Troubleshooting

Common issues and how to fix them.

Bluetooth latency

Problem: Recorded notes or drum hits land late in the loop when using Bluetooth headphones.

Why: Bluetooth adds a delay between when you play and when you hear the sound. Recording uses the app's own timing, not what you hear in your ears.

Try this:

1. Use wired headphones or the built-in speaker when recording
2. Open Setup and adjust Record Offset until hits line up with the beat
3. If you see the Bluetooth warning, read it — recording still works, but timing may need adjustment. Check Don't show again if you do not want to see it on future sessions

MIDI input

Problem: Controller connected but ARC-24 doesn't respond.

Try this:

1. Open Setup → MIDI and turn on Enable MIDI Input (off by default)
2. Confirm you're in Notes, Drums, or Sampler mode — Chords is not supported yet
3. For Drums/Sampler, the selected track must match that instrument; on Sampler leave Edit / Chop / Clear pad off
4. Check MIDI Channel — try Omni, or match your controller's transmit channel
5. USB: unplug and replug; Bluetooth: use Bluetooth MIDI to re-pair
6. Playback must be running to record; you can still audition without arm in most cases

Problem: Network MIDI (Session 1) appears with no hardware connected.

That's normal — iOS always exposes Apple's network MIDI session. It is not a ghost controller and does not send notes by itself. Ignore it unless you're routing MIDI from a Mac over the network.

Problem: Drum or sampler pads trigger the wrong sounds.

Adjust Pad Base Note in Setup so your controller's lowest pad matches pad 1 (default 36). Pads map chromatic consecutive notes from that note. With MIDI enabled, each on-screen pad shows its MIDI note name.

Problem: One row of pads never fires from MIDI.

Your controller may not send enough consecutive notes for the whole grid (sampler always needs 16; drum kits need as many as their pad count). Check the range under Setup → MIDI → Pad Base Note, and play every semitone in that range — white keys alone skip pads.

No sound

Recording not happening

Make sure:

• Playback is running
• A track is armed (red record indicator)
• You're not playing an arrangement or exporting
• Count-in has finished if preroll is on

The arm button always records the selected track. In Drums mode the selected track must be a drum track (a banner appears if it's locked to another instrument — use its Use T[N] shortcut to jump to a compatible track, or Clear Track [N] to reuse this one).

Loop switch didn't happen

When switching loops from the Mixer strip during playback, the change waits until the start of the next loop cycle. Keep playing until the loop wraps around.

You can't switch loops while recording, exporting, or playing an arrangement. Queued switches are cancelled if you leave the app.

Wrong loop or confused switching

• Mixer loop strip — for live switching while playing
• Loop pill (header) — for editing; stops playback when you switch

Use the strip on stage and the pill while composing.

Arpeggiator won't stop

• Tap the latched root pad again
• Open the ARP picker and choose Off
• Switch to another track or leave Notes mode

Leaving the app also stops the arpeggiator.

Hold mode: note latches but goes silent

Problem: Hold is on, you tap a pad, the outline shows latched, but the sound dies after a second.

Why: The track envelope sustain is at 0 (common on pluck recipes like Glassy Rain). The note stays "latched" in the engine but the amp envelope reaches sustain at zero, so you hear nothing.

Try this:

1. Use a pad recipe with high sustain (e.g. Evolving Cloud), or raise Sustain in Sound Design → Envelope
2. Add Space Send in Mixer → FX → Atmosphere so the decay rings in a reverb tail
3. Remember: Hold uses tap on / tap off — lifting your finger does nothing

See Hold mode and Track sound design.

Chords: notes dropping out

Problem: In Chords mode, chord tones cut off early or whole chords sound thin — especially with 7th on, overlapping changes, or playing over a looping beat.

Why: Each synth track has a 16-voice limit. One chord uses 3–4 voices; dense overlapping harmony or loop playback plus live playing can fill the pool. Each note you play takes a fresh voice (so repeated notes layer cleanly and ring out), and when every voice is busy ARC-24 steals the quietest one to make room.

Try this:

1. Use triads instead of 7th when you do not need the extra note
2. Shorten Release in Sound Design if chords stack with long tails
3. Release each chord before the next if you are holding pads

If problems persist after a beta update, note your track count, voicing (7th/Sus), and whether the loop was playing while you recorded.

See Chords performance.

Export sounds wrong or missing parts

The export matches what you hear in the mix, including mute and solo settings.

I exported but can't find the file

Exports are saved in a temporary app folder until you Share File and pick a destination (Files, AirDrop, etc.). They are not added to your photo library or Files automatically. Use Share File on the completion screen before closing the sheet.

Songs not appearing on another device

• Use the same Apple ID on both devices
• Turn on iCloud Drive
• Wait for iCloud to finish syncing (can take a minute)
• On the second device, open the song list or bring ARC-24 back to the foreground — the list refreshes then
• If you had the app open before sync finished, close and reopen the song list

Loading a song from the list always reads the latest file on disk. The loop you're currently editing does not auto-update if another device changed that song while you had it open.

Two loops sound the same after saving

Rare sync timing can affect multi-loop songs. Switch loops using the loop pill or Mixer strip (which saves the outgoing loop before loading the next). If something still looks wrong, force-quit and reopen the song from the list.

App stops when I switch apps

That's normal. ARC-24 stops playback when it goes to the background. Come back and press Play to continue.

Pads look different after switching loops

Each loop has its own key, scale, mode, and octave settings. The grid updates to match the loop you've switched to.

Still stuck?

Note your iOS version, device, and what you were doing. Contact Support with a screen recording if you can.

Purchases and restore

Problem: Paywall or Trial ended screen won't go away.

Try this:

1. Tap Restore Purchase (same Apple ID as the original purchase)
2. Confirm you completed the Unlock ARC-24 purchase, not only the free trial
3. Check internet connection — StoreKit needs network to verify entitlements
4. Sign out and back into the App Store (Settings → App Store) if restore keeps failing

Problem: Start 7-Day Trial is disabled.

This device already claimed the trial. Use Unlock ARC-24 or Restore Purchase if you own the full version. Trials are limited to once per device, not per Apple ID.

Related

• Purchasing
• Recording
• Setup & settings
• MIDI input
• Live loop scenes