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- Device model (e.g. 2020 iPad Air 4th Gen): Ipad pro 11” 3rd gen M1 chipset
- Version of operating system (e.g. macOS 14.4.1): 26.4.2
- Version of djay (e.g. 5.1.2): 5.6.4
- Hardware/controllers used (e.g. Reloop Mixon 8 Pro): Denon Prime 4+
- Hardware firmware version (e.g. 1.0.1): 4.3.4
- Please consider sharing a short video or screenshots to help clarify your issue
A) SUMMARY OF ISSUE:
- Suddenly, halfway my djset the left play-button interfered with the right deck while it was playing
B) DETAILED STEPS TO REPRODUCE:
-
Start to mix some tracks using only 2 decks. Play for an hour or 2 without any issue
-
While the right deck is playing a track, prepare the left deck for the next track
-
Press the play-button on the left deck, it killed the track that was playing on the right deck.
-
Try to restart the track that was playing on the right deck, by pressing the play-button on the right deck. it resumes the killed track, but does a tape-stop effect as soon as i let go the play-button!
C) EXPECTED RESULTS:
- i expect the left deck to start playing when i press the left play-button, NOT killing the track that was playing on the right deck!
D) ACTUAL RESULTS:
- pressing the left play-button killed that track that was playing on the right deck.
I was playing in front of a live audience. it looked like i made a mistake, but this was NOT my fault. i looked like an idiot. i tried to resume the right deck by pressing the play-button on the right deck, the track continues to play from the point where it was killed, but as soon as i let go the play-button on the right, it did some kind of tape-stop effect repeated that 3 times, making me look even more like an idiot! i did not use any of the playbuttons on my prime4+ any more that night and i finished the rest of the set using the playbuttons on the touchscreen of my ipad.
after finishing the set.. i turned down the speakers and tried to figure out what went wrong with the playbuttons halfway my set, but i could not replicated the error, it seemed totally fine, like it never happened. the buttons respond fast and correspond each with the correct player.
is there some kind of application error-log op ipad-os i can check?
i really need this to sort this out. i dont want this to happen ever again.
Hi @PascalRidder, strange issues like this are usually caused by a connection issue or interference.
- Are you using the (built-in) Prime 4+ MIDI mapping or a custom edit?
- How exactly are you connecting your iPad to the Prime 4+? Any USB adapters or hubs?
- Are you using a high-quality, properly shielded USB cable with dual ferrites?
- Was your iPad also connected to power with the original Apple charger and cable and charging normally?
- Was the venue really hot and did you notice any overheating of your iPad?
- How reliable was the power source you connected the controller and iPad to? For example, were you connected to a good surge protected power bar?
- If you could try to replicated the issue at home and catch it on video that would be very helpful in troubleshooting this further.
Hi Slak_Jaw,
thanks for looking into this.
- yes i used the default built-in Prime 4+ mapping
- i used a usb-c dock on my ipad, powered by an original apple macbookpro-charger thru the PD port of the dock. from my prime4+ i ran a usb-cable to the dock.
- i have UDG branded green coated usb-cables, specifically used for dj equipment. they have ferrite loops on them.
- an original apple macbookpro charger powered the usb-c dock
- The venue was not hot. i did not check my ipad’s temperature at the failing-point, but i’m sure it would have warned me if it got hot.
- i’m not an electrical expert, but it all seemed decent and solid.
- i tried to replicate the same failure back at home with exact the same setup. really trying to get it to fail, but it was totally fine for several hours. the only difference is: on the gig i was using ableton-link to send the bpm information another macbook via wifi. that bpm-info was used to control dmx-lights i noticed during the gig, the ableton-link was lost and reconnected very often. i got popups on my ipad’s screen noting the link was lost and reconnected a few seconds after. i’m not sure whether that has anything to do with the incorrect response/glitch of the playbuttons.
You’re welcome @PascalRidder. Thanks for answering my questions so quickly. I suspect that your dock could be the issue. I’ve personally had strange issues when using some USB Hubs.
- It would be great if you could try using Ableton Link at home as well to see if this was a contributor or not.
- Another thing to check is your iOS Settings>Battery>Battery Health. Do you have the 80% Limit turned on? If so, this could be the problem. When using a specific USB Hub, I was getting some power/signal disconnects when my iPad hit the 80% charged point. Changing the hub or turning this off solved this issue for me.
last saturdaynight i used this usb-c dock: HyperDrive 5-Port USB-C Hub - Dockingstation
to power my ipad and connect it to my denon prime4+
note that this dock features a 4k@60 HDMI-port, but when connected to my ipad it only gets 2k@30 -ish certainly no 60fps, but when connected to my linuxlaptop i get 4k@60 on the HDMI-port
i checked the batterysetting on my ipad, there’s no 80% chargelimit set, when charging. it charges all the way up till 100%.
tonight i will try to setup the same gear as last gig, including my macbook with soundswitch-dmx-interface on the same wifi-network as my ipad with Djay-pro on it, both with ableton-link enabled and do some mixing to see if it interferes with the playbuttons behaviour. i’m hoping it will show the same failure at some point in order to isolate the issue so i can do something about it.
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Thanks for the follow up @PascalRidder. Looking forward to hearing back. Please try to catch it on video.
i did some extensive testing last night.
almost the same setup as last gig, same gear same setup, only connected to a different wifi-network. i must say the ableton-link disconnected and reconnected just as much as it did on last gig. no difference there, knowing that my wifinetwork at home is very fast and stable.
i played for 2 hours.. no faulty play/cue buttons.. flawless
then i stopped and transferred my soundswitch software and license to a windows laptop to see if the ableton-link is holding up better or worse, but it didn’t make any difference. ableton-link disconnected and reconnected pretty as much as it did on my macbook.
Ableton-link connectivity aside.. the play/cue buttons on my prime4+ worked flawless i could not bring it on it’s knees flawless. i also tried to put a 80% charge-limit on my ipad, did some mixing and took the 80% charge limit off again. it made no difference.
not being able to isolate the flaw i had on my last gig, makes this setup unreliable. i’m scared to use this setup again. i chose to use DjayPro on an ipad because of the easy and fast setup and i can put the ipad on top of the prime’s 10” screen in controller-mode. i could switch to a laptop but that’s too much of a hassle.
Hi @PascalRidder, thanks for the follow up and detailed troubleshooting. Sorry you were unable to reproduce the issue. Perhaps there was something else specific to the venue like the power source. Maybe bring your own high-quality surge protector to your next gig. Other than that, I can’t think of anything else to suggest that I haven’t already. If the issue returns and you’re able to catch it on video that will help me to troubleshoot this with you further. At least if it happens again, you know that you can use the onscreen Play/Pause buttons as a workaround. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help on this one.
@Slak_Jaw thanx for the support so far. i’m still curious .. doesn’t the djay-app on ios keep a logfile? there has to be some record of communication errors on midi-signals over usb-cords in case of a faulty usb-connection. i will try to dig in the ipad’s filesystem to see if there’s any application-log.
i used iFunbox on a macbook to get to the ipad’s filesystem (connected with a usb-cord).. looking for djay’s applicationlog but i could not find any. what i did find was a database-file but i’m not sure how to read it.
i tested some more with last gig’s setup and i noticed something else.
when ableton-link enabled both on Djaypro on the ipad and on the other end (macbookpro soundswitch), sync is enabled on djaypro while none of the decks are playing, i pressed the play button on the left deck several times shortly after eachother. Djaypro tends to keep the pace of the active ableton-link even when none of the decks are playing and Djaypro also wants to quantize to that.
meaning.. when i press a play-button it will not always start that track at the very same moment i hit the play-button, it starts playing only if it fits the beatgrid within the active ableton-link. resulting in: it waits for the next beat and THEN it starts playing.
I disabled ableton-link on Djaypro and both of the play-buttons felt rocksolid and responsive again right away.
I needed ableton-link to send the bpm-info to the laptop with soundswitch on it to control the dmx-lights. i suspect the ableton-link feature might have caused this strange behaviour at my last gig.
I will do more testing to confirm that.
if it turns out ableton-link was the cause, i will have to find some other way to get the bpm-info into soundswitch.
Thanks for the additional troubleshooting and info @PascalRidder. Looking forward to the results of your additional testing…
mixing for several hours.. i could not replicated the issue i had on my last gig with the playbuttons any more. i’m still not sure what it caused. because i cannot isolate the cause, i’m scared to use that setup anymore (Djaypro on ipad+Denon Prime4+).
When playing in front of a live audience, i will ever use Djaypro on a macbook or macmini only (with Prime4+ connected directly thru usb), bypassing any possible unstable usb-connections of dockings&hubs needed for ipad/iphone.
for outputting bpm-infromation (to control dmx-lights) i will be using the mainaudio-output into a soundcard connected to another laptop with soundswitch on it. i tested that setup for a few hours, bpm-detection was pretty much usable (as long as there is a bass-kick audible) and it didn’t interfere with Djay’s pace, quantization or play-buttons.
Thanks for the detailed follow up @PascalRidder
i have new clue! i was preparing for a gig comming weekend. i was testing a livestream to an Azuracast broadcast-server. i was using Djaypro on my ipad Denon Prime4+ as controller. main soundoutput into another usb-soundcard connected to another laptop with BUTT on it upstreaming to an Azuracast-server. i wanted to check the soundquality thru the Azuracast-server. i used my iphone to listen to the livestream. i have airpods-pro linked to my iphone to be isolating the livestream-sound. the soundquality was ok.. i took my airpods out and guess what happened?
DjayPro stopped playing! i figured: i had my airpods previously connected to my ipad. there was sound comming from my iphone thru the airpods when listing to the livestream. but when taking out my airpods it interfered also with the mediacontrols on my ipad.
i feel a bit ashamed i didn’t check this earlier. i checked the bluetoothsettings op my ipad, the airpods are set to connect automaticly by default. i use my airpods on many devices, linux laptop, macbook, iphone and ipad. i was not aware it could interfere with mediacontrols even while it’s playing audio from another device.
i think this might be the bugger all the time 
. i have set the airpods NOT to connect automaticly on all devices where it is linked to.
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Thanks for the update @PascalRidder. Yeah I always disable Bluetooth when DJing for this exact reason. Glad to hear you were able to sort it out.
