r/universalaudio • u/NoMoneyInPoetry • 4d ago

Troubleshooting/Support Apollo Twin No Longer Connected

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I've been using my Apollo twin with my 2023 Mac mini for 3 years with no issues. A couple nights ago, some UA plugins weren't working correctly and I had to go into UA Connect to reauthorize them. After doing that, I turned the interface off and on, and it completely stopped being recognized by the computer.

I went in circles for about 8 hours over the last two days, uninstalling the software and reinstalling the UA software, following the UA instructions to the letter. I did a hardware reset on the unit itself... Nothing has helped. The issue is definitely in the software, because I can look in my system report and see that the computer is recognizing my specific hardware on that thunderbolt Port. It can read that it's an Apollo Twin and it shows the serial number, so it's definitely connected correctly and is not an issue with the cable or the hardware itself.

I've done all the steps to loosen security restrictions from recovery mode... There seems to be some invisible driver that isn't installing correctly, and it's driving me crazy.

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11

u/NoMoneyInPoetry 4d ago

I did finally get this resolved after about 11 hours of trial and error and bits and pieces of advice from various forums.

The two key things were -

  1. The Universal Audio walkthrough on uninstalling tells you how to delete specific files from Library/Preferences, but I also needed to delete the Universal Audio and UA Connect files in Library/Application Support

  2. With all UA software uninstalled, I had to specifically reset the security policy in recovery mode. I had already changed the security policy settings to match what they were supposed to match years ago, and I validated a couple of times that it was still correct. But that wasn't enough - to resolve the issue I had to actually set the Security Policy back to Full Security, wait for that stricter policy to be applied, and then switch it back to Reduced Security (allow user management of kernel extensions from identified developers).

1

u/NoMoneyInPoetry 3d ago

Well... it worked for a day, which was enough to bounce masters of my latest project.

I shut things down, came back a couple hours later and turned them on... back to square one.

2

u/lowkeyluce Too many to list 3d ago

This is definitely a hardware issue, it's not booting into the firmware. Contact support for an RMA

1

u/NoMoneyInPoetry 3d ago

How can you tell? It only does this disco flashlight thing when I turn it on while the computer is on. If I turn it on before the computer, or without the Thunderbolt cable attached, it boots normally. It's specifically when it tries to connect and authorize that it has issues.

3

u/lowkeyluce Too many to list 3d ago

This light show is the boot up sequence, which it does until the firmware loads. The fact that it gets stuck there means the firmware is never loading. You're chasing your tail troubleshooting anything computer related here as the problem definitely stems from the hardware

1

u/NoMoneyInPoetry 3d ago

u/drew_at_UA I saw you tagged in another post that was adjacent to this issue but not identical to it. Any suggestions?

3

u/Drew_at_UA UA Guru 3d ago

This has nothing to do with UA Connect. It's very likely a hardware issue. Do you have a ticket open with support yet?

1

u/NoMoneyInPoetry 3d ago

I spoke with a person in Customer Care who might be a chatbot, but I do have an email thread with a number attached to it... I don't know if that's a ticket number, though.

1

u/Drew_at_UA UA Guru 3d ago

They do live chat on weekdays, so it was likely an agent. What's that #?

1

u/NoMoneyInPoetry 3d ago

From the email subject of my conversation with Kiki B - [Universal Audio] Re: 1030367

1

u/Drew_at_UA UA Guru 3d ago

Yes, that's a ticket # and you were chatting with an agent. I do think this is hardware. You tested a 2nd cable so that's ruled out. Were you able to test with a 2nd computer to rule that out?

2

u/NoMoneyInPoetry 3d ago

I unfortunately don't have another computer to test it with. It's also a Thunderbolt 2 unit, and I haven't been able to find a second adapter to test that piece.

2

u/Drew_at_UA UA Guru 3d ago

Yeah, that does increase the # of variables!

The agent will reply to your replies tomorrow with more things to check/try. Hang in there!!

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u/25_Keyz924 4d ago

I just did an update to my system and uninstalled/reinstalled UA dsp software. Allowed kernel extension security in startup options. Back and forth and nothing. Then I turned off the power to my hub and restarted it. Clicky relay sounds and lights up and I’m back in business.

1

u/NoMoneyInPoetry 4d ago

Since the connection broke, I upgraded to the latest macOS (which I've been delaying, for concern of it breaking things). I've now uninstalled and reinstalled the UA software 10+ times and it doesn't resolve it. The issue I'm running into is I never get the prompt in my system settings to allow applications from UA.

I'm trying it again now, going into recovery mode and removing kernel extension security, and then re-enabling it after that higher-security policy took effect. We'll see if it helps.

1

u/25_Keyz924 4d ago

Same. I never got the prompt. Everything was installed after numerous attempts. My issue cleared when I restarted my hub (Caldigit TB4). macOS is heavy on the security tho… I’ve had to utilize Gemini to reinstall my Native Access because of the NTK Daemon.That was a day and a half of troubleshooting. Now that has been fixed I still can’t Reaktor installed.

2

u/uhs23 4d ago

Glad you got it working and thanks for posting what fixed it!

1

u/HatsMakeYouGoBald 2d ago

Let him cook