I’m using a Steinberg UR22 mkII USB audio interface with my 2018 Macbook Pro and I get random audio dropouts. I don’t have any crackling or glitches, just this 1 second break in the audio stream randomly. One or two times in an hour. Internal speakers are fine. It doesn’t matter what is the source of audio. Logic, Spotify or YouTube.
I think I managed to trace back the problem with Console. Every time a dropout occurs, the machine is fetching the current time from apple servers right before pausing core audio. I can even replicate the issue by changing the settings in Date & Time. Yesterday it happened right at 00:00 that’s why I started to suspect the clock sync feature. I disabled the set date and time automatically box in settings and so far I see no messages in Console about the paused core audio process and I didn’t have any dropouts in the past hour.
Can this be caused by the new T2 chip? If I know right, the T2 handles the audio in newer Macs.
I also read somewhere that since High Sierra, Mac OS is using a new method to keep the clock in sync and since this interface isn’t new, I wonder if there’s an incompatibility between the UR22 mkII and newer versions of the OS.
I’m on Mojave 10.14.2 since yesterday, had the same problem with 14.1. Tried different USB-C ports, using Apple’s official USB-C to USB-A cable. Using the latest available drivers from Steinberg (1.10.2). When I tried to use the interface without the drivers, I’ve got constant crackling in Logic, don’t know if this is relevant.
Update: Sadly, dropouts still occur even with the automatic sync turned off. I can still see the timed event in Console, and every time after it, there is a dropout in audio.
I have the same issues, 2018 Macbook with a UR44 and 1.10.2 drivers. I checked the console and here it also happens when it seems to be getting the time (turned automatic sync off but there is still an event in the console).
Turning it off did not solve it for me either. I still see the messages in console. A lot of other users are experiencing the same with different interfaces. There’s a thread about it on Macrumors, RME and Gearslutz. This and the CPU spikes caused by the Apple Smart Battery Manager process makes these 2018 Macbooks a bad choice for music production currently. Let’s hope a fix is on the way.
Same issue here exactly. Ableton Live 10 my end, but identical symptoms, both UR22 mk1 and mk2, and I’m running 2018 MB Pro 15" on Mojave (tho had this on High Sierra too).
I’m even considering swapping to a mega-expensive Thunderbolt 3-based interface to see if that makes a difference, but its an expensive game when there’s no guarantee!!!
I’m having the same issue with the 2018 Mac Mini and the UR22 mkII, which does have a T2 chip.
For info I also have an older Macbook air, also running the latest version of Mojave, that doesn’t have a T2 chip and I don’t get the problem on that.
Suggests it is to do with the T2 chip but unfortunately I don’t have any solutions to offer. Contacted Steinberg support twice, no reply from them after a month. Which is unhelpful.
I’m having the same issue with the Macbook pro 15 2018 (with T2-chip) and the Steinberg UR12.
With the installed Steinberg-drivers, the sound disappears for a second. But if I remove the driver, instead of interrupting the sound I hear short clicks. This is certainly better than the complete loss of sound. But this makes Steinberg ur 12 completely unsuitable for professional use.
I contacted support. No solution. We wait.
P.S. I tested Steinberg UR 12 on my old Macbook 13 2015 with the Mojave. I did not observe a similar problem.
Having same issue here. CPU can be just at about 33% usage while just monitoring audio (not even recording) and then suddenly drops out for a few seconds.
Interface: Steinberg UR22 (with driver updated for Mojave)
OS: Mac Mojave 10.14 (as of January 1, 2019)
Hardware specs: Mac Mini late 2014 5 2.6 GHZ Intel Core i5
Memory: 8 GB 1600 MHZ DDR3
MIDI control keyboard: M-Audio Keystation 49es
DAW: Studio One v4 Pro
Same here. I have a late 2018 MacBook Pro maxed out to 32gb Ram, running Mojave 10.14.3. I have 3 different interfaces that ALL have shown this issue. ALL Steinberg too! UR-824, RT-2, and UR28M. I can not replicate the randon nature, but what I can add is that is also happens on a couple other little USB headphone adaptors that convert the USB out to 1/8 headphone jack. One is a Dragonfly and the other an off brand. When it happens it is much shorter of a dropout. Sometimes a half second or less, but enough to bust up the flow. Have NOT been able to make this happen when I use the provided 1/8 inch jack…which points right back at the USB-C ports. It seems, the more sophisticated the interface and driver, the longer the dropouts here. For the bigger interfaces, it drops for 3 or 4 seconds as the driver seems to be re-loading. Does NOT crash out Reason or Cubase though.
Please update to macOS 10.14.4. Apple addressed some severe issues related to USB audio interfaces with the update that caused drop outs etc.: Download macOS Mojave 10.14.4 Update (it’s a bit hidden under “More”):
“- Improves the reliability of USB audio devices when used with the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac mini models introduced in 2018”
