This guide is designed to help DMX USB Pro users discover their device which is currently not being recognized or found by their MacOS based software such as ENTTEC EMU, Chamsys MagicQ, D::Light LightKey, QLabs and QLC+. 


Software not recognizing DMX USB Pro on Windows


Two causes of not being able to find the device within your software is conflicting drivers, or multiple pieces of software open at the same time all trying to access the device.

Information:

  1. We recommend that you make sure that your chosen software and the operating system are both up to date:
    1. To update your operating system, please visit the Microsoft or Apple support article.
    2. To update the software, please visit the developers website.
    3. ENTTEC EMU: Using the link provided, download the latest version of EMU.
  2. The DMX USB PRO are Open Source Hardware, this means that 3rd party developers can use our API (instructions) to allow their software to work with the DMX USB PRO.
    1. Please check with the 3rd party developer that the DMX USB PRO is supported. The 3rd party developer is responsible for the implementation and maintenance of their software and compatibility with our devices.
    2. If you are unsure if your software is compatible, then we recommend using our EMU software or QLC+ (Use Input/Outputs to identify DMX USB PRO and activate the output. Use the top row of faders in ‘Simple Desk’ to control each channel).
    3. Only one program can be trying to control your USB device at a time. This means that if you already have software open (for example ENTTEC Pro Manager) which may have ‘latched’ onto the USB port your chosen software might not be able to access the DMX USB PRO. This also means that you can’t use two pieces of software and merge the DMX onto the DMX USB PRO output.
    4. A list of known compatible software can be found in our knowledge base.


Mac OS Troubleshooting:

Step 1: Closing all software:

The USB device might have ‘latched’ onto a different piece of software running. Please close all software that is running. You might need to access the Activity Monitor (simultaneously press down the [CMD] + [ALT] + [ESC] keys on your keyboard) to close down any programs running in the background. 


Please unplug, re-plug and try to discover the device in your chosen software. If you get stuck, please contact support with details of the step you got stuck on.


Step 2: EMU

Open the ENTTEC EMU software, using the Settings cog in the top right of EMU, navigate to the Output tab. Use the Rescan for device and your device should appear within the list.

A screenshot of a computer screen Description automatically generated with medium confidence

If the device does not appears, skip to Step 3


Configure the device

First, ensure that the device is Enabled using the switch on the right. Once you do this, the green LED on the DMX USB Pro and Pro Mk2 should start to flash which indicates the device is receiving DMX.


Next click on the Setting cog next to the switch. Here we can re-flash/change the firmware on the device at the top of the screen, to do this use the drop down, select a firmware (for DMX USB Pro we suggest testing on the DMX only firmware version), then click Update Firmware.


Within this page, we should also click the Set Parameters to Default followed by the Set DMX Parameters button.


Test the output

If you close out of both these settings pages you will be on the main EMU page.


From here you can patch a fixture in the Patch window (located in the top right). Add a fixture to the patch grid, close the Patch window and then use the green faders.  Next if you go to ‘DMX Send' then under 'Source' select 'Test Patterns’, your device should now be outputting DMX to your lights. Choose different patterns for different effects.

  • If you still don't have output, check the steps below:
    1. Make sure the DMX cable is going out of the DMX OUT port on the device
    2. Change the DMX cable to a known good cable
    3. Change the lighting fixture your controlling to a known good fixture


Step 3: Does the Mac recognize the device?

To check this we access the Mac’s System Information window, which can be opened using Apple>About This Mac>System Report.


To the left of this window we select USB, which is under the Hardware heading. Once selected on the right of the window, we would need to identify the devices name. Unplugging and re-plugging your USB cable from the device should make the list refresh (this will indicate that it is being discovered).


In this example, the device is connected using a USB2.0 Hub connected to the USB-C of the Mac.

 

If this doesn't appear, you may need to try the following before repeating this step:

  • a different USB cable (under 1m in length). The OPEN DMX USB uses the Type-B USB connectors.
  • a different PC 

Please unplug, re-plug and try to discover the device in your chosen software. If you get stuck, please contact support with details of the step you got stuck on.


Step 4: Driver Conflict:

If there are multiple FTDI drivers on the Mac there is a potential for a conflict between the drivers, preventing the software from seeing the ENTTEC device. 

  • Apple’s Virtual COM Port (VCP) Driver provides an FTDI driver that the ENTTEC DMX USB Pro / Pro Mk2 requires to operate. 
  • FTDI driver can either be installed onto your computer as a standalone installation or as part of some additional software being installed onto your computer. 

There are two different methods which you can try to get this to work:

  1. Apple’s Virtual COM Port (VCP) Method: In this method, we will remove all non-Apple FTDI driver extensions from you computer. Using the Terminal application on your Mac enter kextstat | grep -v apple which will find all non-Apple FTDI drivers, removing all of these will leave only the Apple driver. Then close all programs on your computer, unplug and replug your ENTTEC device into your Mac, before reopening the chosen software to see if the device has been located. 
    1. You must be logged into OS X as an admin user (verify this from System Preferences > Users & Groups)
  2. FTDI driver Method: In this method, we will temporarily unload Apple’s VCP Driver. In unloading Apple’s VCP Driver, this will allow a different FTDI Driver control of the computer without conflict. To unload Apple’s VCP Driver enter sudo kextunload -b com.apple.driver.AppleUSBFTDI into the Terminal application. From here you can use a non-Apple FTDI driver with your device (if you previously tried the Apple’s VCP Method above, you may need to reinstall the non-Apple FTDI driver. Then close all programs on your computer, unplug and replug your ENTTEC device into your Mac, before reopening the chosen software to see if the device has been located. 
    1. You must be logged into OS X as an admin user (verify this from System Preferences > Users & Groups).
    2. The driver is automatically loaded after a system reboot. Apple’s VCP Driver can also be reloaded by entering sudo kextload -b com.apple.driver.AppleUSBFTDI into the Terminal application.
    3. If there are more than one non-Apple VCP Driver installed this can still cause a conflict, enter kextstat | grep -v apple into the Terminal application to remove any unwanted FTDI drivers.

Please unplug, re-plug and try to discover the device in your chosen software. If you get stuck, please contact support with details of the step you got stuck on.


Step 5: Uninstall & Reinstall D2XX Drivers

Using the FTDI driver Method as described above, please temporarily unload Apple’s VCP Driver - sudo kextunload -b com.apple.driver.AppleUSBFTDI - followed by removing all FTDI drivers - kextstat | grep -v apple. Using the following instructions we will now uninstall the FTDI D2XX driver from the mac:

  1. Start a Terminal session (Go > Applications > Utilities > Terminal)
  2. Change directory to the /usr/local/lib (cd /usr/local/lib)
  3. Delete the library (rm libftd2xx.0.1.0.dylib)
  4. Delete the symbolic link (rm libftd2xx.dylib)
  5. Restart the Mac.

Then reinstall the D2XX driver:

  1. Visit the D2XX driver website
  2. Download the D2XX driver for the macOS version you are running and follow the installation instructions.


Please unplug, re-plug and try to discover the device in your chosen software. If you get stuck, please contact support with details of the step you got stuck on.