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Ableton Link does not show any devices. Help!

Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2020 11:18 pm
by Sticky62
I'm at my wits end with this. I cannot get Ableton Link to show any devices. I've disabled my firewall, I've disabled (and uninstalled my VPN), I've opened port 20808 on my firewall (prior to disabling it). I have ATT U-Verse with an Arris router. I don't really know else to do. If I run link enabled apps on my ipad and iPhone they both show up on each other, but they will not show up under "Link". According to the troubleshooting section for link the folks at Ableton suggest:

Too much other traffic on the network
Some routers block Multicast, which is necessary for Link to function properly. Modern routers do not have this issue, but some older models can block Multicast.
Active firewalls on both Mac and Windows computers can stop Link from working. You may need to ensure that Port 20808 is not blocked.
Link doesn't work over a VPN (Virtual private network).
Link doesn't work over Bluetooth.
Live has not been allowed to receive network connections. This can happen also due to third-party apps such as Little Snitch:

I don't think I've missed any of this. Any suggestions? I'm not eligible for technical support as I'm using a trial version to see if I like it. thanks!

Re: Ableton Link does not show any devices. Help!

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2020 5:09 am
by yur2die4
I have issues with this also. Only time it mostly works is if I connect to my router via a network cable. My iPhone and iPad have no issues wirelessly, just my laptop.

I am trying to remember though if I’ve tried it where my phone is a WiFi ‘hotspot’ instead of using my router and maybe had luck with that.

Re: Ableton Link does not show any devices. Help!

Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2020 1:26 am
by Sticky62
My PC is connected via ethernet cable to the router, and the IOS devices (ipad and iphone) are connected wirelessly to the network. I bought an ethernet cable to lighting connector to see if that solved the issue by running everything direct to the router. Still no luck! Anyone else?

Re: Ableton Link does not show any devices. Help!

Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 2:28 pm
by Trononimon
I have exactly the same Problem. Working betewen ios devices but not on Ableton Live on my mac. I see in netstat in the terminal 3 udp4 connections with *.20808 *.* Firewall is disabled but no luck.

Re: Ableton Link does not show any devices. Help!

Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2021 1:27 am
by Trononimon
I just found out that it has to do with the Packet Filter. If i run the following command to disable the packet filter, than ableton link is working with Ableton Live on mac together with the ios devices
Open a terminal (-d for disable)
$ sudo pfctl -d
It can be enabled again with option -e

Re: Ableton Link does not show any devices. Help!

Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2022 10:52 am
by ronin
Nice one for the information - the packet filter command worked for me too!
FYI I'm on a Macbook Pro running Mojave and I couldn't connect to some newwer MBPs. I guess I will have to re-enable it afterwards, because I don't know if I should be messing with it!

Re: Ableton Link does not show any devices. Help!

Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2022 9:53 pm
by fantomrecords
I'm a bit of a novice here.
I opened the terminal app and am typing

$ sudo pfctl -d

But i'm finding command not found.

I cannot get Loopseque8 to Link to my new mac. It links fine with my older one. The original one I linked it to. I've updated everything.
So frustrated!
Also can't find that port 2808 or whatever it's called. I just want to perform not troubleshoot bugs. Can you help?