[UPDATE 2] Public beta for Yamaha Steinberg USB Driver for macOS

[Ed_Doll]

Hello everyone,

UPDATE - January 26, 2024
V4.0.2b to 4.0.3b
Now supports Steinberg UR-C V3.0 and the IXO12/IXO22 series.*

Since Apple has already declared that the Kernel Extension will be discontinued in future macOS, we decided to release a public beta of the Yamaha Steinberg USB driver.

The Version V4.0.3b is available only on the Steinberg forum exclusively.
This new driver uses the Driver Extension (System Extension) and not the older Kernel Extension solution anymore. It will prevent that the “Legacy System Extension” warning message appears.

Supported OS: macOS 13 and macOS 14
Supported Platform: Apple silicon (no Intel CPU support)
Supported Models:
AXR4U
IXO12/IXO22
UR22C/UR44C/UR816C/UR24C
UR12/UR22/UR22mkII/UR242/UR44/UR28M/UR824
UR-RT2/UR-RT4

It is no longer necessary to change security settings from recovery mode when installing drivers on a Mac with Apple silicon but allowing the driver in “Security & Privacy” is still required.

Please find here the link to the driver, the installation guide and the release notes.

Driver

Installation Guide

Release Notes

Please be aware that installing this driver is for technical evaluation only and the installation is the responsibility of the customer.

[cj.burns]

is there one for intel macs?

[Ed_Doll]

No, unfortunately, this one is for Apple silicon based systems only.

[maddymallmadymal]

Hello. I got a message that very soon my current driver will not be supported by MAC OS. Do you plan to release the driver immediately after the upcoming update? It’s quite strange that you won’t release this driver update officially before and I’m confused by these lines.

@Ed_Doll

Please be aware that installing this driver is for technical evaluation only and the installation is the responsibility of the customer.

The product that I paid for and depend on will stop working if I don’t update, but if something goes wrong , then it’s my fault? Please excuse me for my negativity, but could you clarify the situation given that the problem is quite significant and I am sure that I am not the only one.

[Ed_Doll]

The macOS message regarding the drivers has been around for several macOS releases. We are closely monitoring the OS development and will release an official driver once we feel confident to do so and once it is necessary. Until then, the official driver can be used with all supported macOS releases.

[maddymallmadymal]

Thank you

[Paolo_T]

@Ed_Doll

Until then, the official driver can be used with all supported macOS releases.

Any chance to check why it is not working on some of the systems? The official release notes don’t seem to solve the “kext not loading” issue in all the cases. I’ve personally detailed several of the failed efforts in some messages here in the forum.

Paolo

[Vocalixx]

It’s not working at all I’m on Sonoma and bought a new computer and doesn’t show at all on my DAW, what’s going on? I’m on UR 824 and UR 242.

[loser]

Yo! I’ve got a UR44 (original, not C) on Sonoma 14.4.1.

My DSP mixer is working, and I can hear audio through the mixer (and see the signal coming in). My device also appears in the Audio Midi Setup.

However - even after configuring the device in Ableton, no audio is ‘entering’ the DAW. No visual or audible signal. Is this an issue with my DAW?

[loser]

Neeeevermind! I had Ableton’s access to the microphone disabled in Mac security settings, which apparently is used to allow (or disallow) audio from any input device, including interfaces, to reach said app.

[HarrySound]

I did a complete fresh install of MACOS and have been using my UR28m for the last couple of weeks now using this driver and it has been working well but I’m noticing pops and clicks on my recordings. Strangely I couldn’t SEE the pops or clicks in the visual wav file in cubase, even when I zoomed in to the highest level and yes they did occur at the same points throughout the recording so I could create a lop with them in.
I recorded some guitar from my axe fx via SPDIFand noticed it had pops and clicks. so I re-recorded it using the Axe Fx as the interface and it wasn’t a problem. Since then I have noticed random things like Screenflow recordings using the UR28m in loopback mode are showing pops and clicks.

16" MacBook Pro 2021 M1pro, 32gig ram, 4tbHD
MACOS SONOMA 14.5
UR28M > Belkin USB 3 powered HUB > USBc HDMI and USB dongle> MacBook Pro

UPDATE - Still testing it but The problems seem to have gone away for now in new recordings since I set the mix precision to 64bit.

UPDATE UPDATE - It’s still an issue. It’s very strange. Might be time for a new interface.

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE - After testing USB cables, different microphones and even ferrite cores I decided to install Yamaha driver 3.1.7 and all my problems have disappeared. No more clicks or pops.
I’m guessing the next time Apple will launch an operating system it’ll probably break compatibility with the old Yamaha driver and I’m guessing Steinberg aren’t too worried about a little known 13 year old interface so I guess it’s upgrade time.

[hyp_bass]

Hallo @Ed_Doll, Thanks a lot for sharing this updated driver! I use UR24M & UR824 and it is WORK Perfectly on my SONOMA 14.5 M2 Pro! At first it didn’t work. but after I enabled System Extension everything finally worked normally. Thank You!

[devarni]

Sequoia is released… what is the current status of the drivers? Are kernel extensions no longer supported and do we have to switch to the driver extensions? Or has nothing changed for the time being?

[SteveBee]

Have you updated to Sequoia, if so, are you experiencing any current driver compatibility issues?

[devarni]

The drivers work as before, nothing has changed with Sequoia. The change to ‘Driver Kit’ will certainly come at some point, but currently the kernel extensions work without any problems.

[SteveBee]

Good to know, thank you

[HarrySound]

Sequoia here Steinberg UR28m Interface using driver 3.1.7
No issues at all. been using now for a few days without a problem.

[Maax]

ok so I have had MacBook max m3 for around 4 months.
I have ur824 interface.
Several attempts to get the UR824 showing up on the Mac failed. I then found the note on the download area stating how to install. I think it was an older driver though and I unfortunately deleted it. Months later I did a clean up and deleted a lot of stuff I thought was junk. Since then the UR824 has not shown up on the Mac.
I tried all the various methods of install and failed time after time (I feel a song coming on, well would if my interface was working). Out of desperation I installed Sequoia. No change at all. I eventually came across the beta in this thread, got the Yamaha driver activate message at the end, restarted and nothing. Yamaha usb driver would show up at the very bottom of the system settings left hand pane, but nothing. I also read to delete Yamaha Kext extensions in the staged drivers folder, did this and still nothing. Also when I do try to install nothing is added to the extensions folder at one time I had three different versions which is why I think I had a problem.
This is driving me crazy as seems no way to fix even though I have had it working before. There is a newish driver to download from Steinberg on the site and it says it works and you dont have to jump through all the hoops you had to previously. It doesn’t for me. I went to great expense to buy this Mac to get me away from sh*t like this. Also surprised to see no help or mention of this on Youtube.
Any help appreciated as may have to format hard drive and install again with no guarantee it will work.

[DanWilliams]

Hey @Maax, I believe I ran into the same problem as you. Nearly-new Mac Studio, running Sequoia. I’ve moved from Window due to the reliability of Macs - and they “just work”, right? Tried getting my UR824 working has been anything but.

I used the driver from this forum but first time round I accidentally clicked “Ok” instead of the button to open settings. After that, it never showed up, and the permission was never listed in the “Privacy & Security” settings.

I managed to solve this by fully uninstalling the driver, installing the previous beta, and then uninstalling that and reinstalling the new one. But, this is unnecessary, as I found out how to check/set the permissions - they are NOT where the documentation says.

Go to Apple Settings → General → Login Items & Extensions → (scroll to bottom) Driver Extensions → Click “i” → Toggle the Yamaha Steinberg USB Control Panel.app

This ONLY shows up the first time and NEVER again, so if you miss it, you will spend ages fruitlessly hunting and being show the WRONG area of the settings! Ever so frustrating.

After this, running the Yamaha Steinberg USB Control Panel from Applications should display an “Ok” button - previously it would show “Activate”. Also, the UR824 should show up in Audio MIDI Setup → Devices, and changing the bitrate should change the corresponding light on the front. That’s a quick and easy way to verify some driver communication.

BUT! This does not have a happy ending - yet. Although I managed to get sound out of my UR824, it keeps cutting out. It will play anything from 1-20secs of audio and then cut out for 1-5secs. It’s unusable.

In Steinberg/Yamaha’s defence, I have exactly the same problem with a Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6 - it shows up as a device, but then keeps cutting out. From this sample set of two, I conclude that there may be an issue with Sequoia. Unfortunately, I don’t have Sonoma available to test on, as I upgraded a month ago and before I started hooking up any of my audio kit. Still, that may or may not be useful information.

I guess we wait for a fix… but I am quite surprised at the hoops we have to jump through, using a beta driver, no full native support for Apple Silicon (just the driver, it seems?), and the time taken after each release (you Steinberg guys do know you can test MacOS betas before the full release, right? I’m looking at you, @Ed_Doll). Quite honestly it’s a travesty, and I nearly gave up and bought a Focusrite Scarlett (it seems those guys do have good Mac support, but I can’t vouch personally).

All in all this means I’ve wasted 2-3 hours on this and still can’t use it. Sigh…

Anyway, I hope this helps you, and it will be interesting to hear if you also have the audio cut-outs