- Troubleshooting the hardware device
- Troubleshooting the device driver and firmware
- Verifying the hardware status
1. Compatibility issues
- macOS 10.12 (Sierra) or later: Older NI devices are no longer supported in macOS 10.12 or later and may therefore fail to be recognized. Read this article for more information.
- Mac OS X 10.10.5 (Yosemite) or later: Verify if an installed plug-in is causing issues recognizing the hardware as explained in this article.
2.Troubleshooting the Hardware Device
To find out whether the problem may relate to the hardware device itself, please perform the following connectivity tests:
Verifying the USB Connection
- Try out another USB cable, ensuring that the other USB cable is functioning correctly when connecting a different USB device. If possible, try a USB cable that meets the specifications required by NI devices, as explained in this article.
- Try connecting the NI hardware via a powered USB hub. This is especially important for hardware devices that do not operate with external power supply (see next section).
- Make sure that you are connecting the hardware device to a USB 2.0 port. Although it is common to operate an NI hardware device via a USB 3.0 port as they are found in new generation computers, some systems may pose some connectivity issues with USB 3.0 ports. USB 1.0 is not supported.
Verifying the External Power Supply
Some NI devices require an external power supply for their operation, in which case it is worth trying a different power supply. We strongly recommend to try out only another official NI power supply unit (18W or 40W depending on your NI device model - see below).
NI Hardware Devices Requiring a 18W Power Supply
- MASCHINE STUDIO
- KOMPLETE KONTROL S88 / S61 / S49 / S25
- TRAKTOR KONTROL S5 / S4 / S2
- TRAKTOR AUDIO 2 (optional, required only for its use with iOS)
- TRAKTOR KONTROL Z1 (optional, required only for its use with iOS)
- TRAKTOR AUDIO 6 (optional)
- TRAKTOR AUDIO 10
NI Hardware Devices Requiring a 40W Power Supply
- TRAKTOR KONTROL S8
- TRAKTOR KONTROL D2
Warning: If you attempt to use another third-party power supply, make sure that it has the same specifications as the NI power supply (output wattage and current), otherwise there is a risk of losing the device's warranty.
Test the Device on a Different Computer
It is also useful to test the NI device on another computer. Make sure that the second computer is meeting the product's system specifications and that the device's driver has been installed. If the device fails to light up on the second computer, the hardware could be defective and you may contact our hardware support via this link.
3. Troubleshooting the Device Driver and Firmware
If the driver and / or firmware of your NI device has not been correctly installed or is not up-to-date, your device may not be recognized and the light(s) on the device will blink upon connecting it to your system. Follow the steps below in order to ensure that you have installed the driver / firmware correctly:
Device Driver
All current NI devices use class-compliant technology for their operation in OS X. This means that no driver installation is required. If you use a class-compliant device, you can skip directly to the Firmware section of this article.
The following older NI devices require a driver installation:
- AUDIO 2 DJ
- AUDIO 4 DJ
- AUDIO 8 DJ
- GUITAR RIG Mobile/ Session I/O
- KORE Controller
- MASCHINE (MK1)
- RIG KONTROL
- TRAKTOR AUDIO 2 (MK1)
- TRAKTOR KONTROL X1 (MK1)
- TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 (MK1)
If the driver version of these is not up-to-date, your device may not be recognized or may cause performance issues. Follow the steps below in order to ensure that you are using the latest device driver version for your operating system.
Determining / Updating the Driver Version
- Click the Apple icon in the upper left of your desktop and choose About this Mac.
- In the OS X Info window, click on System Report...
- In the System Information go to Software > Extensions. You may have to wait some time until the Extensions list is populated.
- Scroll through the list of all installed extensions until you reach NIUSBAudio in the column Extension Name. In the example below, we want to look up the properties of the NIUSBAudio4DJ driver to determine the driver Version (v. 2.8.0 in this example).
Note: You may see double entries for a single NIUSB device in the extensions list. In this case, click the entry with the lower version number to reveal its properties in the lower half of the System Information. The path to this driver (.kext file) is shown under Location. You may go to that folder and delete that file. Be careful not to delete any other files from that folder!
After having verified the driver's version number, go to our Drivers & Other Files page and check if there are newer driver versions available. If so, download and install the latest driver version for your device and operating system. Make sure to disconnect your device before running the driver installation.
Device Firmware
A firmware is a specific type of software which is directly installed on your hardware device. Many NI hardware products offer updates for their firmware. If the firmware version of your device is not up-to-date, your device may not be recognized or you may experience performance issues. Read this article and make sure the latest firmware is installed on your device.
4. Verifying the Hardware Status
As a final step it is necessary to verify the hardware status of your device in order to determine if it is being correctly recognized by your Mac system:
- Make sure your NI device is connected to your computer's USB port.
- Open Apple's System Information (See Determining / Updating the Driver Version for instructions).
- Click on the menu USB under Hardware.
If your NI device is being recognized by your OS X system, its name will appear in the USB Device Tree. The naming of the USB ports may vary depending on your computer model and generation. In the example below, the connected Traktor Kontrol F1 device is showing up under the USB 2.0 Bus. The lower area of the window displays the properties for the USB device.
Note: Further help regarding computer performance issues and other audio problems can be found in the articles linked under Related Articles below.