> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://logicpros.net/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Logic Pro MIDI Services Not Available: Fix the CoreMIDI Error - URL: https://logicpros.net/logic-pro-midi-services-not-available/ - Published: 2026-10-08T22:12:42.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T22:12:43.000Z - Description: What the CoreMIDI alert means, the order to isolate devices and drivers, and the forum fixes worth skipping. - Author: Marcus Sullivan - Tags: Troubleshooting, MIDI **“MIDI Services not available,” usually paired with “Error initializing CoreMIDI,” means Logic Pro couldn’t connect to the Mac’s MIDI system when it opened.** Quit Logic and any controller or interface software, unplug every MIDI device and USB hub, restart the Mac, and open Logic with nothing attached. If the alert is gone, check your devices in Audio MIDI Setup’s MIDI Studio window and reconnect them one at a time. When the alert comes back with a single device attached, that device or its driver is your suspect. The alert doesn’t name the part that failed, so the fix is isolation: one cable, one driver, one setting at a time. The steps below run from checks that change nothing on your Mac to resets that cost you custom settings. If you already know which device triggers it, skip to the driver section. ## What “MIDI Services Not Available” Means in Logic Pro Logic doesn’t talk to MIDI hardware on its own. Apple’s [MIDI devices overview for Logic Pro](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/midi-devices-overview-lgcp13f602e3/mac) says Logic recognizes the devices set up in Audio MIDI Setup, and that some MIDI interfaces need driver software from the manufacturer. “Error initializing CoreMIDI” tells you that handoff failed at launch: Logic asked macOS for its MIDI connection and didn’t get a working one. That’s also why the alert can appear with no keyboard plugged in at all. Forum threads lump three different problems together, and each one needs a different fix: | What you see | What it points to | Start with | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | “MIDI Services not available” or “Error initializing CoreMIDI” when Logic opens | Logic couldn’t set up MIDI communication with macOS | Clean restart, device isolation, Reset All MIDI Drivers, driver check | | A device is missing or dimmed in MIDI Studio | macOS doesn’t see the device as connected and online | Rescan MIDI, Device is online, power, cable and manufacturer software | | No alert, the device shows up, but Logic plays nothing | Track, input port or instrument setup | The [MIDI keyboard troubleshooting guide](https://logicpros.net/logic-pro-midi-keyboard-not-working/) | This page covers the first row in full and the second where the two overlap. If you’re in the third row, the keyboard guide is the faster route. ## Restart Clean and Isolate Your MIDI Devices Apple’s [troubleshooting article for Logic Pro](https://support.apple.com/en-us/119881) starts with a restart, then a compatibility check for audio and MIDI interfaces, control surfaces and plug-ins that Apple doesn’t make, then disconnecting external devices one at a time. It also warns that third-party hardware or software might not be compatible after a Logic Pro or macOS update, and tells you to back up Logic Pro and your projects before you troubleshoot. That’s the right spine for this alert too. 1. Quit Logic Pro, plus any controller utility or interface mixer app that’s running. 2. Unplug every MIDI device: keyboards, pad controllers, MIDI interfaces and control surfaces. Unplug USB hubs and docks too, including a monitor whose USB ports carry a controller. 3. Restart the Mac. 4. Open Logic with nothing attached. If the alert still appears, try Reset All MIDI Drivers below, then the system checks further down. 5. If Logic opens cleanly, quit it, connect one device straight to the Mac without a hub, and open Logic again. 6. Repeat with each device. Add the hub or dock back last. When the alert returns with one device connected, Apple’s advice is to update or service that device. In practice that means the manufacturer’s current driver or firmware, or the manufacturer’s statement that the device now runs on the driver built into macOS. Check support for your Logic and macOS versions on the manufacturer’s site before you install anything. The hub step matters more than it looks. In a 2018 [Vi-Control thread on the CoreMIDI error](https://vi-control.net/community/threads/error-initializing-coremidi-midi-services-not-available-logic-pro-x.76344/), one member tied the alert to a controller running through a monitor’s USB ports after the Mac woke from sleep, and a reboot cleared it. That’s one person’s pattern, not a rule, but it costs nothing to rule out. ## Check Each Device in Audio MIDI Setup Open Audio MIDI Setup from Applications > Utilities and choose Window > Show MIDI Studio. Then work through Apple’s own checks: - **Missing device:** click **Rescan MIDI**. If the device still doesn’t appear, Apple’s [steps for a missing MIDI device](https://support.apple.com/guide/audio-midi-setup/if-a-connected-midi-device-isnt-shown-amsd0b13f5d9/mac) point to the connection, the power and any software the manufacturer requires. - **Dimmed device:** a dimmed icon may mean the device is off or disconnected. Double-click it and make sure **Device is online** is selected, then click Apply, as [Apple’s dimmed-device page](https://support.apple.com/guide/audio-midi-setup/if-a-midi-device-is-dimmed-ams7dfd809fa/mac) describes. If it’s already selected, reconnect the device. - **Signal check:** click **Test MIDI Setup** in the toolbar and play a note on the controller. In [Apple’s MIDI connection test](https://support.apple.com/guide/audio-midi-setup/test-your-midi-connection-ams668e66f1d/mac), the up arrow on the device, its In port, is highlighted when the signal arrives. Click the button again to turn test mode off. - **Clean configuration:** if the window is crowded with old entries, open the Choose MIDI Configuration pop-up menu (it may show Default), choose New Configuration and name it, following Apple’s [MIDI device setup steps](https://support.apple.com/guide/audio-midi-setup/set-up-midi-devices-ams875bae1e0/mac). A fresh configuration gives you a clean list to test against, and the old one stays in the same menu. ![Audio MIDI Setup MIDI Studio window with the Choose MIDI Configuration menu, Rescan MIDI and Test MIDI Setup buttons, a connected USB keyboard and one dimmed device](https://storage.ghost.io/c/20/71/2071c898-de7d-454c-9b19-3de1581e628d/content/images/2026/10/logic-pro-midi-studio-rescan-test-annotated.webp) Rescan MIDI and Test MIDI Setup sit in the MIDI Studio toolbar. A dimmed icon may mean the device is off or disconnected. If a device passes the MIDI Studio test and Logic still shows the alert, the device is reaching macOS. The next suspects are the MIDI driver state inside Logic and its input list. For a full tour of the window itself, read the [Audio MIDI Setup guide for Logic Pro](https://logicpros.net/audio-midi-setup-logic-pro/). ## Reset All MIDI Drivers in Logic Pro Logic has one button built for this. Choose Logic Pro > Settings (or press Command-Comma), open the **MIDI** pane, click **General** and click **Reset All MIDI Drivers**. Apple’s [General MIDI settings page](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/general-settings-lgcpb839d947/mac) describes it in one line: it resets all MIDI drivers and “can help if you experience MIDI communication problems.” That’s the category this alert falls into. It’s also a fix forum users keep coming back to. In the same Vi-Control thread, one member said selecting Reset All MIDI Drivers in the MIDI preferences “has always fixed it for me,” and a Music Stack Exchange answer suggests the same button. After the reset, check whether your controller responds. If the alert comes back at the next launch, keep going. People search for the same alert in GarageBand, and the same isolation order applies there. GarageBand’s equivalent lives in GarageBand > Settings > Audio/MIDI: Apple’s [GarageBand Audio/MIDI settings](https://support.apple.com/guide/garageband/change-audiomidi-settings-gbnd967819b9/mac) list **Reset MIDI Drivers** to “reload MIDI devices if you’ve lost the connection to them.” ## Clean Up Logic Pro’s MIDI Inputs Once the alert is gone, open Logic Pro > Settings > MIDI > Inputs. Apple’s [MIDI Inputs settings page](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/inputs-settings-lgcp418a5bbb/mac) explains that each row is a MIDI device or port that Core MIDI recognizes, and that unchecked ports don’t appear in a software instrument track’s MIDI input menu and can’t be recorded from. Apple’s tip is to select only the ports of the controllers you record with. - **Gray rows:** a removed or inactive device appears grayed out. Select its name and press Delete to clear it from the list. - **Software ports:** controller and interface utilities can add ports of their own. In a 2025 [Logic Pro Help thread about the CoreMIDI warning](https://www.logicprohelp.com/forums/topic/159315-getting-error-initializing-coremidi-warning-midi-services-not-available/), the advice for a Native Instruments keyboard that wasn’t triggering notes was to uncheck the “Komplete Kontrol A DAW” port. - **Data floods:** Apple warns that a device sharing a MIDI In port with Logic and other software can send large streams of MIDI data, causing playback artifacts or corrupted projects. Its example is an audio interface sending a continuous stream of SysEx data to its mixer app through a virtual USB MIDI port. Turn that port off. A MIDI monitoring app or the device’s documentation tells you which port it is. ![Logic Pro Settings window on the MIDI Inputs tab with On checkboxes, a checked USB keyboard port, an unchecked DAW control port and a grayed-out removed device](https://storage.ghost.io/c/20/71/2071c898-de7d-454c-9b19-3de1581e628d/content/images/2026/10/logic-pro-midi-inputs-settings-annotated.webp) Keep only the ports you record from checked. Gray rows are devices that were removed or are inactive. One detail trips people up here. The MIDI Activity display in Logic’s LCD shows incoming messages from every MIDI In port, checked or not. A blinking activity display proves the Mac receives MIDI, not that your track will record it. ## Find the Driver Without Breaking Your Audio Setup If one device brings the alert back, or the alert started right after you installed a controller or interface utility, the driver is the next suspect. Apple’s Audio MIDI Setup guide says an [incompatible third-party audio driver](https://support.apple.com/guide/audio-midi-setup/if-your-audio-apps-stop-working-amsfa3961363/mac) can stop audio apps from working, and the answer is the manufacturer’s latest driver or the standard macOS drivers. Apple’s [checklist for a MIDI device that isn’t working](https://support.apple.com/guide/audio-midi-setup/if-a-midi-device-isnt-working-ams925f39e19/mac) asks the same of MIDI gear: is the manufacturer’s software installed, and is it the latest version? The manufacturer’s documentation decides what “current” means. Two examples: - **KORG:** KORG’s [macOS compatibility chart](https://www.korg.com/download/global/support/os/pdf/mac%5Fcompatibilitychart%5FKORG%5Fen.pdf) says the KORG USB-MIDI driver isn’t compatible with macOS Catalina or later, and that USB MIDI should use the Apple standard driver. [KORG UK’s support article](https://support.korg.co.uk/en-US/error-installing-the-korg-usb-midi-driver-on-macos-catalina-or-later-405998) describes the cleanup: disconnect KORG devices, run the KORG USB MIDI Driver Uninstaller, restart, then connect the device directly. It adds that duplicate entries for the same device in MIDI Studio can be deleted while the device is disconnected. One answer in the Music Stack Exchange thread credits that same uninstaller with clearing the CoreMIDI error. - **Native Instruments:** NI’s [Mac uninstall guide](https://support.native-instruments.com/support/solutions/articles/69000879356-how-to-uninstall-native-instruments-software-from-a-mac-computer) lists the files for each product and adds a Hardware folder to remove for controller software such as MASCHINE and KOMPLETE KONTROL. Drivers outside the controller world can be the cause too. In the Logic Pro Help thread, the original poster saw the alert even with their keyboard unplugged, and one member wrote that a PreSonus Thunderbolt interface driver had been the culprit in their own case. Look at everything you installed around the time the alert started, not only the keyboard’s software. **Do not delete everything in /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL or /Library/Audio/MIDI Drivers.** That advice still circulates, but the HAL folder holds Core Audio drivers as well: Apple’s [audio server driver plug-in documentation](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/coreaudio/creating-an-audio-server-driver-plug-in) installs its sample driver there. Clearing it can take your audio interface down along with the suspect driver. Remove one vendor’s software with that vendor’s uninstaller or documented steps, back up anything you move, then restart and check again. ## Why Opening MIDI Studio First Seems to Help The most repeated workaround online is to open Audio MIDI Setup, show MIDI Studio, leave it open and then start Logic. It runs through a long [Apple Community thread on the alert](https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251007979), where a January 2020 reply said that most of the time the message means Logic timed out while initializing CoreMIDI, and it comes up in the Vi-Control thread as well. The clearest explanation I’ve found is dated. The accepted answer to a 2019 [Music Stack Exchange question about the error on Mojave](https://music.stackexchange.com/questions/79409/error-initializing-coremidi-starting-logic-pro-x-on-mojave) blamed slow CoreMIDI startup in macOS Mojave, and a later edit added that updating to Catalina fixed it. Treat the trick as a workaround from that era. If it helps you, it hints at a timing problem rather than a broken device, but it doesn’t remove the cause. Keep working through the driver checks, because a workaround you need before every session is still a symptom. ## Still Failing With Nothing Connected If the alert appears with every device unplugged and after Reset All MIDI Drivers, look at settings, your user account and system software. Work through these in order; most of them come from the same Apple troubleshooting article: 1. **A new user account.** Apple suggests testing in a new macOS user account. If the alert doesn’t appear there, settings or files in your usual account are involved. 2. **Control surface preferences.** Only if you use a control surface: quit Logic, choose Go > Go to Folder in the Finder, enter \~/Library/Preferences, select com.apple.logic.pro.cs and choose File > New Folder with “com.apple.logic.pro.cs.” Restart the Mac. Depending on the control surface, you may need to add it again. 3. **Reset Logic’s settings.** Choose Logic Pro > Settings > Reset All Settings Except Key Commands (the exact wording varies a little between versions). Apple says this doesn’t affect project files, presets or patches, but your custom settings go back to their defaults, so note them first. You may need to turn Advanced settings back on afterward. 4. **Safe mode, as a hint.** Safe mode keeps login items and nonessential extensions from loading, but Apple’s [safe mode article](https://support.apple.com/en-us/116946) warns that audio devices and devices connected by USB, Thunderbolt or FireWire might not work as expected there. A clean launch in safe mode points toward something that loads at startup. A failure in safe mode doesn’t prove much. 5. **Crash reports.** In the Logic Pro Help thread, one member suggested checking Console’s crash reports for a MIDI-related crash around the time of the alert. If Logic itself quits rather than warns, follow the [Logic Pro crash troubleshooting guide](https://logicpros.net/logic-pro-keeps-crashing/) instead. 6. **Reinstall last.** Apple’s final step is to drag Logic Pro to the Trash and reinstall it from the App Store, or restore it from a backup. Settle the driver question first, because reinstalling the app won’t remove a third-party driver. If none of that clears it, contact Apple Support and bring the list of what you’ve already ruled out. Those isolation results are the most useful part of that conversation. ## Fixes I’d Skip - **Force-quitting or killing a MIDI process.** Apple’s Logic Pro and Audio MIDI Setup guides don’t include a MIDI process to quit for this alert, and in the Logic Pro Help thread the original poster tried it from both Activity Monitor and Terminal without result. - **A right-click “Reset MIDI Configuration.”** Apple’s Audio MIDI Setup guide documents Rescan MIDI, configurations and Test MIDI Setup. I’d use those rather than a menu item the guide doesn’t describe. - **Deleting the Audio MIDI Setup preferences file.** It shows up in forum answers, but it isn’t in Apple’s steps, and a new configuration in MIDI Studio gives you a clean list without deleting anything. - **Emptying the HAL or MIDI Drivers folders.** Covered above. Use the vendor’s uninstaller instead. - **Replacing CoreMIDI system files.** Do not copy frameworks from another Mac or download “fixed” system files. If macOS itself is the problem, Apple’s own update and reinstall tools are the route. ## MIDI Services Error FAQ ### Is “Core Audio not available” the same problem? No. Core Audio handles audio input and output, so that alert points to your audio setup rather than MIDI. Start with the [audio interface checks](https://logicpros.net/audio-interface-not-showing-up-logic-pro/), then use Apple’s Control-key launch: open Logic and hold Control before a project opens, then click Don’t Launch in the alert to start without audio input and output. If Logic opens that way, Apple points to the audio interface or a damaged or incompatible Audio Units plug-in. ### Will these resets delete my projects? Apple says Reset All Settings Except Key Commands doesn’t affect project files, presets or patches, though custom settings are lost. Reset All MIDI Drivers is described only as resetting MIDI drivers. Back up anyway, as Apple recommends before any troubleshooting. ### The alert started right after a macOS or Logic update. What now? Check compatibility first. Apple warns that third-party hardware and software may not be compatible after an update, so check each manufacturer’s site for drivers that support your new versions. Next time, follow a [safe update routine for Logic Pro](https://logicpros.net/how-to-update-logic-pro-safely/) and confirm driver support before you install. ### MIDI Studio shows my keyboard, but Logic plays nothing. Is this the same error? Not if there’s no alert. Check the MIDI Inputs list above, then the [keyboard troubleshooting guide](https://logicpros.net/logic-pro-midi-keyboard-not-working/) for track, input and instrument checks. Once the alert is gone and your controller responds, [set up the MIDI controller in Logic Pro](https://logicpros.net/how-to-use-midi-controller-in-logic-pro/) again if any assignments went missing during the resets. For other launch, audio and MIDI problems, the [Logic Pro troubleshooting hub](https://logicpros.net/logic-pro-troubleshooting/) collects the rest of the fixes.