Reloop Buddy audio stopped working with iPad

Yes i just finished updating to iPadOS 17.3.1 and indeed it made no difference. Let me go through the steps you just outlined.

Done it all, unfortunately no difference. Just to make sure I understand the instruction of how to connect it properly (even though again it used to just work fine without any special order, and it continues to “just work” for iPhone and on a Mac):

  1. Connect a Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter or USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter to your iOS device (depending on your iOS device connector).

I am connecting usb-c cable to the iPad.

  1. Connect the power adapter from your iOS device to the USB adapter (required for some controllers with higher power requirements, or simply to charge your iOS device during your performance).

I connect the power cable between my Mac to the Reloop Buddy (again, this setup works for Mac and iPhone, and used to work on iPad). I also run another attempt using a usb adapter connected to Reloop Buddy.

  1. Connect your MIDI controller to the USB adapter, and power it up if required.

Final step, connect the iPad to Reloop Buddy.

@Tom_Kotecki, since your iPad is USB-C there’s no need for the Lightning adapter or Multiport Adapter. Simplified connection instructions are as follows:

  1. Close djay and disconnect all cables from your iPad and Buddy.
  2. Connect the Buddy to power.
  3. Connect your iPad to the Buddy directly with your USB-C to A cable.
  4. Launch djay Pro.

The only other thing I can think to try is to make sure all other apps are closed, and turn WiFi and Bluetooth OFF before performing the connection sequence above.

Did all of the above, unfortunately still the same result… buddy is recognised as MIDI but not as speaker

Okay, that’s all I can think of to try other than a different USB cable as mentioned earlier.

I’ll have to forward this to the engineering team to see if they have any other ideas. In the meantime, I recommend that you also reach out to Reloop support to see if they have any ideas. Perhaps other Reloop Buddy users are experiencing the same issue.

FWIW, this happened to my 10th gen iPad once or twice. (Currently running 17.3.1.) I dis/re-connect everything and it starts working again.

Also, the charging indicator goes on for about 5 seconds after connecting to the Buddy then stops charging. I haven’t really cared as the iPad battery lasts far longer than any session.

(I do have a bunch of suggestions for Buddy integration which I will make in another post.)

Hi @TomKotecki,

Can you please trying connecting the Reloop Buddy and using another iOS music app to see if it’s recognized as an audio interface? The Buddy should be recognized by other audio related apps. This will help us determine if it’s an iOS or hardware related issue. Thanks!

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Happy to - are there any apps you would recommend specifically? I tried Spotify and Garageband but these don’t seem to provide an option to connect to a usb midi device from what I can see…

Hi @Tom_Kotecki, Remixlive recognized my Reloop Ready as an audio and MIDI device so you could try it. They have a free 7 day trial. I’m sure they are several other free beat maker apps that you could try as well.

I tried Remixlive, it definitely recognises Reloop Buddy as a MIDI device, although truth be told I’m not sure what to expect it to do as despite picking a few mappings none of the buttons seem to do anything. As for audio interface, I don’t see any option to see this in the settings, and certainly the sound goes out via the iPad as well.

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Just did the same with Launchpad, also Buddy is recognised as MIDI output but also I can’t seem to see any option to route sound output to it and it goes via the iPad, am I doing something wrong or is this the test you’re after?

With RemixLive, I believe the sound should automatically route to the Buddy USB soundcard when connected, at least that’s what it does for me. As soon as I connect my Ready to my iPad the RemixLive audio reroutes from the iPad speakers into the Ready.

So, if the sound is coming out of your iPad speakers even after connecting the Buddy, then this issue doesn’t appear to be isolated to djay Pro. The issue is likely iOS or hardware related. Given that you say the Buddy works as expected with your Mac and iPhone, an iOS issue seems to be the most likely. I’ll share this new information with the engineering team to see if they have any other suggestions.

Hi again @Tom_Kotecki, please provide the follow details so we can try to reproduce the issue:

  1. Specific iPad model
  2. iOS version
  3. djay Pro version

As per messages before:
iPad Pro 11 inch (A1980), iPad OS is 17.3.1, with Djay on 5.1

Got it! Thanks @Tom_Kotecki

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Hi there - any updates on this?

@Tom_Kotecki I reported everything to the engineering team. They haven’t been able to reproduce this issue and have reached out to Reloop for suggestions.

Since I continue having a completely unusable setup, is there a way for me to install version 4.x which used to work? Like using development mode / testflight or something. That could also be handy for debugging as it would prove/disprove whether it’s 5.x that broke things. I’d also be happy to install a debug version which would send you more detailed logs if it helps.

This is really frustrating, given this problem started 2 months ago now and I have no sight of any fix, I really am tempted to just switch platforms altogether at this point to have a stable platform.

Hi @Tom_Kotecki, the engineering team here is in contact with Reloop and they are trying to sort out the issue together. You can rollback to a previous version of djay if you have a full system backup via iTunes/Music on your computer with the 4.x version of djay. Unfortunately, this is the only way to rollback to a previous version.

If you are able to test the Reloop Buddy with another platform that would help to confirm if this is a hardware or software problem.

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I would also try another cable if you haven’t already as my Buddy wont charge with some cables and I was experiencing heavy static in my headphones with other cables.