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AUM: All midi input dies.

I have used AUM extensively for the last couple of months, and it comes across at rock solid.
However the last 5 days or so, I have experienced three times where midi in simply stopped working. And I have no idea what is going on. In each case, re-booting AUM solved it.
I use an M1 ipad pro that is connected to a hub. The hub takes usb-midi in from a Hapax, Faderfox EC4, Linnstrument plus a bluetooth midi in from a BlueBoard pedal.

Has anybody experienced all midi inputs die in AUM? Or anything similar?
In the context of playing live, this really worries me.

Comments

  • You could troubleshoot this with Jonatan in the AUM discord channel https://discord.gg/DHaGS8xR

  • Could you look at the MIDI routing matrix when the inputs die? Does it show the MIDI sources as off-line (wiggly red line through the icons)?

    Are you still able to interact with the AUM screen after the MIDI inputs fail? That would confirm that AUM itself is still running.

    If only the USB connections fail, it might be that you're losing connection to the USB hub.

    Is your hub powered?

    I have never seen this in years of using AUM with three USB MIDI sources connected via a powered hub.

    Just for reference, what is your iPadOS version?

  • My first guess is loss of connection to the MIDI hub. Perhaps try changing out the cable or cleaning connections. If a different hub is available to test with, that would be another good troubleshooting step.

  • @Carnbot said:
    You could troubleshoot this with Jonatan in the AUM discord channel https://discord.gg/DHaGS8xR

    Excellent. 👍🏻

    @uncledave said:
    Could you look at the MIDI routing matrix when the inputs die? Does it show the MIDI sources as off-line (wiggly red line through the icons)?

    No, I am pretty sure, that everything looked normal.

    Are you still able to interact with the AUM screen after the MIDI inputs fail? That would confirm that AUM itself is still running.

    Yup, AUM seemed unaffected (and unaware) that something was wrong.

    If only the USB connections fail, it might be that you're losing connection to the USB hub.

    Is your hub powered?

    Yes, it is a Unisynk 10 port hub, powered via USB. My audio interface also connects via this, and audio was still working. I have no reason to suspect a loose or faulty cable. This setup has been running flawlessly for 1 1/2 year.

    I have never seen this in years of using AUM with three USB MIDI sources connected via a powered hub.

    Have never had anything like it either in the past.

    Just for reference, what is your iPadOS version?

    iOS 15.5

  • edited November 2022

    @LarsDaniel , have you changed anything recently? New audio interface, new iPad, running a new app or MIDI script in AUM, etc.

    Are you powering the USB hub directly from the iPad? Or is it connected to a power adapter?

    I believe you said that simply reloading AUM fixes it. You do not need to restart the iPad. Is that correct?

    When this happens, you could try loading a stand-alone MIDI monitor like MIDI Wrench (free), and see if it still receives MIDI from your controllers. It might also reveal a stream of MIDI messages, possibly flooding the system. This would help isolate the problem to either AUM only, or MIDI in general.

    I'd like to suspect a failure in Core MIDI, but that would surely require an iPad restart to fix.

    Edit: I see that the Unisync hub has one USB-C data port. Are you using it for anything? Or are you using only the four USB-A ports?

    When this happens, you could try deleting a MIDI connection in the matrix, then re-adding it. See if AUM allows that. Does the new connection work? Does it magically restore all the connections? If doing that has no useful effect, try loading a saved AUM session that uses MIDI. This would give a clue as to whether AUM can correct this by itself.

  • @uncledave said:
    @LarsDaniel , have you changed anything recently? New audio interface, new iPad, running a new app or MIDI script in AUM, etc.

    Good question, and hard to answer in an absolute way. No hardware changes at least. No scripts. But a few new apps.

    Are you powering the USB hub directly from the iPad? Or is it connected to a power adapter?

    The has a USB C power in, that has plenty of power.

    I believe you said that simply reloading AUM fixes it. You do not need to restart the iPad. Is that correct?

    Correct.

    When this happens, you could try loading a stand-alone MIDI monitor like MIDI Wrench (free), and see if it still receives MIDI from your controllers. It might also reveal a stream of MIDI messages, possibly flooding the system. This would help isolate the problem to either AUM only, or MIDI in general.

    Very good idea for tracing the problem. 👌🏻

    I'd like to suspect a failure in Core MIDI, but that would surely require an iPad restart to fix.

    Edit: I see that the Unisync hub has one USB-C data port. Are you using it for anything? Or are you using only the four USB-A ports?

    Yes, the USB C data port goes to my audio interface, Expert Sleepers ES-9. (Which has always been rock solid.)

    When this happens, you could try deleting a MIDI connection in the matrix, then re-adding it. See if AUM allows that. Does the new connection work? Does it magically restore all the connections? If doing that has no useful effect, try loading a saved AUM session that uses MIDI. This would give a clue as to whether AUM can correct this by itself.

    Will try that if this happens again.

    Thanks a lot for helping me trouble-shoot!🙏🏼

  • edited November 2022

    So, midi input died again in AUM.
    And by good advice from @uncledave I got a little wiser this time:
    I opened a stand-alone midi monitor and could see that all the midi sources were alive and well. So all midi arrives in the iPad, but for some reason AUM stops receiving.

    And in AUM I went to the midi matrix: Everything looked normal, and I could make and remove connections as usual. But not a single midi event was coming in, (so no visual activity).
    On project reload, nothing is fixed, but on AUM reboot all is back to normal.

    So with USB-hub/cable failure out of the equation, I will take this problem to Jonatan.

  • @LarsDaniel said:
    So, midi input died again in AUM.
    And by good advice from @uncledave I got a little wiser this time:
    I opened a stand-alone midi monitor and could see that all the midi sources were alive and well. So all midi arrives in the iPad, but for some reason AUM stops receiving.

    And in AUM I went to the midi matrix: Everything looked normal, and I could make and remove connections as usual. But not a single midi event was coming in, (so no visual activity).
    On project reload, nothing is fixed, but on AUM reboot all is back to normal.

    So with USB-hub/cable failure out of the equation, I will take this problem to Jonatan.

    Interesting. So, it sounds like AUM is somehow losing its connection to Core MIDI, and doesn't re-open it until it's reloaded.

    I have one suggestion: normally we only say "reboot" when restarting the iPad. You should say that you force-quit AUM, then reload it.

    I hope you can resolve this with jonatan.

  • Did the connection get lost with AUM active in the foreground? Just wondering if the OS may have done something unexpected with the MIDI stream if the app was running in the background for a certain period whilst using a certain amount of resource, not that I’ve ever seen this happen myself.

  • Does it happen when you start a new setup?
    If the answer is yes, then simply uninstall and reinstall the app. Might be a corrupted file.
    Cheers

  • @VoytecG said:
    Does it happen when you start a new setup?
    If the answer is yes, then simply uninstall and reinstall the app. Might be a corrupted file.
    Cheers

    I just happens seemingly at random when I am working in an AUM project. And it has happened in two unrelated projects. But the total number of midi-in-death incidents is four, so statistics about circumstances are lacking.

  • @MisplacedDevelopment said:
    Did the connection get lost with AUM active in the foreground? Just wondering if the OS may have done something unexpected with the MIDI stream if the app was running in the background for a certain period whilst using a certain amount of resource, not that I’ve ever seen this happen myself.

    AUM always in the foreground.

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