Roon Remote Mac - Audio Devices Disappeared

[Jordan]

Core Machine

Mac Mini 2018
MacOS Big Sur 11.3
Roon 1.8 Build 790

Network Details

Core is connected to Network Via Ethernet

Audio Devices

Roon Remote on MacBook Pro 2018 (connected via WiFi)
MacOS Big Sur 11.3
Roon 1.8 Build 790
connected via USB to active speakers - Kanto TUK (with built-in DAC)

Description of Issue

I have been using Roon 1.8 (and 1.7 previously) with Kanto TUKs connected via USB to a Remote Macbook Pro for over a year. This setup has worked smoothly until today, when Roon on the Remote MacBook Pro suddenly stopped seeing the Remote Macbook Pro itself (such as its system output or internal speakers) or any audio devices connected to the Remote Macbook Pro (such as the TUKs).

It’s as though Roon on the Remote MacBook Pro suddenly thinks its running on the Core.

For example, under Settings/Audio/… where the MacBook Pro’s speakers and Kanto TUKs used to appear as selectable audio devices, now only the devices connected to the Core and one other network device appears – The Remote ‘This Mac’ devices (i.e., the Kanto TUKs and the MacBook Pro’s system output and internal speakers) have disappeared and thus can’t be selected.

All other applications and system audio continue to play through the TUKs normally.

Rebooting the Core (Mac Mini) as well as the Remote (Macbook Pro) and the TUKs doesn’t help.

For the time being, Roon has gone silent for me. Assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[Bernd_Kurte (Bernd)]

Just to narrow down things a bit: Would the TUKs appear when hooked up to the core directly?

[Jordan]

yes - they do appear when hooked up to the core directly.

It appears another user had this same/similar problem, though the fix isn’t clearly stated. See the attached post.

Roon Mac Remote - Audio Devices Missing

@support Are there any other steps than what’s mentioned above to delete Roon (on Mac) if I want to start completely fresh? I have a persistant issue with my Roon.app (used as a remote to control a Core on another Mac) that I only have on one computer with one user. If I set up a new user on the same computer and install Roon, the issue is gone. Specifically, when I open Roon on the remote computer, I see the core’s audio devices in the audio settings under “This Mac”. The remote’s audio devic…

Any help would be much appreciated.

[Bernd_Kurte (Bernd)]

Going from where the other user’s problem was - if you create a new user account on the laptop and start Roon remote in that context - are the speakers ok?

[Jordan]

Creating a new user account and restarting Roon on the Remote Mac makes no difference.

See the screenshot below.

This is the Remote Mac. Notice there is no “This Mac” section or anything connected to this Mac - ie., no Macbook pro speakers, no macbook pro system output, and no Kanto TUKs (which are connected to the Remote Mac by USB). All of this used to be there.

Its as though Roon on the Remote thinks it’s running on the Core, and doesn’t see itself as a remote.

[Jordan]

Note I also tried this fix from another similar post, which did not work in my case - no change.

Problem Running Roon Remote on MacBook Pro

@skingers Wow, I had almost forgotten about this nightmare. The good news is that I eventually did solve the problem. The bad news is that I don’t remember how. Try this on your client machine: open your “Terminal” program (/Applications/Utilities/Terminal); in your home directory look for a file named “.rmembid” (cd ; ls -a .rmembid) if that exists, renamed it (mv .rmembid .rmembid.bak) restart Roon. I am not sure if this is the correct fix. I remember that when I found the solution, it was…

[Jordan]

Problem solved… uninstalling the Roon app and all Roon folders on the Remote Macbook Pro, emptying trash, and reinstalling brought back the local audio devices and the Kanto TUKs. Note, emptying the trash was critical - it didn’t work if the trash wasn’t emptied before reinstalling Roon app.

See below.

The items in red had disappeared previously – but are now back!

[Bernd_Kurte (Bernd)]

Great to hear. Was there any system crash or power outage prior to all that trouble to start?

[Jordan]

Nope - no crashes or apparent issues at all. Just closed Roon one night and opened it the next morning which is when the trouble began.

Thank you for your help @Bernd_Kurte!