Sierra: Mac OS 10.12 Compatibility Information
On September 20th, 2016, Apple released their latest operating system, macOS Sierra 10.12. Long before that, Sweetwater was hard at work gathering information regarding the compatibility of Sierra and the latest drivers, interfaces, and recording software.
Upgrading to a new OS can be tricky, but checking compatibility (like you’re doing right now!) is the best way to avoid issues. Be sure to check in often as we’ll be updating this page with the latest compatibility news as soon as we learn of it.
Whether you’re researching compatibility before upgrading Pro Tools or buying a new interface, the information below will help ensure that your move to macOS Sierra 10.12 goes off without a hitch.
Ableton:
Live 9: Live 9.7 (or higher) is compatible with macOS Sierra. The latest updates are available in your Ableton account.
Live 8: Live 8.4.2 is not compatible with macOS Sierra. The latest operating system to support Live 8.4.2 is Mac OS X 10.9 “Mavericks”.
Max for Live: Version 7.2.4 of Max for Live will work in macOS Sierra, however, for users that upgrade the OS (as opposed to reinstalling it), it is necessary to perform a Java 6 SE installation.
As of version 7.3, Max doesn’t need Java anymore and is also open to alternative Java versions.
AKAI Professional:
Most Akai Professional devices are compatible with macOS Sierra, however, we highly recommend checking that your device is listed as compatible in the articles linked below.
Alesis:
Nearly all Alesis devices are now compatible with macOS Sierra. Please check this Alesis article “macOS Sierra 10.12 and iOS10 Support For Alesis Products” and make sure you device is compatible before updating your operating system.
Allen&Heath:
Allen&Heath has not released an official statement, however, many devices mention macOS Sierra 10.12 as a compatible operating system. Please check the the Software tab of your device’s product page before upgrading.
Antares:
All Antares products are compatible with macOS Sierra 10.12. See the Antares OS Compatibility page for more information.
Antelope Audio:
All Antelope Audio devices are fully compatible with macOS 10.12 Sierra. All launchers and control panels have been tested and no compatibility issues have been registered.
Apogee:
All current Apogee products are compatible with macOS Sierra/iOA10 and do not require any software updates if upgrading from Mac OS El Capitan (10.11) or iOS 9. Click here to view full list of Apogee products and their current compatibility status with macOS Sierra and iOS10.
Arturia:
Arturia has recently announced full compatibility with macOS Sierra 10.12 in their article “Compatibility with mac OS 10.12 Sierra”.
Audio Ease:
Audio Ease has not released an official statement at this time but initial tests have not shown any incompatibilities.
Audient:
Audient is happy to announce that the full range of iD USB audio interfaces is compatible with macOS 10.12 Sierra.
Avid:
Avid has announced that Pro Tools versions 12.6 and higher are compatible with macOS Sierra 10.12.0. Click here to view the Avid’s Compatibility Grid.
Bitwig:
Bitwig Studio versions 1.3.14 and higher are now fully compatible with macOS Sierra. You can download the latest updates from the Bitwig Downloads page.
Behringer:
Most Behringer devices are Class Compliant and do not require a driver to operate correctly on Mac operating systems. Click here to view all Berhinger downloads including firmware and app updates.
Celemony:
Celemony has tested and verified compatibility with macOS 10.12. Check out their DAW Compatibility section here.
East West:
In an exclusive message to Sweetwater, East West has stated that “There are no known compatibility issues our QA have run into.
Focusrite:
Almost every Focusrite devices is compatible with macOS Sierra, however, some known issues do exist. Workarounds and solutions can be found here.
FXPansion:
Some users have experienced issues running the FXPansion installers on macOS Sierra and FXPansion is currently working on an official fix. In the meantime, they have posted an easy workaround in their forum here.
IK Multimedia:
IK Multimedia posted the following information regarding compatibility with macOS Sierra in their forum:
“There is no official word on compatibility but I’ve been told there have been tests and there is currently more testing being done.
Note that it is never recommended to update to a new OS during its first days of release. Especially if you use your computer for important music (or other) work, are mid-project, and a myriad of other reasons.”
iZotope:
iZotope has announced official support for macOS Sierra 10.12.
Korg:
Nearly all Korg devices are now compatible with macOS 10.12 Sierra. For information regarding each of their devices, please download their compatibility chart here.
Line 6:
Line 6 has announce that “all of our current products’ drivers, editors, firmware and utility programs, as well as POD Farm 2, are fully compatible with macOS Sierra.”
Make Music:
Finale 2014.5, and Version 25 are both supported on macOS Sierra with just a couple of expected issues.
Note: “The fourth maintenance update for macOS Sierra (10.12.4) reintroduces an old issue that occurred between Finale 2014d and Mac OS X 10.11 that causes Finale to crash when a tool with symbol selection (like Expressions, Articulations, etc.) is used.”
M-Audio:
Most M-Audio devices are now compatible with macOS Sierra, however, they highly recommend waiting until your product is listed as compatible here before updating.
Note: HyperControl is not supported on Sierra.
MOTU:
All current Motu software and hardware drivers available at motu.com/download appear to be compatible with Sierra.
Native Instruments:
Native Instruments has conducted compatibility and performance tests with the current versions of macOS Sierra and concluded that “all our current products are fully compatible…”
Note: Native Instruments will be ceasing support for some of their older devices. Click here for details.
Nektar:
No official compatibility statement has been released at this time, however, the Panorama and Impact series devices will both run as class compliant devices (no driver needed) but there the Panorama QWERTY macro’s are not available when used with OS X 10.11 or higher. Click here for further instructions regarding the use of a Nektar Panorama in 10.11 and 10.12.
Novation:
All Novation devices are compatible with macOS Sierra at this time. Click here to view their compatibility list.
Numark:
Most Numark devices are now compatible with macOS Sierra, however, they recommend waiting until your product is listed here before updating to OS 10.12 Sierra or iOS10.
Pioneer DJ:
Pioneer DJ has completed compatibility verification for rekordbox and all of their hardware. Click here to download a list of current statuses for each product.
Plugin Alliance:
All current versions are now fully compatible with macOS Sierra, however, Plugin Alliance has made the following note: “this does not include older PA plugins that have been supplanted by newer versions (i.e., Brainworx bx_digital V2, the original SPL Transient Designer, etc.) We plan to update these legacy products in January 2017.”
Presonus:
Most Presonus software and hardware is compatible with macOS Sierra at this time. Specific information regarding the compatibility of each of their products can be found in their article “Mac OS 10.12 macOS12 PreSonus compatibility statement”.
ProjectSAM:
For most users, the updater works perfectly, however, Project Sam is aware of a problem with their Updater apps in the new MacOS Sierra (10.12). In these cases, the updater cannot find a file called updateinfo.dat, which is located in the App folder inside the update package. The solution is to install manually. Click here for manual install instructions.
Propellerhead:
Propellerhead has announced compatibility for the following:
- Reason 9.1 & Reason 8.3.2
- Reason Essentials 9.0 & Reason 8.3.2
- Reason Limited 1.5.3
- ReCycle 2.2.4
Versions of Reason, Reason Essentials and ReCycle prior to the versions listed above are not officially supported under macOS 10.12 Sierra.
RME:
RME has announced “Current RME HDSPe Series (PCIe), FireWire and USB drivers are fully compatible to Mac OS Sierra. Our latest USB driver is taking advantage of the new USB stack in this OS to provide even better performance – more stable, reliable and supporting even lower buffers than could be used with the previous Mac OS.”
Rob Papen:
In an exclusive message to Sweetwater, Rob Papen announced “no problems running on Sierra so far.”
Roland:
Roland has verified compatibility for the majority of their devices, however, a few are still being tested and prepared for macOS Sierra. Click here to view a current compatibility chart or Roland products.
Serato:
Serato DJ software is now officially supported with macOS Sierra 10.12, however, some devices require firmware and/or driver updates. Click here for details.
Slate Media Technology:
MacOS Sierra 10.12 is now supported for use with the Raven MTi, MTi2, and MTX.
Slate Digital & Steven Slate Drums:
Slate Digital and Steven Slate Drums have confirmed the latest Slate Digital plugin versions do function properly on macOS Sierra. SSD4 and Trigger have not been fully tested at this time but updates for both will be coming soon.
Softube:
While no official statement has been made, Softube is listing “10.9 or newer” in their System Requirements.
Solid State Logic:
Almost all SSL software is compatible with macOS Sierra 10.12 at this time, however, some restrictions do apply to the Nucleus2, Matrix2, AWS, Duality. Click here for more info.
Sonoma Wire Works:
No official statement at this time.
Soundtoys:
Soundtoys is not aware of any issues between their plugins and macOS Sierra. Click here to view their complete statement.
Spectrasonics:
“Spectrasonics supports the most current operating systems as well as the previous two on both Macintosh and Windows.” Spectrasonics has provided the following workaround for running their Download Manager on macOS Sierra. This workaround applies to Keyscape, Omnisphere 2, Trilian and Stylus RMX.
Steinberg:
Steinberg has announced that “most Steinberg hardware products have already proven to be compatible with the new Apple operating system”
Click here for a detailed list of compatible hardware products.
Synthogy:
Sierra is now listed as a compatible operating system for Ivory II 2.1.3
Tascam:
While many Tascam devices are compatible with macOS Sierra, some are still under development, being tested, or not supported. Tascam has posted a list of the current state of compatibility for each of their devices on their PC Audio Interface OS Compatibility List. The latest Tascam drivers can be found on the Tascam Downloads page.
TC Electronic:
TC Electronics has not released an official statement but the latest drivers for the Impact Twin and the Konnekt series of devices both mention macOS Sierra 10.12 as a compatible operating system. Please check the TC Electronics Software and downloads page before upgrading your operating system.
Toontrack:
No known issues exist between any Toontrack products and macOS Sierra.
Universal Audio:
UAD v9.1 is compatible with macOS Sierra and can be downloaded from the Universal Audio Downloads page.
Important: If you’re using Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan or lower install UAD v9.0.0 before upgrading to macOS Sierra. All earlier versions of UAD software, and UAD v9.0.1 software are incompatible with macOS Sierra.
Click here for more info.
UVI:
UVI products are fully compatible with macOS Sierra 10.12.
Vienna Symphonic Library:
In a recent post on the Vienna Symphonic Library forum, a VSL product manager stated that there are no known issues with VSL and macOS Sierra.
Waves:
Zoom:
All Zoom products are now compatible with macOS Sierra. Click here to view their compatibility list.
Helpful Links
Mac Optimization Guide for OSX 10.12 Sierra
Why has my mouse cursor turned into a spinning color wheel that won’t go away?
Why won’t my Mac Shutdown or Restart after installing Pro Tools?
My Mac won’t recognize my Thunderbolt device.
When you need help, Sweetwater has the answers!
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