MiniLab 3 Losing Connection in Ableton Live

Hey all. I’m having a problem when I’m working on a track in Ableton Live and Analog V where it seems like the MiniLab 3 is losing connection and no longer works. The keys in the app/plugin interface work, but the keys on the MiniLab are not working. Has anyone seen this problem and have a fix?

HI @lex2000 and welcome to The Sound Explorers Forum.

Bit of an obvious one here, but have you tried a different USB cable and port to see if it still happens?
Checked your system USB settings to make sure your USB ports are ‘always on’ instead of allowing them to ‘sleep’?

Ps,
Please make sure to subscribe to our Newsletter to be the first to know about the latest from Arturia.

Hey, thanks! And thank you for the reply. I have used the cable that came with the MiniLab but now that you ask I am not sure if I have tried another one. I should have done that first, but I just assumed the one that came with it would be the best one. I will try that today. And I didn’t even know you could control USB ports to go to sleep.

Thanks again!

-lex

HI @lex2000

It’s ALWAYS worth checking things like cables first, ask ANY guitarist!

If you’re on Windows then yes, USB ports will be set to sleep if not being used for a certain amount of time, sometimes they just seem to turn off for no reason though.
If on a Mac i’m not too sure about that.
The other thing i forgot to ask is do you use a USB hub? They’re generally not a good idea for DAW usage and can cause all kinds of issues.

I’ve been playing guitar for years, just didn’t think about it on this USB cable that shipped with the controller. But yes, I do need to change cables anyway because I’m using a hub for my Macbook and my iPad, so I need USB-C to USB-C for that. I didn’t think about the hub being an issue either, so thanks!

1 Like

If you are using Windows, here is how to stop your USB ports from going to sleep.

1 Like

thank you, but i’m on a mac.

Hi @Promidi

It’s on a Mac I’m not sure about.

Your screenshot is likley to come in handy for others though, so thanks for that :sunglasses:

It’s a 2023 Macbook Pro 14" M2 chip.

So, in another thread someone says USB hubs are part of the setup now and they even recommend one to use. How are you supposed to circumvent the issue described in this thread and use a hub if they can’t reliably be used in conjunction with a DAW? What is the workflow then if not going through the DAW?

Hi @lex2000

It’s an ‘in general’ suggestion as many models of USB hubs do cause these types of issues, @Tim.Arturia recommends a specific type as in this thread https://forum.arturia.com/t/usb-expansion-recommendations-for-macbook-pro/1243/3

HTH!