Native Instruments regularly releases updates for both soft- and hardware products. An update introduces new features or improvements and fixes known issues from previous versions. Updates should be installed as soon as they are made available. This article explains how to download and install the different types of product updates.
Note: It is important to make a distinction between a free product update (covered in this article) and a paid major update (e.g. updating from REAKTOR 5 to REAKTOR 6).
The article is divided into three chapters:
- Downloading and installing software product updates
- Downloading and installing hardware product updates
- Compatibility of updates with your operating system
1. Downloading and Installing Software Product Updates
Software updates for our current line of products can be downloaded with Native Access. If an update for an older product is not found or if you need to downgrade your NI product for specific technical reasons, you can download it from the UPDATES page on our website, as described in chapter 1.2. below.
Note: The NI service software products Native Access and Controller Editor are free of cost and cannot be found in the UPDATES page. Native Access is available for download here, and Controller Editor is available for download in the Drivers and Other files page (see chapter "Hardware product updates" below).
1.1 Downloading and Installing a Software Product Update from Native Access
- Open Native Access, which is located here:
- Mac: Macintosh HD > Applications > "Native Access.app"
- Windows: C: > Program Files > Native Access > "Native Access.exe"
- Switch to the Available updates tab. Here you will find all available updates for both software and content products listed with their version numbers and sizes (in MB). In the example below, Native Access is offering software updates (e.g. ABSYNTH 5, Maschine 2 Application) and content product updates (e.g. Reaktor Blocks, The Giant).
- Select the product update you wish to download and install by clicking on UPDATE for the corresponding product entry. In the example below we are downloading and installing the update 1.7.1. for Komplete Kontrol.
Once Native Access has finished updating the product, its entry shows up as UPDATED.
You can now close Native Access and launch your updated product.
1.2 Downloading and Installing a Software Product Update from the UPDATES Page
It is also possible to download and install a software update manually and independently from Native Access directly from the UPDATES page of the NI website. While we recommend to use Native Access for all your updates, it can be helpful, or even necessary in the case of older products, to retrieve them from the UPDATES page instead.
- Go to the UPDATES page here and log in to your NI User Account with your username (email address) and password if required.
- In the search field, type the name of the product whose update you wish to download. In the example below we have typed the name of the KONTAKT Instrument THE GIANT. The search results list available updates 1.2 for both OS X and Windows.
- Click on the name of the Update entry you wish to download for the corresponding operating system (OS X or Win). A pop-up download dialog window from your operating system will appear. Confirm with OK to begin the download to the specified download folder.
- Once the download is finished, go to your download folder and run the product update installer file, following the installation steps.
After succesful installation, you can launch your updated product. Note that you need to manually delete the installation file from your download folder in order to save hard-drive space.
2. Downloading and Installing Updates for Hardware Products
Updates for hardware products including audio interfaces, keyboards and controllers (e.g. TRAKTOR AUDIO 6 audio interface, KOMPLETE KONTROL S-Series keyboard, MASCHINE hardware controller, etc.) can be found as driver updates or firmware updates.
Driver Update
A driver is a special software installed on your computer that allows for the correct recognition and operation of a hardware device. While a driver installation is required for all hardware products in Windows, all current hardware devices do not require a driver installation on OS X. Please read this article for more information.
Firmware Update
Firmware updates are only available for specific device models (e.g. KOMPLETE AUDIO 6 or MASCHINE hardware controller). A firmware update is not installed on your computer. Instead, it is installed on the chipset of your hardware device and it is therefore necessary to connect your device to the system before installing the firmware. Read this article in order to learn how to update the firmware of your hardware device.
A hardware product update (driver and firmware) is available for download in the Drivers & Other Files page.
Note: Native Access does not offer any hardware driver updates since newer Native Instruments product installations already include the latest driver updates.
Downloading and Installing a Hardware Product Update from the DRIVERS & OTHER FILES Page
You can download and install a hardware driver directly from the unprotected DRIVERS & OTHER FILES page of the NI website.
Note: The DRIVERS & OTHER FILES page also contains the installers for the service software Service Center and Controller Editor as well as some specific tools and patches.
- Go to the DRIVERS & OTHER FILES page here.
- Scroll through the alphabetically sorted list until you find the list of files for your corresponding product. In the example below, we have located the file list for the hardware product TRAKTOR KONTROL S8 for which there is a driver update for Windows (Driver 4.1.0 - Windows) as well as firmware drivers (Device Updater) available for download.
- Click on the name of the entry you wish to download for the corresponding operating system (OS X or Win). A pop-up download dialog window from your operating system will appear. Confirm with OK to begin the download onto the specified download folder.
- Once the download is finished, go to your download folder and run the product installer file, following the installation steps.
After successful installation, you can connect and operate your hardware device. Note that you need to manually delete the installation file from your download folder in order to save hard-drive space.
3. Compatibility of Updates with Your Operating System
Software Updates
Depending on the operating system version you use, a soft- or hardware product update may no longer be supported by your operating system. You can check the currently supported operating system versions for a software product under SPECIFICATIONS in the corresponding product page on the Native Instruments website. For older product updates, you can consult the compatibility charts linked in the Related Articles section at the bottom of this page.
Content Product Updates
In order to find out whether a content product update is compatible with your operating system, please consult the following articles for OS X and Windows.