Focusrite Saffire 40 Not Working in El Capitan

[uller6]

I updated my late 2013 15" MBPr to El Capitan 10.11.1, and my Focusrite Saffire pro 40 stopped working. When I plug the interface into my laptop it isn't recognized in the Audio panel in system preferences as an available I/O interface. I'm using a Firewire 400 to 800 cable and the apple thunderbolt to firewire 800 adaptor. Things were working great until I updated from 10.10.5. I also have a 2011 iMac still on 10.10.5, where the same interface and cable combination works without any problems.

I'm using the Focusrite Saffire mix control 3.6 drivers, which Focusrite claims work fine on 10.11.

Does anyone else have their Saffire Pro 40 working on any flavor of 10.11? Any suggestions?

 

[Fishrrman]

Can you see the "presence" of the Saffire on the firewire bus in "System Information"?

Also, see the last paragraph of this article:
http://www.infoworld.com/article/2988096/mac-os-x/sorry-unix-fans-os-x-el-capitan-kills-root.html
"With El Capitan, Apple has discontinued development and maintenance of its FireWire Core Audio driver, which will cause problems with a huge number of other hardware devices as well."

I wonder if the same problems that have made some fairly recent Apogee devices unusable with El Capitan, are affecting others (including yours) as well?

Final thought:
Have you browsed the gearslutz.com boards for clues?
One of the best sites on the net for digital audio users.

 

[harmonicp]

Did you ever resolve this? I just upgraded to El Capitan and am having the exact same problem on my 2011 iMac. I am going nuts trying to get sound to come out and getting nowhere with it, even the the system recognizes my saffire unit. Hoping maybe you have good news...

I updated my late 2013 15" MBPr to El Capitan 10.11.1, and my Focusrite Saffire pro 40 stopped working. When I plug the interface into my laptop it isn't recognized in the Audio panel in system preferences as an available I/O interface. I'm using a Firewire 400 to 800 cable and the apple thunderbolt to firewire 800 adaptor. Things were working great until I updated from 10.10.5. I also have a 2011 iMac still on 10.10.5, where the same interface and cable combination works without any problems.

I'm using the Focusrite Saffire mix control 3.6 drivers, which Focusrite claims work fine on 10.11.

Does anyone else have their Saffire Pro 40 working on any flavor of 10.11? Any suggestions?

 

[jayelle2222]

I updated my late 2013 15" MBPr to El Capitan 10.11.1, and my Focusrite Saffire pro 40 stopped working. When I plug the interface into my laptop it isn't recognized in the Audio panel in system preferences as an available I/O interface. I'm using a Firewire 400 to 800 cable and the apple thunderbolt to firewire 800 adaptor. Things were working great until I updated from 10.10.5. I also have a 2011 iMac still on 10.10.5, where the same interface and cable combination works without any problems.

I'm using the Focusrite Saffire mix control 3.6 drivers, which Focusrite claims work fine on 10.11.

Does anyone else have their Saffire Pro 40 working on any flavor of 10.11? Any suggestions?

 

[harmonicp]

I finally got mine working. You may need to install the latest version of Mix Control, which is 3.7:
https://us.focusrite.com/downloads/saffire-mix-control-37

I am running my Pro 40 successfully in El Capitan on my iMac and Macbook Pro now.

 

[jayelle2222]

In order to have Saffire Pro 40 back in business after installing El Capitan:
1 - From the Saffire MixControl menu go to Help > Updates & Downloads. This will take you to the Focusrite web site "Downloads" page
2 - Pick your product by type (Firewire Audio Interface > Saffire PRO 40) from the left drop down menu
3 - The package will be downloaded to your computer. Since you have not gotten the update via the App Store you will need to hold the Control key down on the keyboard and then double click on the icon package to open it.
4 - Agree to the license, etc... and install.
5 - Once the installation is done you need to restart your computer.
6 - Most likely if you start the saffire MixControl from the icon on your desktop or the bottom menu bar IT WILL STILL NOT WORK. You have to start it from the Application folder.
7 - You should get a message to install firmware updates. Agree to that.
8 - You are done! Don't forget to remove the old icon on your desktop and replace it with a new one or keep opening the MixControl from the application folder.

 

[BrandonSummers_]

I finally got mine working. You may need to install the latest version of Mix Control, which is 3.7:
https://us.focusrite.com/downloads/saffire-mix-control-37

I am running my Pro 40 successfully in El Capitan on my iMac and Macbook Pro now.

This worked for me. THANK YOU!!

Mac mini (Mid 2010) [don't judge me-- I'm on a budget]
Memory 8 GB
OS X El Capitan (upgraded on May 31, 2016)
Saffire Pro 14

 

[CheekzSpeakz]

I finally got mine working. You may need to install the latest version of Mix Control, which is 3.7:
https://us.focusrite.com/downloads/saffire-mix-control-37

I am running my Pro 40 successfully in El Capitan on my iMac and Macbook Pro now.

THANK YOU SO MUCH! EVERYTHING IS BACK UP AND RUNNING AND I'M ABLE TO CONTINUE MAKING MUSIC. THIS HAS TAKEN ME SO MANY MONTHS AND WITH A SINGLE CLICK I'M BACK IN BUSINESS BABY!!!! THIS WORKED 110%

 

[phileuro]

I'm in the same situation (I think). I have the latest (3.7) Saffire Mix Control software installed. I can see the Saffire 40 as an input device, but not an output device!
In the Audio Midi Setup app it shows 20 inputs/0 outputs.
Pretty frustrating.

I'm new to Focusrite, so maybe I just don't know how to configure it? But in the manual it seems to imply that it should 'just work'.

I made a youtube video about my problem...

 

[IraWardMusic]

I'm in the same situation (I think). I have the latest (3.7) Saffire Mix Control software installed. I can see the Saffire 40 as an input device, but not an output device!
In the Audio Midi Setup app it shows 20 inputs/0 outputs.
Pretty frustrating.

I'm new to Focusrite, so maybe I just don't know how to configure it? But in the manual it seems to imply that it should 'just work'.

I made a youtube video about my problem...

I had the same problem.
My device was not recognized from the start!

After some painstaking searching and some long thought, I figured it out.

Try this:
Look to see if your firewire is enabled.
You can do this in about this mac (then Systemreport).
Unplug all external devices from your Mac, except mouse and keyboard and then shut it down.
Plug in your Saffire, turn it on and boot-up your mac.
Go back to see if it is being recognized in the Systemreport. If not, reboot until recognized. (remember that the Saffire must be on and connected first!)

Once recognized, install the 3.7 update and reboot your mac with the Saffire plugged in and on.
This worked like a charm for me.
Hope this helps!

 

[ariacraze]

hi guys ... im having a similar issue with my saffire pro 14 ...
it shows device connected ( doesnt mention Saffire 14 )

No Hardware detected inspite of loading mixcontrol 3.7

- do i need to download mixcontrol 3.6 too