Midi error

Gig Performer on Mac OS X
1

today during show all of a sudden my midi stopped working.

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All midi in Ports turned into error!
Any idea anyone? Looks like the Apple midi driver crashed?!

Gigpeformer 5, osx

2

Checked cables/connections?

Powered midi hub? [Disclaimer: I don’t know much]

Jeff

3

" < error > " (or grayed-out/hidden) MIDI port in macOS Audio MIDI Setup typically means the OS detects a device is plugged in but cannot establish proper communication, often caused by driver conflicts, power issues, or incorrect routing.

Here are the steps to troubleshoot this:

(1) Immediate Fixes

  • Power Cycle & Reconnect: Unplug the MIDI device, wait 5 seconds, and plug it back in.
  • Use a Powered USB Hub or Direct Connection: Avoid passive hubs. MIDI devices (especially keyboards) often require more power than a standard hub provides.
  • Restart the MIDI Server: Open Audio MIDI Setup, go to the Window menu, and select Show MIDI Studio. Click the Rescan MIDI button (globe icon).
  • Restart your Mac: This resolves many persistent communication errors.

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(2) Audio MIDI Setup (AMS) Troubleshooting

  • Reset Configuration:
    1. Open Audio MIDI Setup → Window → Show MIDI Studio.
    2. Click the Configuration drop-down (top left) and select New Configuration…
    3. Name it and click OK. This forces a re-scan of all devices.
  • Delete Preferences: If the error persists, try deleting the preferences file. Close Audio MIDI Setup, go to ~/Library/Preferences/ in Finder, and delete com.apple.audio.AudioMIDISetup.plist, then restart.

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(3) Drivers and System Integrity

  • Check System Information: Go to Apple Menu > About this Mac > More Info > System Report > USB to see if the computer detects the hardware at all, even if it has an error.
  • Reinstall/Update Drivers: Even if a device is “class-compliant” (no drivers needed), reinstalling manufacturer-specific software can fix corrupt MIDI drivers.
  • Check for Exclusive Access: If another app (like a DAW, web browser, or utility) is using the MIDI port exclusively, other apps will show a port error. Close all audio apps and re-open only the one you need.

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(4) Special Scenarios

Recent system update may cause this behavior.

1 Like
4

Sorry a bit more info is needed:
I was using GP to autotune a live concert. It got it’s midi from a rtp midi connection with a playaudio1U (which was connected to a different MacBook with Ableton). All machines were connected to a Cisco 250 business managed switch.
The playaudio was set initiator to establish connection with the “tuner MacBook”

When the error occured I saw the midi Ports turn into error and the switch was overloaded (network storm). Don’t know what happend first

5

Thanx! All of my midi Ports (even the IAC driver) turned into error… so that’s why I figured it could be the Apple midi. Because I had to keep the audio outputs I wasn’t able to do a “sudo killall coreaudio” during/after show. Forgot the option sudo killall MIDIServer :frowning: (no idea of that works during show without restarting GP).

6

Need way more information

  1. How long have you been using your Mac with this configuration before you ran into a problem
  2. What version of OSx? What kind of Mac (Intel or Apple Silicon)
  3. What audio interface, what audio driver
  4. What has changed on your computer? Was there a new os update? A new audio device driver?

The only other thing that can typically kill CoreAudio is faulty hardware

7
  1. Over several years.
  2. The Ableton laptops are 2016 MacBooks (intel) running OSX 12.6. The Tune laptop is a M3 Macbook running 14.4.1.
  3. Audio interface on the tune laptop is RME Digiface (Dante), running latest RME drivers. Audio interface on the Ableton laptops is the Iconnectivity PLAYAudio1U.
  4. Nothing changed actually.
    today I had the same issue: It has definitely something to do with the RTP midi.. sudo killall Coreaudio didn’t solve the problem, I had to restart GP, then the midi ports re-appeared.
    Maybe faulty hardware is the network Switch? because I can see some kind of network storm
8

Perhaps a loop? To avoid that you can enable stp on the switch. You use that switch standalone? If you use it connected to other switches then enabling stp could need more thinking through, especially if the other switches are not under your control.

9

Update: I’m able to reproduce the situation:
The Playaudio is set to initiator making a RTP midi connection to the Macbook. On the laptop side in the Audio Midi Network settings you can see the connection. When I unplug the ethernet cable and plug it back in, the connection remains but then the Playaudio makes another connection so the connection is double (you can see the connection twice). In a couple of seconds a connection error pops up and that’s when the Apple Midi crashes (and the error on all midi ports in GP).

I’ve tried this with different cables and different USB C Ethernet dongle/hubs.

10

This doesn’t sound like a GP problem. I have seen this kind of “duplicate” connection when trying to connect iPads to a Mac via wifi but I’ve never seen CoreMIDI crash as a consequence.