My Native Instruments Hardware Device is Not Recognized

This section is divided into the following chapters:

1. Compatibility issues
2. Troubleshooting the hardware device
3. Troubleshooting the device driver and firmware
4. Verifying the hardware status
5. The NIHardwareAgent or NIHostIntegrationAgent services are not running in the background
6. Enable Full Disk Access

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. Please consult this article for more information on macOS compatibility.
• 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 or directly to your computer. This is especially important for hardware devices that do not operate with an 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 trying out only another official NI power supply unit.

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 voiding 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 meets the product's system specifications and that the device's driver has been installed. If the device fails to light up when connected to 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. Therefore, 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

1. Click the Apple icon in the upper left of your desktop and choose About this Mac.
2. In the macOS Info window, click on System Report...
   
   
3. In the System Information go to Software > Extensions. You may have to wait a few seconds until the Extensions list is populated.
   
4. 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 that 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 macOS system:

1. Make sure your NI device is connected to your computer's USB port.
2. Open Apple's System Information (See Determining / Updating the Driver Version for instructions).
3. 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 of the USB device.

5. The NIHardwareAgent or NIHostIntegrationAgent services are not running in the background

Make sure that both the NIHardwareAgent and the NIHostIntegrationAgent applications are set as startup items.

Note: the NIHostIntegrationAgent is not required for Traktor controllers.

1. Open your Mac's System Preferences and choose Users & Groups.
2. Make sure your account is selected under Current User and go to the Login Items tab. Verify if both NIHardwareAgent and NIHostIntegrationAgent are listed in the login items.
   
3. If any of these two items are missing from the list, add them by clicking the '+' icon.
   
4. Navigate to the following location:
   Macintosh HD > Library > Application Support > Native Instruments > Hardware
5. Select the missing service and click Add, as shown below.
   
6. Restart your computer.

6. Enable Full Disk Access

It may be necessary to grant Full Disk Access to your Native Instruments application in order for it to work correctly with your hardware controller. More information on Full Disk Access can be found on the Apple website.

1. Open your Mac's System Preferences and click Security & Privacy.
2. Under the Privacy tab, choose Full Disk Access from the sidebar.
3. Click the lock icon in the bottom left of the window and enter your macOS password.
4. Ensure that your NI app appears in the list.
   If it does not appear in this list, click the + icon and add the location of your NI app. In this example, we are adding Maschine 2 from:
   Mac HD: Applications > Native Instruments > Maschine 2 > Maschine 2.app.
5. Once completed, click the lock icon again.
   

Note: Further help regarding computer performance issues and other audio problems can be found in the Mac Tuning Tips for Audio Processing article.

This section is divided into the following chapters:

1. Troubleshooting the hardware device
2. Troubleshooting the device driver and firmware
3. Verifying the hardware status

4. The NIHardwareAgent or NIHostIntegrationAgent services are not running in the background

1. 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 device via a powered USB hub or directly to your computer. This is especially important for devices that do not operate with an external power supply (see next section).
• Make sure that you are connecting the sound card to a USB 2.0 port. Although it is common to operate an NI audio interface 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. 

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 trying out only another official NI power supply unit.

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 voiding 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 when connected to the second computer, the hardware could be defective. In this case, please contact our hardware support team.

2. 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:

Class-Compliant WASAPI Drivers (Windows 10)

Note: New NI devices make use of the WASAPI Exclusive technology and do not require a driver installation. These "class-compliant" drivers can only be used on Windows 10 or higher. Read this article for more information.

These NI devices are class-compliant on Windows 10:

• Komplete Audio 1 / 2 / 6 MK2
• Komplete Kontrol A-Series
• Komplete Kontrol M32
• Maschine Mikro MK3
• Maschine MK3
• Maschine+

In order to ensure that the WASAPI drivers are working, please install the latest Windows updates as explained below:

1. Click on the Start button at the bottom left corner of your Desktop.
2. Type Check For Updates and click on the top result.
   
3. Go through all available updates by clicking the Check for updates button.
   
4. Repeat steps 1 through 3 until all updates are installed.

ASIO Drivers

Most NI devices require the installation of an ASIO driver on Windows.

Go to our Drivers & Other Files page and download the latest driver version for your operating system. In the below example, we are downloading the Traktor Kontrol S4 MK3 ASIO Driver 5.2.0 - Win.

Device Firmware

A firmware is a specific type of software that is directly installed on your hardware device. There are firmware updates available for many NI hardware products. 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 to make sure the latest firmware is installed on your device.

3. Verifying the Hardware Status

Verify the hardware status of your device in order to determine if it is being correctly recognized by your Windows system:

1. Make sure your NI device is connected to your computer's USB port.
2. Open the Start menu and type 'devmgmt.msc' in the search bar, then press the Enter key to open the Windows Device Manager.
3. Expand the entries Sound, video, and game controllers and Universal Serial Bus devices. If an exclamation mark appears next to your device entry (see picture), install the driver manually as explained below:
   
4. Right-click on the device entry and select Update Driver Software... from the menu that appears.
5. In the window that opens, choose the option Browse my computer for driver software.
6. Browse to the following directory: C: > Program Files > Native Instruments > *Device Name* Driver > Inf
7. Click OK to load the driver.

4. The NIHardwareAgent or NIHostIntegrationAgent services are not running in the background

Make sure that the services NIHardwareAgent and NIHostIntegrationAgent are running on your computer. Follow these steps:

Note: the NIHostIntegrationAgent is not required for Traktor controllers.

1. Click on the Start button, type Task Manager, and press the Enter key on your keyboard to open the Windows Task Manager. Choose the Services tab.
   

   Note: If the Services tab is not directly available, expand the view by clicking 'More details' in the lower-left corner of the window.

2. Search the list and check if the Status of the services NIHostIntegrationAgent and NIHardwareService is set to Running:
   
3. If not, right-click the respective entry and choose Start from the context menu:
   
4. Restart your computer.

Note: Further help regarding computer performance issues and other audio problems can be found in the Windows Tuning Tips for Audio Processing article.