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HELP! nanoKEY Studio bricked on iPad Pro (NOW SOLVED)

edited February 2020 in General App Discussion

I have a problem with my nanoKEY Studio and hopefully someone here knows the answer...?

I read in the iPad Musician group on Facebook that the latest updates to iOS 13 had screwed up the Bluetooth connection of the nanoKEY and you needed to perform a firmware update to make it work again, so I checked it wasn’t working and downloaded the firmware updater from the Korg website.

I did the firmware update using my Mac, and it appeared to work fine - it told me I’d updated the firmware correctly. However, when I try and use it with Gadget on my iPad Pro it still won’t detect the nanokey by Bluetooth, and if I connect it by cable the iPad tells me I can’t use this accessory cos it requires too much power (even though i put brand new Duracells in it before starting).

The only thing I can think of is that I updated the iPad yesterday to the very latest version of iOS 13.13.1 and that’s brought the bug back and Korg haven’t fixed it yet.

Does anyone have any suggestions cos currently the nanokey is unusable on the iPad Pro

Comments

  • However, the nanokey still works: I just tried it with Gadget via Bluetooth on my Air 1 which is iOS 12 and everything is fine. Errrrrrrrm?

  • I reckon it’s the latest iOS 13 update that’s the culprit and Korg haven’t caught up yet: their firmware update is dated 11 November 2019 and the latest iOS update only came out in the last couple of days - and it’s the one that changes the name to iPadOS 13.13.1

  • edited February 2020

    Just wanted to post that I have an iPad Pro 10.5 on iPadOS 13.3.1 (this is the latest update) - and I have a Nanokey Studio with the most recent November 2019 firmware.

    Everything is working fine for me - including Gadget and other DAWs.

    I also have a bluetooth Microkey Air from Korg, and this is working too.

  • @tk32 said:
    Just wanted to post that I have an iPad Pro 10.5 on iPadOS 13.3.1 (this is the latest update) - and I have a Nanokey Studio with the most recent November 2019 firmware.

    Thanks for the info - I’m on a 1st gen 12.9 iPad Pro - so it would seem that this latest update affects the nanoKEY on some iPads and not others.

    Hopefully Korg will fix it again ASAP (only for Apple to break it again with the next update...)

  • You might have made the same inadvertent mistake I made: make sure you connect via BLE, not vanilla Bluetooth. If your nanokey is in the regular Bluetooth listing remove it, try again directly from gadget/the BLE app.

  • Have you tried to forget NanoKEY in BT devices? Then try to pair it again with BLE-MIDI app from Korg firstly.

  • @Janosax said:
    Have you tried to forget NanoKEY in BT devices? Then try to pair it again with BLE-MIDI app from Korg firstly.

    That’s fixed it! EXCELLENT thanks a lot :smile:

    I had already told Gadget to forget the nanoKEY but I’d forgotten to remove it from the BT device list in the iPad settings, so I took it out and it’s done the trick

    I also checked the Gadget settings and found that ‘Allow Gadget to use Bluetooth’ was turned off. I haven’t used my nanoKEY in a little while, so maybe that setting got changed in an update of some kind?

    Anyway, whatever, I’m really happy it’s working again cos it’s just about to come on holiday with me for some mobile music making in the sun! (or should I say ‘warm weather in the shade’ cos iPads hate direct sunlight!)

    Thanks everyone!

  • Everything is working fine here. Air 2, 13.3.1, connected via normal Bluetooth, not BLE.

  • For the record, I connected via normal Bluetooth too, but I did have have to enable it as a midi input source in the gadget midi settings.

  • Hi.

    I’m on an iPad Air 4 and my NanoKEY just won’t connect via USB and I can’t figure out why?!? It’s worked without any problems for months, and then it suddenly stopped. The iPad doesn’t see it. I use the BLE-MIDI app, just in case you wondered.

    • I have tried changing the cable several times. No success.

    • I have tried “forgetting” the device and “re-finding” it. No success.

    • The device lights up in USB mode, but the iPad doesn’t see it.

    • The device, however, DOES work in Bluetooth mode, but I need higher precision, so that won’t cut it for me.

    • My MacBook sees the device easily and I can access the Editor and also use it in Logic with USB mode, so the cable and port both work.

    • I have the latest update from Korg and my iPad is running the latest IOS.

    I’ve run out of ideas on how to get the iPad to detect the device. Anyone?? Am I missing something obvious?

  • If it works fine with your MacBook then it must be a problem of your iPad or whatever is inbetween, hub, adapter etc. What about other USB devices?

  • wimwim
    edited September 2021

    @galmandsværk said:
    Hi.

    I’m on an iPad Air 4 and my NanoKEY just won’t connect via USB and I can’t figure out why?!? It’s worked without any problems for months, and then it suddenly stopped. The iPad doesn’t see it. I use the BLE-MIDI app, just in case you wondered.

    I'm confused. You want to connect via USB, but you're using the BLE MIDI app? You don't need it for a USB connection. You should just see it in the host as "nanoKEY Studio CTRL". You will not see it in the BLE-MIDI app because Bluetooth is not enabled when you have the switch in the USB position.

    • I have tried changing the cable several times. No success.

    It's not the cable if your MacBook is seeing it.

    • I have tried “forgetting” the device and “re-finding” it. No success.

    Unrelated. You're not using Bluetooth

    • The device lights up in USB mode, but the iPad doesn’t see it.

    Doesn't see it where? in the BLE-MIDI app? That is to be expected.

    • The device, however, DOES work in Bluetooth mode, but I need higher precision, so that won’t cut it for me.

    What do you mean by precision? If you mean latency (the time between hitting a key and the MIDI arriving on the device), then yes, USB will be a little bit better. Most people won't notice the difference, but a few do.

    If you mean resolution of the knobs, then you're mistaken. They are exactly the same over Bluetooth as USB. The NanoKEY knobs are imprecise. They only have a resolution of 64 when there are 128 possible MIDI CC's. It's the knobs, not the connection that determine this.

    • My MacBook sees the device easily and I can access the Editor and also use it in Logic with USB mode, so the cable and port both work.

    • I have the latest update from Korg and my iPad is running the latest IOS.

    I’ve run out of ideas on how to get the iPad to detect the device. Anyone?? Am I missing something obvious?

    I think there's a good possibility you have misunderstood the nature of the connection. But I could be misunderstanding your post.

  • @wim
    First of all, thanks a lot for your always elaborate answers, even to noob questions.

    I must have been blindsiding myself, because it does work in AUM now!

    What happened was that a few weeks ago, AUM couldn’t see the Nanokey in some of my projects - the device was listed in red with a broken connection. For some reason, I had been convinced that it was necessary to connect with the BLE/MIDI app, also when using it in USB mode…something to do with the device not functioning in IOS 13. So, when it appeared as OFFLINE, I started to become frustrated and began chasing wrong solutions, I guess. Anyway, long and confusing story. It works now, and I am happy! I need the low latency for triggering arps in live performances. That’s why I wasn’t happy with the Bluetooth connection.

    So, thanks a bunch again to you and other helpful souls on this forum. I always learn a lot with every patient answer and suggestion. It’s really invaluable!

  • @galmandsværk said:
    @wim
    First of all, thanks a lot for your always elaborate answers, even to noob questions.

    I must have been blindsiding myself, because it does work in AUM now!

    What happened was that a few weeks ago, AUM couldn’t see the Nanokey in some of my projects - the device was listed in red with a broken connection. For some reason, I had been convinced that it was necessary to connect with the BLE/MIDI app, also when using it in USB mode…something to do with the device not functioning in IOS 13. So, when it appeared as OFFLINE, I started to become frustrated and began chasing wrong solutions, I guess. Anyway, long and confusing story. It works now, and I am happy! I need the low latency for triggering arps in live performances. That’s why I wasn’t happy with the Bluetooth connection.

    So, thanks a bunch again to you and other helpful souls on this forum. I always learn a lot with every patient answer and suggestion. It’s really invaluable!

    Great, I'm really glad you got it sorted out. B)

    A couple of other notes of things you already probably know, but in case others come across this thread:

    • There are USB cables that won't work because they're for power only and don't carry data signals. Accidentally swap in one of those and you can really be in for some head scratching. (I know because I have done this more than once.)
    • MIDI Clock will only work over USB, so that's important for the ARPs. You probably already knew that.
    • You can power the NKS over USB and still use Bluetooth. Just plug the USB cable in to a power source and place the switch in the USB position. The keyboard will still show up in BLE MIDI connection dialogs. This isn't relevant for your use case, but is handy if worried about running out of battery at a critical time.
    • There's usually no need to use the BLE-MIDI app as most hosts and BLE enabled apps have their own connection dialog. Once you connect from anywhere, the device is available to any other apps (including ones with no BLE dialog) as a normal controller.
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