• hoyt
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Topic: [Solved] Fireface USB Settings Does Not Open (M1 Mac)

I typically just use the iPad with my Fireface UFX but I misplaced the iPad connection device, so I thought "I'll just hook it up to my mac to make a few small changes." I'm running an M1 MacOS 12.3.1. I installed the drivers, booted into recovery mode, etc. I think I did that all correctly. When I open TotalMix, nothing shows up. But if I turn off and turn on the Fireface while TotalMix is open, the mixer window magically pops up and the title bar says "RME TotalMix Fx: n.a. - disconnected". If I try to open Fireface USB Settings, the screen just flashes for a second, like an app is going to open, then nothing happens.

There are a lot of notes about using the Fireface USB drives with M1 macs and I think I followed those along properly, but clearly something isn't right. If I open Adobe Audition and map a channel to record, I can see that my mac 'knows' the Fireface and records the input. But I need to edit the submixes, etc in TotalMix.

Am I missing something obvious? Thanks!

  • waedi
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Re: [Solved] Fireface USB Settings Does Not Open (M1 Mac)

your Totalmix is version 1.78, right ?

M1-Sequoia, Madiface Pro, Digiface USB, Babyface silver and blue
  • hoyt
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Re: [Solved] Fireface USB Settings Does Not Open (M1 Mac)

waedi wrote:

your Totalmix is version 1.78, right ?

Yes. 1.78 macOS (2)

  • waedi
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Re: [Solved] Fireface USB Settings Does Not Open (M1 Mac)

And you did a reboot of the Mac ?

M1-Sequoia, Madiface Pro, Digiface USB, Babyface silver and blue

5 Reply by hoyt (edited by hoyt 2023-02-28 20:59:56)

  • hoyt
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Re: [Solved] Fireface USB Settings Does Not Open (M1 Mac)

waedi wrote:

And you did a reboot of the Mac ?

Yes. There were a few reboots in the process. I think I've rebooted it 4 or 5 times since installing TotalMix and the drivers. Happy to do it again to verify. I installed TotalMix, it told me to boot into recovery mode, I did that, changed the allow extensions item, rebooted. I think it then started and told me reboot again, so I did that. I was able to get into the system settings and allow from RME GbH, then rebooted. I even reinstalled the drivers again, and it didn't prompt me that I needed to go into recovery mode (which made me think I had done it correctly before).

EDIT: Just did a fresh reboot, same thing. Fireface is on and plugged in when the Mac reboots, I open TotalMix and there's no mixer showing. Go to File > New TotalMix Window and the device list is blank. If I power cycle the Fireface, the mixer window shows up (without me doing anything), but it says disconnected.

  • waedi
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Re: [Solved] Fireface USB Settings Does Not Open (M1 Mac)

From page 93 user manual :
Windows does not support USB Audio 2.0 directly. The UFX will be detected, but automatic driver installation will fail. This is important to remember. Connecting it to the PC one day after having it used with the iPhone/iPad one might forget that it is still in CC mode. You might end up with hours of wasted time trying to repair your driver installation – when all you need to do is set the unit back to normal mode.
Mac OSX supports USB Audio 2.0, even with more than 2 channels. The UFX offers 22 input and 22 output channels at up to 96 kHz. It is shown as “Fireface UFX (xxxxxxxx)“ in the Audio MIDI Setup, in both normal and CC mode. In CC mode the USB Settings will vanish from the Dock, and TotalMix will – if at all – show a ‘disconnected’ UFX.
The Audio window in the Audio MIDI Setup lists two available modes: 2 channels and 22 channels. The sample rate shown here as ‘Default’ is the one set at the UFX.

As you said you used it on an iPad... ?

M1-Sequoia, Madiface Pro, Digiface USB, Babyface silver and blue
  • hoyt
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Re: [Solved] Fireface USB Settings Does Not Open (M1 Mac)

waedi wrote:

From page 93 user manual :
Connecting it to the PC one day after having it used with the iPhone/iPad one might forget that it is still in CC mode. You might end up with hours of wasted time trying to repair your driver installation – when all you need to do is set the unit back to normal mode.

It's like they added that to the manual for me!!

Unplugged it from the mac, set to normal mode, plugged it back into the mac and restarted TotalMix and now I see all the settings I expect.

The manual says "hours", I think that's accurate, I certainly was troubleshooting stuff for an hour before posting this. Thanks for the help!

  • waedi
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Re: [Solved] Fireface USB Settings Does Not Open (M1 Mac)

Glad you can make music !

M1-Sequoia, Madiface Pro, Digiface USB, Babyface silver and blue