iPad with Magic Keyboard Locking Up

Questions
1

NOTE: Please use the search function above before posting to avoid creating duplicate topics.

  • Device model (e.g. 2020 iPad Air 4th Gen): iPad M5 Pro
  • Version of operating system (e.g. macOS 14.4.1):
  • Version of djay (e.g. 5.1.2):
  • Hardware/controllers used (e.g. Reloop Mixon 8 Pro):
  • Hardware firmware version (e.g. 1.0.1):
  • Please consider sharing a short video or screenshots to help clarify your question

YOUR QUESTION:

  1. I’ve been noticing the app freezing lately after some use—I think it happens after about 30 minutes—where it becomes impossible to trigger any functions or even the Hot Cues. I’m using an iPad Pro M5, and this has never happened before; I’m not doing anything complex, just adjusting a few cue points on some tracks. I wondered if the Magic Keyboard might be the cause. I’m running version 5.6.8; please see the video below.

3

Hi @MarcosAraujo, thanks for the info and video.

  1. What version of iPadOS are you using?
  2. Do you have any hardware or audio interface connected other than the Magic Keyboard?
  3. Does the iPad touchscreen respond after the lockup?
  4. Have you tried testing with the keyboard disconnected?
  5. Are you running any other apps or an iCloud backup in the background?
  6. When it locks up, does audio keep playing on the decks, or does everything stop?
  7. Does it come back on its own, or only after you force-quit and relaunch djay?
  8. Were you browsing the library or previewing tracks in the moment it froze?
  9. In the iPad Settings > Battery > Low Power Mode is this on or off?

Thanks!

4

NOTE: Please use the search function above before posting to avoid creating duplicate topics.

  • Device model (e.g. 2020 iPad Air 4th Gen): iPad M5 Pro
  • Version of operating system (e.g. macOS 14.4.1):
  • Version of djay (e.g. 5.1.2):
  • Hardware/controllers used (e.g. Reloop Mixon 8 Pro):
  • Hardware firmware version (e.g. 1.0.1):
  • Please consider sharing a short video or screenshots to help clarify your question

YOUR QUESTION:

  1. I’ve been noticing the app freezing lately after some use—I think it happens after about 30 minutes—where it becomes impossible to trigger any functions or even the Hot Cues. I’m using an iPad Pro M5, and this has never happened before; I’m not doing anything complex, just adjusting a few cue points on some tracks. I wondered if the Magic Keyboard might be the cause. I’m running version 5.6.8; please see the video below.

Which version of iPadOS are you using? Pro M5
Do you have any hardware or audio interfaces connected besides the Magic Keyboard? SSD
Does the iPad touchscreen respond after it locks up? It doesn’t respond.
Have you tried testing it with the keyboard disconnected? I removed it thinking that might be the issue, but it didn’t work even without the keyboard.
Are you running other apps or an iCloud backup in the background? Nothing running in the background.
When it freezes, does the audio keep playing on the decks, or does everything stop? The audio only continues if I press the spacebar or the Play/Pause button on the keyboard.
Does it recover on its own, or only after you force quit and restart djay? It only recovers when I close djay; I waited about 5 minutes, but it didn’t come back—I had to close and reopen it.
Were you browsing the library or previewing tracks when it froze? I was loading tracks onto the deck to adjust CUE points.
In iPad Settings > Battery > Low Power Mode, is it on or off? The battery is connected to the charger the whole time.

1 Like
5

Thanks for answering my questions @MarcosAraujo. The external SSD is a potential source for the issue. You were editing cue points when it locked up, and cue point edits get written back to the drive continuously if that SSD is set up as a USB Library — so an external drive dropping out or going to sleep mid-write is worth ruling out before anything else.

A few things to clarify:

  1. Did it freeze again during a fresh session with the keyboard detached, or did you remove the keyboard while it was already frozen?

  2. Where does your music actually live — on the SSD, or on the iPad? And is the SSD added as a USB Library, or just as a folder under Files?

  3. Your iPadOS version, from Settings > General > About > iPadOS Version. (You gave me the iPad model, which I have — it’s the OS build I’m missing.)

  4. Next time it locks up, hold the Command key down for a second. If the keyboard shortcut list appears on screen, djay is still running fine and only touch input is being lost.

The test I’d most like: copy 15–20 tracks to On My iPad in the Files app, unplug the SSD, and run a normal 45-minute session off internal storage. If it stays clean, we’ve found the boundary.

Until then, for anything time-sensitive, keep your set on internal storage. Not a fix, just a safer setup while we dig into this.