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Troubleshoot USB dropouts / audio glitches (Mac)

Troubleshooting USB dropouts (Mac)

Am I getting USB dropouts?

If you're getting audio glitches, clicks or dropouts, then there is a high chance you may be experiencing a USB dropout.

A USB dropout may be shown by the USB dropout indicator lighting in your Serato Software however this may not always happen.

What is a USB dropout?

Your Serato Software will create what's known as an isochronous stream of audio data over the USB bus. That is, it is 'fed' at precise intervals from our USB buffer. If for some reason what is in the buffer can not be fed onto the bus, the USB dropout indicator will light up, and more often than not, you will hear an audible click or glitch in the audio. This is a USB dropout

Troubleshooting a USB dropout:

There are only a few things that can cause dropouts on a Mac. Here is a quick checklist to run through that will help cure most Mac USB dropouts:

1. Make sure your Airport is off.


2. Make sure your Bluetooth is off.


3. Make sure your Screen Saver is set to 'never' come on.

Go to System Preferences > Desktop & Screensaver


4. Uncheck 'put hard disk to sleep when possible'.

Go to System Preferences > Energy Saver


5. Set your computer and display sleep settings to never.

Go to System Preferences > Energy Saver

6. Finally, make sure you are plugged into the "good USB port"*

*Mac computers generally have one good and one bad USB port, try connecting your audio interface to a different USB port and see if there is an improvement.

If you are still having problems after running through the above list, start a new thread in the help area and we can give you further assistance.