Symptom
A Native Instruments legacy device is not recognized on macOS 10.12 (Sierra) or higher. This includes Maschine MK1, Audio 2 / 4 / 8 DJ, and Traktor S4 / X1 MK1 devices.
Solution
Note: Legacy devices are not officially supported on macOS 10.12 (and higher). See this article for a full list of NI devices and their compatible versions of macOS. Nevertheless, the following workaround will allow those devices to work on macOS 10.12 - 10.14:
- Delete the "com. native-instruments.*Product Name* Driver.plist" file which you find here:
Macintosh HD > Library > Preferences > com. native-instruments.*Product Name* Driver.plist - Delete the "NIUSBController.kext" file from here:
Macintosh HD > System > Library > Extensions
If no such file exists, please skip this step. - Restart your computer.
- Install the latest device driver available for your controller. You can find the corresponding driver for your hardware product on our Downloads page.
- During the installation, you may receive a message that the installer cannot be opened because it is not from the App Store:
- Click OK and navigate to your Mac's System Preferences... > Security & Privacy
- Choose the option Open Anyway which appears at the bottom of the page:
- Continue with the installation and restart your computer when prompted.
Now your legacy NI device should be recognized by the computer. If not, check for any incompatible drivers causing a conflict as per this article.
Additional Information on Audio 2 / 4 / 8 DJ and S4 MK1
Important Note: macOS 10.15 Catalina terminates the operability of these devices. For this reason, we recommend that you don't update Catalina when using one of the respective hardware devices.
While older-generation devices are not supported, they can be operated on macOS Sierra, High Sierra, and Mojave. While we cannot guarantee correct functionality, the following recommendations have proven to be effective among a significant amount of users:
- Set the sample rate of your audio driver to 48.000 Hz. In the example below, we are setting the Sample Rate for the Audio 4 DJ driver in the Traktor Audio Setup menu.
- Disable the macOS FileVault security preference as explained in this article from the Apple support website.
- Disable the App Nap function globally as explained in this article.
- Disable the Energy Saver settings as explained in the chapter 'Energy Saver Settings' of this article.