IRig Blue Board Not Connecting to Mac Pro Bluetooth [SOLVED]

[laurentbass]

Team,
I have been working with IK Multimedia support team and IK Multimedia Ryan Swannick to help solve this issue about the BlueBoard not connecting to Mac Pro. I must say that Ryan is very knowledgeable, and that IK Multimedia should not be blamed for all the issues. Bluetooth Midi is a new protocol and the Mac Catalina OS upgrade is causing many other issues at the same time.

Ryan Swannick of IK Multimedia was able to tutor me through the two manual ways of connecting the BlueBoard to Mac:

a. The BlueBoard Mac application is a proprietary IK Multimedia solution that connects the BlueBoard appliance to IPads and Macs using the Cntr A Option. Even though I have found the BlueBoard application easy to use on IPad, because of the issue ridden Catalina OS upgrade to Mac Pro, the connection is still manual for me and not automatic. I cannot get the BlueBoard to connect automatically without going through some manual steps each time I boot up my Mac. One Manual step is that I must stop Bluetooth and start Bluetooth on my Mac to establish a connection as well as some other steps each time. This is a pain because I use a Bluetooth mouse which gets disabled when I stop Bluetooth on my Mac.

b. Using the Apple Midi Studio option is the standard way for Mac to connect to Bluetooth Midi using the Cntr B or Cntr C mode for Blueboard appliance. I use Cntr C for my purposes. Using the Midi Studio Method is now still a manual connection method for me, and I cannot get an Auto Connect using this method. I must go through a procedure in the Midi Studio each time I boot up to get a Bluetooth Midi Connection. IK Multimedia has suggested that I contact Apple who controls the Midi Studio to find out why this is not an Auto connect method.

The bottom line for me is that the Midi Studio manual connection is not difficult to implement when using the Blueboard on MAC. To use this method, one must follow the connection procedure each time you boot the Mac. I will use this procedure which gives me some great flexibility when using Ableton Live Looper in my live musical performances.

I will detail this procedure in a future post, or one can contact IK Multimedia support and Ryan to also get this procedure.

[drohde]

i don thi k its a Catalina Problem, i have a Mac Mini with Catalina and a MacBook Pro with Catalina.
Mac Mini never works with Cntrl A, so no IK App like AmpliTube etc works on that with BlueBoard, that was the Same with Mojave
On the Macbook Pro no Problems with that
So it couldn't be a Catalina Problem

[laurentbass]

Dear drohde,
As per my previous post, I was able to get the BlueBoard to work in Cntr A mode with the BlueBoard application as well as in Cntr B and Cntr C mode with the Midi Studio on my Mac Pro running Catalina 10.15.5 using the processes given to me each time I boot up my Mac. The BlueBoard does work, but the process for Bluetooth connecting is still complicated and manual (not automatic connect) for me at this point.

[drohde]

could you please post how you do this
Thanks

[laurentbass]

Here is the procedure outlined by Ryan Swannick
See a video example here of how this should operate with the iRig BlueBoard app currently with macOS 10.15 Make sure to follow these steps to get connected while we look into this update.: https://we.tl/t-lJ2KqIynsA
by Ryan Swannick
laurent bass

[richpdavis]

Hi Laurentbass, the video has helped me, all sorted!

Thanks,
Rich

[Cypher2405]

Unfortunately, this still does not work for me

[laurentbass]

The Video is for "Cntr A" config on BlueBoard.

[marcelo1962]

I have this same issue but the video referenced in an earlier post seems to have expired.

Any way to repost or place in YouTube?

Thank you.

[magsterone]

I have the same problem and tech has tried to help but no solution has been found.

[hhernandezgo]

Having the same problem, it's a nightmare.

Ticket #8824337

[DarkStar]

I have removed your duplicate posts.

Please reply to your Support Ticket email asking for an update or progress report. But please not that Support have a heavy workload at the moment in these strange circumstances.

Please have a look at the Guidelines https://cgi.ikmultimedia.com/ikforum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=19505. Item 1 describes an escalation path.

[ronaldkperry]

My ticket number is #4818833, from 5/28/20. Please help. I have the dreaded flashing D no matter what I do.

Ron Perry

Hey Guys,

Anyone with issues, please PM me your ticket number. I've snagged a couple of tickets from this thread so far, but sending me these details will help me get you the fastest possible escalation. Thanks in advance.

[wkhatch]

I'm having this issue as well, and would appreciate one solid comment or post that outlines any remedies. It seems previous attempts at same either have no valid link, etc.

MBP (15" 2018) Catalina 10.15.5
BlueBoard does not have USB. No firmware updates required for this unit at this time (User
Is visible in Bluetooth System Prefs when scanning, but fails to connect
BlueBoard app indicates Bluetooth is OFF, and Settings -> Scan is disabled

Powering on with B (Midi 1 mode, I believe) will allow connecting via the Audio MIDI Setup App, but Blueboard app still doesn't recognize it, and I'm not able to select any controller buttons, including extended hold bank up/down. The BLE light on the board series of 3 rapid flashes.

No changes triggered in Amplitube

[hhernandezgo]

Ticket #8824337