Troubleshooting RTP-MIDI Connections

Picture the scene: you’ve just got to your gig, unpacked your gear and plugged everything up. This time though, your RTP-MIDI connected gear just isn’t working as it should.

Maybe one of your interfaces isn’t connecting? Maybe your connected MIDI gear isn’t responding as you’d hope?

This can be a stressful situation if time is ticking before sound check or if you have studio time ticking away. But, worry not! It’s usually very simple to diagnose what’s wrong in an RTP-MIDI setup and in this blog, we’re going to walk you through the typical problems and how to diagnose and fix them.

No IP Address

If your iConnectivity interfaces aren’t connecting properly over RTP=MIDI, then the very first thing to do, is to take a look in Auracle for X Series’ RTP-MIDI connections tab. Do this for each interface that’s connected between each other.

Take a look at the top of the page and you should see a window labelled IP This window displays the IP Address of your interface. Now, don’t worry if you’re not an IT Pro, you don’t need to be to figure this one out.

What is an IP Address? An IP Address is easiest to understand if you think of it like your address at home. If someone needs to find you, then you need to both have an address as well as give someone the right address.

So there are two important things to start with.: Any devices connected over RTP-MIDI need to have an IP address and also have the right address.

Take a look at that window labelled IP again. What do you see? If looks like this, then you have a problem!

RTP-MIDI page in Auracle for X-Series showing no Ethernet connection

If the IP Address shown reads 0.0.0.0 that means that there’s no physical Ethernet connection to that device. BIngo! You’ve found your first problem!

In this instance it means that your interface either isn’t plugged in, the connector isn’t seated properly in the Ethernet socket or that your Ethernet cable is probably faulty.

Solving No IP Address

Problem: Interface doesn’t connect

Solution:

Plug in interface
Check Ethernet cable is correctly connected
Replace faulty Ethernet cable with new cable

Wrong IP Address

OK, so you still don’t have a connection between your interfaces, but you can clearly see an IP Address shown. So what’s going on?

Remember how we spoke about how an IP address allows other devices to find it on the network? Well, imagine if I had some friends coming over for a party. They would need my address, of course! But what if I gave them the wrong address? I guess no one’s coming to the party!

It’s possible in some circumstances for interfaces to have the wrong IP address; in effect, it means they can’t connect with each other.

Now, we’re not going to get into deep theory about networking; we’re musicians, not IT pros! But here’s what you need to know:

Each interface has to have an IP address
Each interface will have a unique IP address
The IP address range (the first three digits) MUST match

So how can this situation occur? Well, while for most setups Auracle for X Series will automatically assign IP addresses that work straight away, there are some instances where you may have to set an IP address manually.

For example, you may have had to join an existing Ethernet network and a network technician may have assigned you a set IP address or IP range. In which case you’ll have selected “Set as Static” in Auracle for X-Series.

It’s a simple fix, thankfully. Simply deselect “Set as Static”, unplug the interface or interfaces with the wrong IP range, and replug them. Auracle for X-Series will automatically assign them the correct IP Address.

Problem: Interfaces don’t connect on the network

Solution

Ensure “Set as Static” is deselected
Replug interfaces
Check that all IP range numbers match

Wrong RTP Name

So far we’ve run through what’s been necessary to get your interfaces talking to each other on the same Ethernet Network. By this stage you should have your interfaces connected with each other and showing the correct IP Addresses.

What if you still can’t get your RTP-MIDI connected devices working though? Well, there are other steps to check and potential problems to resolve.

Again, head into the RTP-MIDI section of Auracle for X-Series, and for this example, we’re going to troubleshoot the connection on RTP-MIDI port one.

In a similar way to how our IP addresses have to match up, so do the names of our RTP-MIDI ports. This is all part of the Bonjour naming convention and if you want to read more about that, check out our blog on connecting your mio X Series interface to a computer.

If your interface has made a successful RTP-MIDI connection, then you should see two entries on the right-hand side of the RTP-MIDI page. One of them will show the Bonjour name and the other will show the port.

If your connections page looks like the one below, then you have a problem!

Oh oh! If your RTP port doesn’t display a Bonjour Name or port number, then something is wrong!

Firstly, let’s ensure that we have our interfaces set correctly so that one is set to initiator and one is set as responder. Again, you’ll find more details on that in the blog we linked above.

If you have that set correctly then the chances are that your RTP-MIDI names don’t match.

This is, again, a simple fix! Make sure that the name entered on each RTP-MIDI port you’re wanting to connect to, on each interface you want to connect to is entered identically. That means capitalisation, spaces, numbers etc have to be identical.

Additionally, your Bonjour name has to fit certain formatting criteria; for example it cannot be longer than 15 characters, and it can’t start with a number. As a general guide, it makes sense to give each RTP-MIDI port an obvious and rememberable name.

DrumRiser or NordElectro1 , for example are obvious and self-explanatory. Synth23wotsit on the other hand… you get the idea!

Enter the name in, hit Save, and if you’ve done that correctly between devices, you’ll see the Bonjour Name and port number appear almost immediately. Congratulations! You’ve just troubleshooter a connection issue!

Problem: RTP-MIDI ports won’t connect even when interfaces are correctly networked

Solution

Ensure Initiator/Responder is correctly set
Ensure port/Bonjour name matches identically

If your Bonjour name is correctly entered, and the RTP-MIDI port correctly connected, then you should see something like this. Note that the IP address, Bonjour name and port number are all displayed.

General Troubleshooting Steps

We’ve now reached the point where:

Our interfaces are physically connected to the network/each other
Our interfaces are connected over Ethernet and have the correct IP Addresses
Our RTP-MIDI ports are connected and have the correct initiator/responder settings as well as the correct RTP-MIDI/Bonjour names

Everything should be fine and dandy then, yes? Oh, you’re still having problems getting your MIDI gear talking to each other? Bummer.

Don’t worry though, there are some final steps you can make to ensure everything works properly!

Reserve USB-MIDI Host Ports

If you’re using any USB-MIDI equipped gear, then your problem may be that you haven’t reserved your host ports. This can cause connectivity issues with gear that gets regularly plugged and unplugged.

Makes sure to head into the USB Host Reservation page of Auracle for X-Series and reserve the ports of any and all USB-MIDI devices connected.

Check MIDI Routing

Assuming all of the above steps have been completed, all that’s left to check is that you have your MIDI routing correctly assigned.

Before you head into Auracle for X-Series’ MIDI Routing page, or your DAW, it might be worth taking the time to sketch out your MIDI connections on a piece of paper. Large MIDI setups can get complicated quickly, so it make sense to sketch out all your sources, destinations and desired routing in advance.

Interface Routing

It’s vitally important that you have the MIDI routing from your physical MIDI ports, to your RTP-MIDI ports, set up correctly.

To do this, head into Auracle for X-Series’ MIDI Routing page and check that you have all your connected MIDI devices correctly routed from source to destination.

You can use the MIDI status indicators on the mioXM and mioXL as a good indication as to when you have routing set up correctly.

DAW Routing

Finally, assuming you’re trying to route MIDI in and out of your DAW, and assuming you’ve got this far without everything working correctly, all that’s left to check is the MIDI routing within your DAW.

It’s beyond the scope of this blog to explain how to set up your Routing within all of the popular DAWs available. Once again though, don’t be afraid to sketch out your MIDI signal flow as a guide to help you here!

If All Else Fails…

In the vast majority of situations, the steps above should be all you need to troubleshoot any and all RTP-MIDI connection problems.

If, however, you’re still struggling, don’t hesitate to reach out to iConnectivity Support We’re here to help you on your MIDI journey!