For Roon connectivity to work properly, both Roon Server and Roon Remote need to be turned on.
· I can't turn on Roon Server, I need help.
Describe the issue
After every Roon software update, the server never comes back automatically. I need to log into my mac mini, quit and kill the software and agent, restart the computer then log back in. That usually works. Except for this latest version it won't start back up no matter what I do. My local Roon & remote Roon apps just say "Waiting for Roon Server...." no matter what.
Describe your network setup
cable modem with wifi router. This issue is local and always after an update. Intel Mac Mini is server, other macs are remotes.
Thank you for reaching out, and I’m sorry to hear that the latest update has completely stalled your Roon Server.
As RalphH pointed out above, the latest Roon update introduces strict new environment requirements. Even if your Mac Mini is running a version like macOS 12.7.6—which technically sits at the absolute bare minimum requirement—older Intel hardware configurations and legacy library databases can occasionally run into deeper compatibility or library conflicts during a major architecture migration. This often results in the background server agent getting stuck in a crash loop.
To get your music back up and running safely, we recommend the following strategy:
1. Roll Back to the Legacy Version
To bypass the current loop, please download and install the temporary pre-update installer provided by our team. This will allow your Mac Mini to run the previous stable version of Roon Server that your system was comfortable with:
Once you install the legacy version and the server successfully launches, your Remotes should connect immediately. The very first thing you should do is go to Settings > Backups and force a fresh, manual backup of your database.
3. Plan for Modern Hardware/OS Migration
Please keep in mind that this legacy version is a temporary bridge. It will not receive future features, security patches, or performance fixes, and it will eventually become incompatible with updated Roon Remotes or ARC.
Because macOS 12 is now the absolute floor for support, we strongly recommend using this opportunity to plan a migration of your Roon Core to a newer machine (such as an Apple Silicon Mac or a dedicated Roon Nucleus/ROCK setup) to ensure long-term stability.
Please give the legacy installer a try and let us know if your Mac Mini successfully boots up the server!
I finally got the server to restart by killing all of the Roon processes (Roon, Roon Server RAATServer), re-installing the Roon .dmg then starting the Roon Server binary manually (via Show Package Contents).
After that everything was able to start up correctly
