Helix USB Help - worked 2 days ago! 'No device connected'

[rohanmiller97]

Hi there, I am having an issue connecting my Helix Floor to my Macbook Pro (running Big Sur). I am running version 3.11 with both HX edit and the Helix. I have been using HX edit with the helix since I bought the helix about a year ago with no issues at all. It worked for me on Friday morning and then suddenly since then I cannot connect the Helix to my Computer, I just get the 'no device connected' screen on HX edit.

 

I have checked the devices list in system information and nothing appears at all. When I plug in my Steinberg Audio interface using the same USB cable it appears and works fine. I also tested another 3 USB cables, all of which result with the same issue. My assumption is that the USB cables all work well.

 

I have also downloaded HX edit onto a different Mac that doesn't require a USB adapter to connect and it similarly doesn't show up. This leads me to believe that it is the Helix unit itself that is causing the issues.

 

I have also re-downloaded all software and drivers to double check these work.

 

I cannot even try and revert the Helix back to an older software as I cannot get any type of recognition of it being connected to the laptop. I have tried resetting all the global settings and still nothing.

 

What are my options? As far as I can see I have exhausted all the usual options that people discuss online (I have spent hours reading previous posts on this). My best guess is that there may be an issue with the USB port itself on the Helix - although considering it worked at 9am on Friday, and by 11:30am it had decided to stop I am unsure...

 

Any advice would be helpful! Has anyone had the same problem?

[datacommando]

11 hours ago, rohanmiller97 said:

What are my options?

 

Hi,

 

In the bottom right hand corner of this page is a black dot containing a white circle and question mark.

 

Click on it, then from under Common Product FAQ, click on the linked item marked "USB Connection Issues" and follow the instructions given there.

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.

 

[rohanmiller97]

Thanks for your response. I tried all of these factors on the help page today to no avail. Still have no connection coming from the Helix at all.

[datacommando]

7 hours ago, rohanmiller97 said:

Thanks for your response. I tried all of these factors on the help page today to no avail. Still have no connection coming from the Helix at all.

 

Hi,

 

Oops! It looks like you have entered the voodoo world of the Universal Serial Bus.

 

There are many unknowns as to why or why not USB audio will work one day, and not the next. Many, many threads on here discuss this theme seemingly endlessly. Some say that the length of the cable can cause issues and just because your 20 foot long cable works with your printer, that does not guarantee that it will function with your Helix. Others recommend that cables that have a RF Choke block (ferrite rings/beads) are good, while others say not. Some folk will even say that the one supplied in the box with the Helix failed to connect. It's a total mystery!

 

Re-reading your post brings something to mind, regarding the Mac OS in general. Apple has a habit of letting the computer perform unattended overnight updates to the system software usually listed as "Security Updates". Are you absolutely certain that nothing has inadvertently changed in the system which may have brought this on. I noted in the Helix Native forum a guy posted that he had eventually got Native working properly under Big Sur when an incremental update broke everything once again. Also you  mentioned downloading the drivers. Helix is USB class compliant and should just appear available as a USB audio device in the Audio MIDI Setup Utility. The Mac only requires the Line 6 Core Audio driver for recording and playback at sample rates other than 48kHz. Another thing that is sometimes overlooked is, please ensure that you have the correct version of HX Edit installed - it's not uncommon for a Mac to be harking back to an older version via an "Alias" shortcut. 

 

The only other thing I can suggest for you to try is - power down your MBP and the Helix and then remove the USB cable from both pieces of hardware. In fact it maybe better if your Helix is the only thing using the USB port until you establish a link with HX Edit. Once you know it works, then you can hook up your other stuff. Restart your MacBook Pro, re-connect the USB cable to the MBP and then the Helix and power up the Helix. When it finishes booting check to see if the Helix is available in the Audio MIDI Utility. If it fails, then I would suggest that you contact Customer Support and raise a ticket.

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.

[hungri-yeti]

Are you using the HX Stomp as part of an aggregate device? I recently had a similar experience, both my HX Stomp & eventide h9 lost their marbles so to speak. To restore the Stomp I needed to recreate the aggregate device that it was part of.

 

So check the Audio/Midi app and see what the HX looks like there, it was greyed-out in mine and couldn't be changed until I made a new aggregate device.

 

I think it was a macOS update; everything worked fine in the evening, then bonkers the next am for no other reason.

 

 

[rohanmiller97]

All great suggestions and I appreciate the help! I have just looked at the update log and it seems that it updated to Big Sur 11.5.2 on Friday which was when it stopped working... I can only assume that something within this update has messed up the connection to the Helix for some reason. But I'm puzzled over the fact that I have tried a second computer and that wouldn't connect to the Helix either. The update factor seems convincing, but why would both computers not work... Could the update somehow stopped it being recognised on other devices? 

16 hours ago, datacommando said:

Re-reading your post brings something to mind, regarding the Mac OS in general. Apple has a habit of letting the computer perform unattended overnight updates to the system software usually listed as "Security Updates". Are you absolutely certain that nothing has inadvertently changed in the system which may have brought this on. I noted in the Helix Native forum a guy posted that he had eventually got Native working properly under Big Sur when an incremental update broke everything once again.

 

[datacommando]

2 hours ago, rohanmiller97 said:

but why would both computers not work...

“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?”
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

 

Must be Mac USB voodoo?
 

Sorry, but I am at a loss to explain the recent developments that Apple have decided to thrust upon an unsuspecting user base. It would appear that when they change one small thing, the entire house of cards comes tumbling down.
 

That's the reason why I refused to leave the established realm of OSX. I know all my stuff still works and don’t want to walk off the edge of a cliff into a spiral of depression that I’m almost certain will ensue thereafter. I have been a Mac user since the Mac Plus and used every model since, until this debacle with Big Sur. After all these years on the “bleeding edge” of technology - nope, not for me just yet, although I do realise some Mac users don’t have a choice about this move to the new system.

You could raise a ticket with Customer Support 

[rohanmiller97]

Thank you for all the suggestions! I raised a ticket with customer support and there doesn't seem to be an explanation... Time to figure out getting my helix serviced.