With the release of Apple's macOS Catalina, every creative professional will need to decide if updating is right for them. More often than not, the initial jump to a new OS will do very little, if anything, to benefit the creative artist. Changes to the OS and improvements in technology are more likely to have a negative effect on your software, hardware, and workflow; at least at first.

Whether you are an Engineer, Musician, DJ, or any other audio-visual professional, the only thing that truly matters is that your gear works and continues to work when you need it the most. Akai Pro has been actively testing our products with each Beta release of macOS Catalina 10.15 and iOS 13 to guarantee our users know exactly what works and what will require updates before they make the jump to the new OS.

Please find a list of our products and their support status below. This will be kept updated as necessary to reflect all current support for macOS Catalina 10.15 and iOS 13.
 

Contents

• 3 Things You'll Need to Know
• macOS Catalina 10.15
  • Class-Compliant Hardware
  • Driver Required Hardware
  • Software
• iOS 13
  • Hardware
  • Software
• Further Technical Support

3 Things You'll Need to Know

1. The process of updating your computer's operating system can be a little messier than we'd like to think. In some cases, the update doesn't go as smoothly as it should and some hardware drivers may need to be uninstalled.
   With the update to macOS Catalina 10.15, you may find that a supported device suddenly stops communicating after the update to Catalina. Here's how you can remove the existing drivers and reinstall:
   1. Navigate to the folders below. These are the places where third-party drivers are stored. If they have become corrupt, or they haven't been installed correctly, removing them and starting over may help.
      • Mac HD > Library > Audio > MIDI Drivers
      • Mac HD > Users > [Your User Name] > Library > Audio > MIDI Drivers
        Note: The second location may be hidden. To access the User Library, click on GO at the top, hold the Option key and select Library when it appears in the list. 
   2. Move the contents of both folders into two new folders on your desktop.
   3. Once the folders are completely empty, restart the computer.
   4. Try your MIDI Device again.
      If your device requires drivers, please visit our support section below to check that your device is supported and to find links to the latest drivers. Make sure to read the next step in this section for precautions to take when installing drivers on macOS Catalina 10.15
2. macOS Catalina will include a security feature that will require the user to allow a system extension when installing a new driver. This is very simple and only needs to be done once for each driver. So, if you're installing any new driver on macOS Catalina, look out for a System Extension Blocked warning and see the driver section in this article for instructions.
   
   The good news is that this is only necessary if you are installing a new driver. If you are updating to Mojave and already have the latest driver for your device installed, you will not need to re-install the driver or complete these steps.
3. While your AkaiPro hardware and software are ready for macOS Mojave, that doesn't mean everybody is. If you use one of our products with a third-party software title like Ableton or Cubase, be sure to check with the developer to confirm support for the new OS before updating.

macOS Catalina 10.15

Class-Compliant Hardware

The following products are supported and will work with macOS Catalina 10.15 without any need for additional drivers.

• Advance 25*
• Advance 49*
• Advance 61*
• AFX
• AMX
• APC20
• APC40
• APC40 mkII
• APC Key 25
• AMX
• EIE
• EWI USB - (see the latest version of ARIA player below)
• Fire
• LPD8**
• LPD8 Wireless**
• LPK25**
• LPK25 Wireless**
• MAX25*
• MAX49*
• MIDI Mix*
• MPD18**
• MPD26**
• MPD32**
• MPD218
• MPD226
• MPD232*
• MPK25**
• MPK49**
• MPK61**
• MPK88*
• MPK225
• MPK249
• MPK261
• MPK mini mkII**
• MPX16**
• MPX8**
• Rhythm Wolf*
• Timbre Wolf
• Tom Cat

*For Advance keyboard users, please see the software compatibility section below for the VIP software support. 

** Editors, Utilities, and/or firmware update applications for this product are not currently supported on macOS Catalina. This page will be updated as necessary to reflect the current compatibility status on macOS Catalina.

Please be aware: If you do not see your product listed in this article, it is not officially supported for use with macOS Catalina at this time. Compatibility testing is only necessary for products with USB or Firewire connectivity and therefore does not affect any Akai Pro speakers or headphones.

 

Driver Required Hardware

Akai Pro hardware drivers are still in testing. Please use the table below to check the status for all driver-required hardware being considered for support on macOS Catalina 10.15.

* Audio interface is not officially supported past macOS 10.12. 

Required: All driver-supported products on macOS Catalina will require the user to allow the system extension in the Security & Privacy System Preferences. After installing the driver, the following pop-up will appear to report that the driver extension has been blocked:

To enable the extension and allow the driver, navigate to System Preferences > Security & Privacy. Restart the computer first if this is necessary to complete the driver installation. Under the General tab, look for the "System software from developer "(driver developer)" was blocked from loading."
 

Click Allow. Follow the prompts to restart the computer if necessary and the device will be recognized normally on startup. It will only be necessary to complete this process once.
 

Software

Please use the table below to check the status of all Akai Pro software being considered for support on macOS Catalina 10.15.

iOS 13

Hardware

The following hardware products are supported with iOS 13. Products listed with a * may require a powered USB hub to supply power when connected to the iOS device.

• Fire (MIDI only)
• LPK25 Wireless
• LPD8 Wireless
• MPC Element
• MPC Live (MIDI only)
• MPD218*
• MPD226*
• MPD232*
• MPK225
• MPK249
• MPK261
• MPK mini
• MPK mini mkII*

*May require powered USB hub to fully power controller
 

Software

Please use the table below to check the status for all Akai Pro iOS Apps being considered for support on iOS 13.

Further Technical Support

For any further questions or technical support, please visit the link below to connect with any of the following support options: online community support, phone support, email support.

• Contact support