Troubleshooting
Operator recovery steps for common problems. Each entry follows the pattern: what you see → what it means → what to do.
An output won't connect
What you see — An output row in Network shows a red or amber status. The EdgeBar displays a connection warning chip (labelled circuit breaker). Commands sent to that output have no effect.
What it means — CueSync cannot reach the device at the configured address. After several failed connection attempts CueSync pauses sending to that output (the circuit breaker opens), so a dead device does not flood the network with failing commands.
What to do
- Check the device is on and on the network. Ping the host from your laptop, or open the device's own UI, to confirm it is reachable.
- Verify the host and port. Open the Output Editor (click the output row in Network). Confirm the IP address and port match the device's actual network settings.
- Test the connection. Click Test Connection in the Output Editor. CueSync sends a probe message, using the saved login or passcode tied to that address, and reports success or failure immediately. On a read-only install it only pings the host: no connection is opened and no command or login is sent, and a silent host is not necessarily off.
- Retry the connection. If the output is paused and you have fixed the underlying problem, click Restart Failed in Network, or tap the red BLOCKED · RESET chip in the status dock (Run Mode and Devices). CueSync retries at once.
- Check Diagnostics. Open the Diagnostics screen for a log of every connection event, including dropped connections and failed sends. This log survives screen navigation and is useful for post-show review.
- Check whether the output is held, or the console has moved. An output of a show saved on another computer stays off until you press Connect (A show opened with its outputs held). A console that has reappeared at a new address raises a Re-point notice rather than being followed (A notice is waiting for your answer).
- Run Flight Check before the show. The Flight Check dialog tests all outputs in sequence and surfaces any that are unreachable before the show starts.
A cue isn't firing
What you see — The show is running, beats are counting, but a specific cue never fires (or fires at the wrong moment).
What it means — The cue's trigger condition is not being met, the cue is disabled, or an edition restriction is blocking execution.
What to do
- Check the cue is enabled. In the Cues screen, confirm the toggle on the right of the row is on. A disabled cue is skipped silently.
- Check the trigger type and settings. Open the Cue Editor and review the trigger. Common mismatches:
- A Beat trigger set to beat 1 of every bar fires only on beat 1, not every beat.
- A BPM Range trigger fires only when the tempo enters the range — if the tempo was already in range when the stack reset, it will not fire again until it leaves and re-enters.
- A Phrase trigger fires at the start of the named phrase type. If the track has no phrases of that type, it never fires.
- Check stack position. Most triggers (Beat, BPM, Phrase, Energy) evaluate only the next cue in the stack. If a cue higher in the stack is never firing, the cues below it are also blocked. Identify and fix the stalled cue first.
- Hot Cue Hit is the one exception. It can fire any matching cue anywhere in the stack, so if yours is not firing, confirm the correct hot cue label is configured and the deck is sending. A MIDI trigger is sequential like the rest: it is checked against the next cue only, so confirm the MIDI message is configured, the source is sending, and that cue is the next one in the stack.
- Check your edition. Some trigger types and workflow features are gated by edition. A cue that was authored on a higher edition and then loaded on a lower one may not fire. The Cue Editor shows a gate indicator when this applies.
- Watch for error notifications. If the cue fires but the output fails, a notification banner appears in the top-right corner. If you missed it, open Diagnostics to review the error log.
- Check whether CueSync switched it off. A track's cues that have not fired switch off by themselves when the track leaves every deck, or stops while another deck plays, and a notice says how many. They switch back on when the track returns; if that would repeat cues that already fired they stay off and the notice says so. Switch them on yourself, or use Transport ▸ Cue Stack ▸ Reset Cue Stack for a track that is on a deck.
- A Beat cue can fire a little late. If a beat packet was lost, the cue fires on the next beat that arrives — up to three beats late — and a warning says so.
A show opened with its outputs held
What you see — After you open a show (File ▸ Open, a double-click, drag-and-drop, Recents, a bundle or tour pack, an imported template or a restored backup), a notice reads "CueSync can't confirm this show was last saved on this computer, so its outputs are not connected yet:" and lists the first several outputs, each with the address it would dial and "and N more" for the rest, then "Connect only if you expect this show to reach those addresses. You can also turn each one on in Outputs." It has a Connect button. In Network the listed outputs are Inactive.
What it means — A show that another computer saved, or that CueSync cannot confirm this computer saved, does not decide for itself where this computer sends. Every output that reaches a network address stays off, sACN multicast included, until you say so. MIDI outputs are not held. Your own shows open connected, as before.
What to do
- Read the addresses. If they are the rig you expect, press Connect: every held output turns on. If not, close the notice (the outputs stay off) and correct the addresses in the Output Editor.
- Or switch outputs on one at a time from Network, or choose Output ▸ Activate All Outputs.
- Press Connect once, at the desk, before show day. If the show has no unsaved changes when you press it, CueSync remembers the answer on this computer for that exact file, so a restart or an unattended start reopens the show connected. A newer copy of the file asks again, a bundle or tour pack you import always asks, and a show you never connected here stays held behind the notice after a relaunch.
- Loading a network preset replaces the held outputs with the preset's and ends the hold.
- Saving does not make the show yours. While its outputs are still held, Save, autosave, Save a Copy and recovery checkpoints keep it marked as from another computer, so the question returns the next time it opens. A computer running an older CueSync may report a show saved here as saved by a newer build.
- Read the raw-command notice that can come with it. A show that carries raw console commands opens with a sticky warning, "Show contains N raw console command(s) or raw OSC address(es). Review the cue stack, pads, AutoPilot and Looks before going live if this file came from outside your machine.", followed by the addresses the show reaches. The count covers pads, AutoPilot profiles, show programs, phrase pre-rolls, phase bindings, Track Prep cues and templates as well as the cue stack, timeline and Looks, and a CueSync Studio import gives the same warning.
A notice is waiting for your answer
What you see — A notice with a button that does not go away by itself.
What it means — CueSync asks before it sends to a new place, applies something that arrived from outside, or lets a held setting act. These are notices, never dialogs, so Space stays GO while one is up. Closing a notice leaves things as they were. With Do Not Disturb on, a question waits and appears when Do Not Disturb ends; the notification history marks it "held until DnD ends".
What to do — by notice:
- Re-point — "… is announcing a new address, … Nothing has changed: it still points at … Re-point it only if you moved it." Press Re-point if you moved the console. Closing the notice keeps the saved address, and a console that comes back at its saved address reconnects on its own. If the console is connected at its saved address again, or the output was edited or deleted since, pressing the button changes nothing and says so. The question comes down when another show loads, a network preset replaces the outputs, or the output is deleted.
- Send console login, Send passcode or Send pairing token — "… is connecting to … without its saved console login, because CueSync has not sent it to that address before. Send the console login to …?" A login saved before logins were tied to an address is not sent anywhere until you agree once; the output connects without it meanwhile. Press the button if that address is the right console: your OK remembers the address. After an approved re-point, a login typed for the old address is asked about at the new one the same way. A login carried inside a show file fills an empty slot only and never replaces the one you stored; if the stored one is for another address, a notice says so and points to the output's settings.
- Import now — "A show from CueSync Studio is waiting to be imported. Nothing has changed — import it when you are ready." A Studio link opened while a show, set, deck or Performance mode is playing is held. Press Import now between songs or after the show. Closing the notice drops the link; open it again to bring it back.
- Use venue — "This show was made for venue '…', installed from the tour pack but not switched on …" Review the venue in Settings ▸ Venues, or press Use venue. A show whose venue is not on this computer leaves your active venue as it is.
- Drive anyway — "Timecode out to … is held: CueSync follows Art-Net timecode from what looks like the same console, so moving its slot could fight the clock it follows." Press Drive anyway only if the timecode you follow comes from another program or another slot. It applies for the rest of the session.
Timecode holds still and nothing fires
What you see — The desk (a grandMA3 timecode slot, say) is paused or quiet, and the clock stops with it. No timecode cues fire. The timecode card in Network ▸ Inputs reads Stopped: "… went quiet and "Silence means stopped" is on for it, so the clock is held and no cues fire. That is a pause, not a fault — it resumes when … does."
What it means — Silence means stopped (Settings → Timecode) is on for Art-Net by default, because a paused grandMA3 slot sends nothing at all. CueSync reads the silence as a pause and holds the clock instead of running on and firing cues across it.
What to do
- If the desk is paused, nothing is wrong. The clock and cues resume when the stream returns.
- If the cable was pulled or the source dropped out, a pull looks the same as a pause. Switch Silence means stopped off for Art-Net (or for the source concerned) to let CueSync freewheel through dropouts for the Freewheel Duration, and accept that a pause then fires cues across the freewheel window.
- If a second slot or a backup desk is taking the clock, enter the Stream ID of the slot you want in Art-Net stream to follow (Settings → Timecode, with Art-Net chase on). Blank follows any stream.
Install now is refused, or asks to restart
What you see — Install now answers "Can't restart to install while …" and names the cause: a deck is playing, AutoPilot is running, a show is running, a local set is playing or Performance mode is open. Or it asks "Restart to install?" and lists what the restart drops.
What it means — Restarting CueSync mid-show would cut what it sends to your rig. A running show refuses the install outright. When nothing is playing but a timecode output, the pixel wall or the beat clock is up, you are asked: the timecode output stops, the pixel wall freezes at its current look, the beat clock stops. Nothing sends a blackout.
What to do
- Finish or stop what the message names, then click Install now again, or wait for the show to end. A required update installs once the show has ended and the rig is idle.
- If you are asked and it is safe, press Install & Restart. Otherwise close the dialog and install between shows.
- A banner instead of a dialog. On Performance mode and Run Mode a required update shows as a banner with its download progress, never as the "Critical Update Required" dialog, so it cannot take your next GO.
An export says I'm in read-only mode
What you see — Exporting for a desk or console shows "Subscribe to … — you're in read-only mode" with a Subscribe button, and no folder chooser opens.
What it means — Exports that write for a desk or console need a working licence: the grandMA3 bridge plugin (export and Install on this computer), grandMA3 and grandMA2 macros, the desk macro pack, every grandMA3 Timecode XML export, REAPER markers, the desk timecode CSV and the Unreal bake curve. A read-only install is one with no licence, the free plan, or a lapse beyond its grace period. Nothing is written.
What to do — Activate or renew in Settings → Account & License, then export again. Exporting diagnostics for support, Looks and tour packs stay open to every install.
CueSync stops me working because of my licence
What you see — A lockout screen at sign-in, a licence banner across the shell, or a licence overlay says this account, device or licence cannot be used.
What to do — Use the support button on it (Contact support online on the lockout screen, Contact Support on the banner, Need help? Contact support on the overlay). The support form opens in your browser already set to Blocking my work; change the choice if it is not. A read-only install, with no licence, is described in Installation.
Cues read from rekordbox moved after an update
What you see — Hot cues, memory cues or loops read from a rekordbox USB, a CDJ's media or an analysis file beside the audio sit at a different place on the waveform than they did before updating.
What it means — CueSync now places them at the time rekordbox shows, on the waveform and in hot-cue pad matching. A track read from a rekordbox source is read once more the first time you load it after updating; tracks CueSync analysed itself are not analysed again.
What to do
- Load your rekordbox set once before the show, so its tracks are read again then and not on the night.
- Compare one hot cue with the time rekordbox shows for it before you rely on it.
- Re-check any cue you lined up by eye against a marker's old position.
A node is not found, or an sACN output will not connect
What you see — Scan for nodes says No node answered ArtPoll, a PixLite is missing from the list, or an sACN wall or output goes red with a message that its interface was not found or is down.
What it means — Some controllers never answer ArtPoll (a PixLite set to sACN, a DIY node); Scan for nodes also looks at controllers' web pages, so a PixLite is usually listed with its model and firmware, but that look is skipped while a show is live and can run out of time on a very wide network, and the picker says so. Separately, a wall or sACN output pinned to a network adapter or address this computer no longer has (a USB adapter that renumbered, an address removed) fails to connect and says why, instead of sending from whichever adapter the system picks.
What to do
- Scan with the show off, or type the node's IP from its own config page. The node's own protocol setting must match the wall's (Art-Net or sACN).
- If the scan says it checked only this computer, the adapter was given an address with no netmask: add the address again with its netmask (for example 255.255.255.0) and scan again. If it says Art-Net nodes were not looked for, close the app holding UDP 6454 (a console's onPC or a visualiser).
- For a pinned adapter that is gone, pick the adapter that exists — Settings → Pixels → Bind interface for the wall, the interface picker in the Output Editor for an sACN output — or choose Auto. See Network Planning.
The Pixel Wall is dark when the music stops
What you see — A couple of seconds after the beat stops, the wall goes dark, or it stands on a look with no music (amber PIX C, NO MUSIC).
What it means — The wall's own Idle look, when it is a pulse, downbeat, strobe, chase, bar chase or riser, rests dark after the beat has been gone for about two and a half seconds; the first beat back ends it. Washes, gradients, scrolls, the energy-following looks and a look a cue is holding are not rested — a held look stands through silence until something releases it, and the HUD says who left it (armed during the show, during the local set or by hand).
What to do
- To keep the wall lit between songs, use a wash as the Idle look — the DJ default is a dim wash (Settings → Pixels → Behaviour → Idle, or the Idle row in Palette → Pixel Wall).
- To let go of a held look, use Release Wall (tap to arm, again to confirm).
- After a Local Audio set, turn on Settings → Pixels → Behaviour → When the local set ends; after a show's Stop, add a Pixel release to the venue's house state. See Pixel Wall.
A grandMA3 song does not arm
What you see — A song's Timecode object does not start when its track loads, and Flight Check names the song, or a notice says the song was loaded but Timecode N was NOT armed.
What it means — The auto-arm writes through the console you chose in Sync to grandMA3 and never picks between two. With two consoles connected and none chosen, it says so once; a song whose Timecode object was never sent to a connected console cannot arm either.
What to do — Choose the console in Sync to grandMA3, step 1 (Console), then send the setlist's Timecode objects to it. A running song moves to another console only when you choose one; a console dropping out is not a move. After a desk reboot or an onPC restart the slot is placed again on the next running frame. See grandMA3.
Cues fire late, or timing feels inconsistent
What you see — Cues fire, and fire in the right order, but they land slightly late or the timing wanders. Waveforms or meters may stutter at the same moments. Nothing reports an error.
What it means — Almost always: the computer is busy with something other than CueSync. Cue decisions are made very quickly, so late cues are rarely the decision itself — they are the operating system holding every application off the processor while it services a backup, a file sync, an antivirus scan, an OS update or a busy browser. A pause like that can be longer than CueSync takes to decide a cue, and it affects the app from the outside.
What to do
- Work through Preparing the Show Machine. Quit browsers, pause file sync and backups, exclude your show folder from antivirus scanning, set the Mac's energy settings so it does not sleep or throttle, and stay on mains power. This resolves the large majority of timing complaints.
- Open Diagnostics and watch the Beat Pipeline cards while the problem is happening. CueSync records a "Beat pipeline degraded" warning when its timing starts falling behind — that tells you the machine is the constraint rather than the show.
- Check for a scheduled task that lines up with the symptom. Timing that degrades at the same point every night usually means something is on a timer — Time Machine, an indexer, or a nightly update check.
- Only then look at output-side latency. If the machine is provably clean and cues still land late at the destination, the delay is in the network or the receiving device — see Network Outputs for per-output latency compensation.
- Reboot before the show. It clears whatever has accumulated, and it forces any pending update to happen on your schedule rather than mid-set.
A show won't start
What you see — Pressing GO in Run Mode does nothing, or a pre-show gate blocks playback and will not let you proceed.
What it means — One of two situations: a pre-show readiness check is blocking start, or one or more cues are not marked as Ready.
What to do
- Run the pre-show check. If you see the Pre-Show Review screen, work through the checklist it presents. Items typically include unconnected outputs, cues still in Drafted or Tested state, and missing venue profile confirmations. Each line is actionable — click it to jump to the relevant screen.
- Mark cues as Ready. The Cue Editor has a ready-state control: Drafted → Tested → Ready. A show that requires all cues to be Ready will block until you have reviewed and promoted them. Select cues in the Cue stack and use the bulk-edit button to promote multiple cues at once. Note: the readiness check runs only when you start a stopped show — resuming from a pause continues without re-running the gate, so cues that were already passed are not re-evaluated.
- Check your edition. Run Mode is a Theatre and CueSync Production feature. If your edition does not include it, the screen is not in your navigation bar or View menu, and asking for it shows an "isn't available in your edition" notice. Mark Ready does nothing? It works only on a cue that has an action and was test-fired since its last edit. The Detail tab says which: Add an action before this cue can be marked Ready, or Edited since its last test - Test Fire it again to mark it Ready. A cue that is switched off wears a Disabled badge and is not counted Ready.
- Confirm outputs are connected. Run Mode will warn when outputs are unreachable. Fix connectivity first (see An output won't connect), then return to the pre-show check.
No sound at the venue
What you see — Local audio plays in the app (the playhead moves, the waveform animates), but nothing reaches the speakers.
What it means — The master output is almost always routed to the wrong device — most often a virtual/loopback device (BlackHole, VB-Cable, VoiceMeeter) left over from a streaming or recording setup, or a saved device that is no longer connected.
What to do
- Check the master output device. Open Settings → Audio. Devices badged Virtual are loopback drivers — audio sent there does not reach speakers unless another app is listening. Pick the real interface feeding the PA.
- Watch for the missing-device notice on startup. If the saved output device was not found, CueSync names it in a notification rather than silently falling back. Re-select the right device after changing hardware.
- Press Test. Beside Audio Output in Settings → Audio, Test plays a short tone on the selected master device (the system default when none is chosen). If you hear it where you expect, the routing is right; if not, the device is wrong.
- Enable the Silent-Track Warning. Under Settings → Audio → Reliability & Sync, this alerts you whenever a playing track stays silent — catching a corrupt, empty or wrong file during soundcheck instead of during the show. It measures the audio CueSync is playing, not what the device emits, so it cannot tell you the output is going to the wrong place; step 3 does that.
Reference video won't play
What you see — The Show Editor's reference video pane shows "Install VLC to enable reference video", "Video file not found", "No picture could be read from this file", or stays black.
What it means — The pane plays video through your system's VLC installation (version 3). Without VLC (or with a broken install), or when VLC cannot read the file, CueSync cannot show the footage. The show itself is unaffected — reference video is an editing aid and is never sent to outputs.
What to do
- Install VLC 3 from videolan.org (the standard desktop app), then reopen the show.
- "Video file not found" — the footage was moved, renamed, or lives on a drive that isn't connected. Reconnect it, or press Locate… in the pane (or right-click the Part → Replace Reference Video…) and choose it again. The offset and sound settings you had are kept.
- "No picture could be read" — check the file plays in VLC itself. If VLC can't play it, transcode to a common codec (H.264 MP4).
- A video can't be opened while a show is running. The pane says so; stop the show and it opens by itself.
- Check the offset. If video plays but looks out of sync, drag the bar under the picture (or scroll over it, a frame at a time), or use the nudge buttons or the pane's gear — a positive value means the footage has pre-roll before the part's audio starts.
- "Align to this Part's audio" says it isn't sure, or finds nothing. It needs at least twenty seconds of sound on both sides, the Part's audio file attached, and a recording that actually contains the music (a recording of a different song, or of speech over silence, has no pattern to find). Stop the show first — it will not run while one is running. Line the footage up by hand with the bar or the nudge buttons instead.
- "Dropping frames." The footage is too heavy for this computer to play in real time (4K, 10-bit or high-bitrate files on a laptop). It is only an editing aid, so transcode a 720p or 1080p H.264 copy and attach that instead — your offset is kept when you choose Replace Reference Video….
I lost my work
What you see — CueSync quit unexpectedly, or you closed the app without saving, and changes are missing.
What it means — CueSync saves a recovery snapshot periodically in the background. If the app exited uncleanly, that snapshot is newer than the last manual save.
What to do
- Check the Recovery dialog on launch. When CueSync detects a newer recovery snapshot, it shows the Recovery dialog on startup. Choose Restore to load the snapshot. The dialog shows the timestamp of the snapshot so you can judge how much work it covers.
- Browse backups. CueSync also maintains dated automatic backups separate from the recovery snapshot. Open Settings → Projects → Backup & Recovery → Browse Backups to see a list of dated backup files and restore from any of them.
- Save frequently. Press
Cmd+Sto save at any time. Before a show, save once more and confirm the file timestamp. - If the app crashes repeatedly. Note the exact steps that caused the crash and report them via Settings → About → Send Feedback. Include the show file if possible (with any sensitive cue names removed).
Related
- Diagnostics — connection logs and connection-recovery state
- Network Outputs — output configuration and Test Connection
- Cues — cue stack and ready-state management
- Run Mode — Theatre GO button and pre-show check
- Glossary — definitions for circuit breaker, freewheel, and other terms
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