Having a hard time getting your controller to connect using macOS?
Follow the recommended troubleshooting steps below to get up and running.

Restart your computer

A classic troubleshooting step, but you would be surprised at the number of people that bypass this one! Restarting your computer refreshes a lot of driver issues and refreshes the OS. It's good to restart after any kind of driver or software installation to make sure everything is working correctly.
Even if your Serato hardware connects without restarting your computer, you may encounter performances issues using Serato software, without regularly restarting your computer.

Check you have correct drivers installed

Some Serato hardware will need drivers to be installed before the device will connect with your macOS computer and Serato DJ software.
If your Serato hardware does need drivers, you will need to either:

• Download and install them from your specific hardware manufacturer's website - some of which can be found on our Hardware Drivers & Firmware article
  or
• Install them when you connect your Serato hardware, via the pop-up notification that appears when Serato DJ software is open
  NOTE: Not all Serato hardware drivers are bundled with Serato DJ software, and it's also important to ensure you're using the latest supported Serato DJ software version so you receive the most up-to-date drivers).

IMPORTANT: If using macOS 10.13 High Sierra, macOS 10.14 Mojave, macOS 10.15 Catalina, macOS 11 Big Sur or macOS 12 Monterey, then there are additional steps you may need to complete, to install drivers successfully. Please check here for more information. 

Use another USB port and cable

Try connecting your Serato hardware using a different USB port on your computer and using a different USB cable.
Not all USB cables are created equal and you may find your USB cable is faulty without appearing to be damaged and in some cases, may exhibit an intermittent fault that is not immediately apparent.
If your computer comes with USB-C ports, then try another USB-C adapter to connect your Serato hardware to the computer.

Reset the MIDI connection

Try resetting the MIDI connection by following these steps. This might be needed if you have a class-compliant device and are connecting to macOS for the first time:

1. Disconnect your Serato hardware
2. Open Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup
3. Click on Window > Show MIDI Studio
   
4. In the MIDI Studio window, first click on the icon of your Serato hardware, then click on the [-] button to remove it
5. Reconnect your Serato hardware, then launch Serato DJ software and check to see if your device now connects

Create a new MIDI/Audio configuration

Alternatively, try creating an entirely new MIDI configuration:

1. Disconnect your Serato hardware
2. Open Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup
3. Click on Window > Show MIDI Studio
   
4. Click on the 'Configuration' drop-down menu then select Edit Configurations 
   
5. In the Edit your configurations: window, click on each configuration and then choose Delete
6. Once you've removed all existing configurations possible (you may not be able to remove the last one), click on the 'Configuration' drop-down menu, then choose New Configuration - in the subsequent dialog box, give your configuration and name and click Ok:
   
7. Reconnect your Serato hardware, then launch Serato DJ software and check to see if your device now connects

NOTE: Even interface devices with no physical MIDI controls (like the Denon DS1) may benefit from the new MIDI configuration step above.

Remove conflicting audio devices, sound cards or interfaces

Do you use any other audio applications? Have you got any other Audio devices connected to your computer other than your Serato DJ hardware?
Having other audio devices connected (especially other sound-cards/interfaces) can conflict with connected Serato DJ controllers and may result in no connection. 
Disconnect any other audio devices, uninstall or disable any other audio drivers in the Audio MIDI Setup application, and remember, restart your computer after making any changes.

Check Audio Output Routing

Check that you have the Audio Input / Output set correctly, to the Built-In Microphone/Output. If this is set incorrectly, Serato software may not be able to access your hardware's soundcard. Note that making this change may result in macOS system and other application audio to play through your Serato hardware.
In some cases, this can affect an audio connection on macOS, and prevent audio from playing, even if the device in question connects correctly.

1. Connect your Serato hardware
2. Open Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup
3. Find Built-in Microphone. [Ctrl]+[Click] this, and select Use This Device For Sound Input
4. Find Built-in Output. [Ctrl]+[Click] this, and select Use This Device For Sound Output

Remove third-party MIDI drivers

1. Open a Finder window
2. Click on your Macintosh HD drive
3. Click on the Library folder
4. Click on the Audio folder
5. Open the MIDI Drivers folder
   
6. Move any old drivers to your desktop or into a folder somewhere for safekeeping.
   You may need these if you still use that specific hardware so take note of their location, but it's important to empty/move the folder for this step (and not just copy them out)
   
7. Restart your computer, and try connecting your Serato hardware again

Update macOS

We recommend our users remain on the latest point iteration of the major macOS version being used.

If you're using macOS 10.15 Catalina, this does not mean that you must update to macOS 11 Big Sur, however, "vanilla" macOS 10.15 Catalina, without any minor updates, may have bugs and issues that prevent your Serato hardware from making a successful audio connection, that Apple has resolved in subsequent updates.

For example; If using macOS 10.15 Catalina, we strongly recommend you upgrade to the macOS 10.15.7 Catalina update  (the last, most current version of macOS Catalina that Apple rolled out as of the time of this article).

To check for the latest macOS updates, simply click on Apple > About this Mac > Software Update.

With new, major macOS updates, we still recommend checking our Serato Software / Operating System compatibility article for the latest information, before updating your macOS installation.

Test your Serato hardware on another compatible computer

Sometimes hardware is faulty, and often it doesn't appear to be physically damaged, at least not in any obvious way.

You may notice the buttons or lights on your device not lighting up when connected to your computer, or they may flash in an unusual pattern, and sometimes your device may look functional, when something inside the device is actually faulty, preventing your hardware from connecting to Serato DJ software.

Even if you don't have easy access to another compatible computer, it's a fantastic troubleshooting step to try, which may reveal if your device is faulty, or if your own computer is faulty, or sometimes misconfigured. It can often save a lot of time and frustration, even if it means carrying your expensive, heavy gear to another location or having a friend bring their computer to test with your set-up.