Ableton Live 12 keeps freezing when switching tracks
Ableton Live 12 keeps freezing when switching tracks
Hey everyone, I’m experiencing frequent freezes in Ableton Live 12 on my MacBook Pro (M2 Max, 64GB RAM). The issue happens randomly when I click to switch tracks in the session, not when launching Live or opening projects.
It’s not related to system resources, as the audio keeps playing perfectly (no glitches, no dropouts), and Activity Monitor shows no CPU or RAM spikes. However, the mouse turns into the macOS spinning wheel, and I can’t interact with anything anymore. I have to force quit the app.
Things I’ve already tried:
- Running the latest version of Live 12
- resetting ableton
No specific track or plugin causes it, it happens randomly, regardless of what’s loaded
Has anyone else experienced this? Any fixes or workarounds?
Thanks in advance!
It’s not related to system resources, as the audio keeps playing perfectly (no glitches, no dropouts), and Activity Monitor shows no CPU or RAM spikes. However, the mouse turns into the macOS spinning wheel, and I can’t interact with anything anymore. I have to force quit the app.
Things I’ve already tried:
- Running the latest version of Live 12
- resetting ableton
No specific track or plugin causes it, it happens randomly, regardless of what’s loaded
Has anyone else experienced this? Any fixes or workarounds?
Thanks in advance!
Re: Ableton Live 12 keeps freezing when switching tracks
Did you try using another audio interface?
Do you have any midi device connected?
Ableton Forum Moderator
Re: Ableton Live 12 keeps freezing when switching tracks
No, i'm using a focusrite scarlett 2i2 3rd gen and a komplete kontrol A49 midi keyboard. You think it's related to them?
Re: Ableton Live 12 keeps freezing when switching tracks
I won't know until you try removing them one by one 
Ableton Forum Moderator
Re: Ableton Live 12 keeps freezing when switching tracks
Hmm, I'm out of ideas then. You should contact Support
Ableton Forum Moderator
Re: Ableton Live 12 keeps freezing when switching tracks
Are you using any 3rd party remote script by any chance?
Are you using any non-macOS native utility that works at the OS level or is always running in the background? Things like utilities that customise your mouse or whatnot. Sometimes such thing can cause unexpected bad interactions with other programs.
Are you using any non-macOS native utility that works at the OS level or is always running in the background? Things like utilities that customise your mouse or whatnot. Sometimes such thing can cause unexpected bad interactions with other programs.
Ableton Forum Moderator
Re: Ableton Live 12 keeps freezing when switching tracks
i'm using yabai as auto-tiling window manager i already exclude ableton from to be manager by yabai. I'll try to disable yabai to see if it's related to it but i don't think[jur] wrote: ↑Mon Nov 24, 2025 12:09 pmAre you using any 3rd party remote script by any chance?
Are you using any non-macOS native utility that works at the OS level or is always running in the background? Things like utilities that customise your mouse or whatnot. Sometimes such thing can cause unexpected bad interactions with other programs.
Re: Ableton Live 12 keeps freezing when switching tracks
Have you already ruled out the common noise cancellation issue that a lot of Mac users report? It’s a setting on the built in mic but it seems to affect Live no matter what until it is addressed.