Bluetooth Midi Trouble (pulling my hair out!)

Troubleshoot why your keyboard isn't sending any MIDI data to your Mac via bluetooth: your keyboard's settings, or ask the manufacturer.

Hi I can confirm the problem is with LOGIC as when I load Garage band and choose MIDI instrument it instantly recognises the FP-30 and I can choose all sort of sounds to play with through Garage band. With Logic it doesn't see the input only OUTPUT

Did you ever find a solution? I am also pulling all my hair out!! Same issue.

Did you ever find a solution? I am also pulling all my hair out!! Same issue.

Hi! No I did not. Every time I return to this issue, even after an OSX software update, it just results in the same wasted time and frustration, sadly.

I wouldn't spend too much time on it, Bluetooth is just not reliable enough for anything crucial, especially MIDI. You are bound to end up with more latency and because of hardware weirdness with modern Macs USB 3 and wifi can screw up Bluetooth connections. Use a cable. Cables work, and when they don't they are much easier to troubleshoot.

Hi I can confirm the problem is with LOGIC

We did not see any incoming MIDI data on MIDI Monitor earlier in this thread!? If Logic doesn't receive any incoming MIDI data then the problem is before Logic's input.

 

Oh wait you're not the OP? Have you tried MIDI Monitor, the same way?

I wouldn't spend too much time on it, Bluetooth is just not reliable enough for anything crucial, especially MIDI. You are bound to end up with more latency and because of hardware weirdness with modern Macs USB 3 and wifi can screw up Bluetooth connections. Use a cable. Cables work, and when they don't they are much easier to troubleshoot.

It's just a shame because on an older OS from like 3 or 4 years ago, I had a cheaper Roland keyboard with the exact same Bluetooth functionality, and it actually worked for MIDI back then. As soon as I got this newer Roland keyboard, I had a new Mac OS, and it no longer worked. I haven't tried it on Big Sur but I'm honestly too de-motivated to try, haha.

Try disconnecting your Bluetooth mice and trackpads, then connecting the Midi keyboard. Much to my surprise, this works for me.

 

I discovered it accidentally when hooking up my M1 MacBook Air to my Roland FP-30. I hadn't pulled the USB cable out of my Intel Mac yet and suddenly Bluetooth was working? The Roland's blue light is actually staying on!?! Yay! Then the next day it wasn't. I realised I'd paired my Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad to my new Mac in the day since. Disconnect them: BAM! Bluetooth Midi works again. What a nippy bug!

 

One more thing: you can safely reconnect to your Bluetooth mice after you've established the Bluetooth Midi connection, and they'll work fine as usual in Logic while your keyboard does too. The bug only affects the initial moment of connection.

 

Oh, and Bluetooth computer keyboards are immune from this. It's strictly a pointing device thing.

 

Perhaps this is why I've never had trouble with Bluetooth Midi on my iPad: never hooked up a mouse!

Very interesting. I guess I could invest in a wired USB mouse just to experiment this, haha. Thanks for sharing!

I dug out my old aluminium Apple Wireless Keyboard, which I hoped to use for basic midi recording control while at my Roland FP-30 piano. Unfortunately, it blocks Bluetooth Midi connection too! So it's more than just a pointing device thing after all. This is the current state of play.

 

 

Blocks connection to Bluetooth Midi:

 

• Apple Wireless Keyboard A1314
  
• Apple Magic Mouse 1
  
• Apple Magic Mouse 2
  
• Apple Magic Trackpad 1

 

 

Do Not Block connection to Bluetooth Midi:

 

• Bose Quietcomfort 35
  
• Layen i-Dock 4.0 bluetooth audio receiver (I use mine in an iPod Hi-Fi)
  
• Custom Bluetooth keyboard controller (Hasu's Bluetooth upgrade for the HHKB)

 

 

That's all the Bluetooth devices I have! Spot the pattern: Apple peripherals seem to be the ones blocking Midi connection. Once again: they're fine if you connect them after your Bluetooth Midi instrument. In my testing (limited by having just the one Bluetooth piano) initial connection is the buggy part.

 

I use MacOS's built in Audio MIDI Setup app to connect to the piano, manually clicking the Connect button beside my Roland in its Bluetooth Configuration window. Awkward without a mouse! If someone knows how to script this, that would help.

I've just bought an FP-10 and use Logic on Catalina with Magic Mouse and keyboard and have replicated the same issue. The Roland Piano Partner app works fine with Bluetooth input. It's a shame as I only have space for my FP-10 outside my study and hoped to use my iPad with Logic Remote to maybe record piano parts over Bluetooth. I'm not brave enough to upgrade to Big Sur quite yet to see if it is any different. Might be a blessing in disguise. I bought the piano to get back to a simpler process.

Sorry to report this issue persists on Big Sur. it’s actually present on M1 Macs too. Just to quote my investigation:

 

Try disconnecting your Bluetooth mice and trackpads, then connecting the Midi keyboard. Much to my surprise, this works for me.

 

I discovered it accidentally when hooking up my M1 MacBook Air to my Roland FP-30. I hadn't pulled the USB cable out of my Intel Mac yet and suddenly Bluetooth was working? The Roland's blue light is actually staying on!?! Yay! Then the next day it wasn't. I realised I'd paired my Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad to my new Mac in the day since. Disconnect them: BAM! Bluetooth Midi works again. What a nippy bug!

 

One more thing: you can safely reconnect to your Bluetooth mice after you've established the Bluetooth Midi connection, and they'll work fine as usual in Logic while your keyboard does too. The bug only affects the initial moment of connection.

 

Perhaps this is why I've never had trouble with Bluetooth Midi on my iPad: never hooked up a mouse!

 

I should try Logic Remote on iPad as you mentioned. But the hard part is simply hooking up the Mac and piano over Bluetooth in the first place. I used to work round this with a permanent USB connection, but my M1 Air has a real shortage of ports so I’m back to trying Bluetooth again, which should really work instead of all this…

I missed that you had tested it with Big Sur and M1 Mac. That's a pity. Not sure if the bug is Roland implementation of Bluetooth or Logic or MacOS. I had one incident when I was just using Roland Piano Partner and it was like the Bluetooth stack crashed. Sound stopped from the piano and the Bluetooth connect light went out. I tested it briefly with Garageband on iPad and that seems to be ok receiving Bluetooth Midi input. With Logic your instruction worked; remove bluetooth peripherals, connect piano, reconnect peripherals and it received MIDI events fine. As you say, this is too much faff to do it each time you reset though.

I'm especially frustrated that back in 2016 or 2017 (can't remember exactly), it worked over Bluetooth. What could have possibly changed since then?

Hi, I found a solution of the same issue I had (FP30 bluetooth to MacBook Pro (Ableton Live or Logic).

 

I basically deleted (the cross, it's more than disconnect) the bluetooth preferences of fp30 (which was already recognized) in bluetooth preference .

Then I get back to MIDI configuration bluetooth, fp30 appeared, I click on connect, it connected and appear as a bluetooth logo on the studio midi whereas it wasn't before, then the blue light of the keyboard is lightning and it's working on Ableton.

 

Do you want me to check again the process of it (we can call) as I may have the same software, computer(Mojave) and fp30(2020).

 

I sent an email to find the solution to Roland service, but I found by myself (I'm not sure how I did it, I tried to describe it to you but maybe it's something different).

Have a nice day.

 

Louis

Some months later—and many recording sessions with Logic with Midi Bluetooth—I can report that disabling all Bluetooth mice and trackpads *then* connecting to your Midi instrument still works perfectly every time. This issue is repeatable and quite deterministic. Annoying but true!

 

It's just an underlying bug that's been with us for years. I certainly encountered it back in 2016 or so, when I bought my Roland FP-30. I thought the piano's Bluetooth was dodgy ever from the start! But no, it's just this stupid interface bug.

 

I'm especially frustrated that back in 2016 or 2017 (can't remember exactly), it worked over Bluetooth. What could have possibly changed since then?

My hunch is back then you used a USB mouse! I didn't, which is why I've always had this problem. It's my Magic Mouse…

What does it show when you open "Sources"? If MIDI Monitor doesn't display any data then that means your Mac isn't receiving any data so there's no way Logic could possibly receive any data.

Here's a screenshot of everything I see on the screen of MIDI Monitor. Does this offer any useful info?

 

Am I not getting something, or are ALL MIDI mesasages FILTERED here?

If we're talking about the same thing: the whole connection is dropped. It doesn't connect at all. The blue light on my Roland to indicate a Bluetooth link doesn't even shine. Instead, it pops on for a half second when you initiate the link from the Mac, then drops immediately.

 

Disconnect your other Bluetooth peripherals, then repeat the process: the light stays on and now the Roland plays nicely into Logic.

A SOLUTION POST:

 

don't worry, it was doing it for me too, the bluetooth blue light don't light until everything work and is recognize, at the beginning when we press the keys it's normal there is no blue light. when it stay blue, it is working on the computer.

But please do this :

 

one time you open the keyboard (function first key then function second white key). Then deleted FP-30 from bluetooth with the cross (X) in preferences of bluetooth (when you are on bluetooth icon from the menu bar it propose "preferences of bluetooth" on the bottom). Then you open MIDI Setup App. > Studio MIDI > configuration bluetooth (from the "b" bluetooth icon) then you see (maybe for the first time) "FP30" ! for me it was not appearing here before.

you connect it.

then (sorry for this step I just don't remember, maybe you can ignore it) :I think I clicked "refresh", or closed the MIDI setup then come again and tried the keys on the fp30 (function first white key, function second white key)

TO ME the problem is only about refreshing by deleting bluetooth then coming back to the configuration MIDI setup bluetooth and adding it.

now bluetooth on Logic and Ableton are working for me.

 

I don't use other bluetooth connection. Just check my description (2 messages before this one) but I think I said the same in two different ways (maybe useless).

I think it's about that, but next time I meet the issue and resolve the problem I will share you with more precision/truth how.

I appreciate how people tried to help us in this forum, I came here with the same frustration.

Thanks to tell us if it work for you !

sorry if my message is too long.

 

don't give up !!!

 

bluetooth on a keyboard is so necessary ahaha

 

L.

Some months later—and many recording sessions with Logic with Midi Bluetooth—I can report that disabling all Bluetooth mice and trackpads *then* connecting to your Midi instrument still works perfectly every time. This issue is repeatable and quite deterministic. Annoying but true!

 

It's just an underlying bug that's been with us for years. I certainly encountered it back in 2016 or so, when I bought my Roland FP-30. I thought the piano's Bluetooth was dodgy ever from the start! But no, it's just this stupid interface bug.

 

I'm especially frustrated that back in 2016 or 2017 (can't remember exactly), it worked over Bluetooth. What could have possibly changed since then?

My hunch is back then you used a USB mouse! I didn't, which is why I've always had this problem. It's my Magic Mouse…

 

ok it's definitely that thanks

Some months later—and many recording sessions with Logic with Midi Bluetooth—I can report that disabling all Bluetooth mice and trackpads *then* connecting to your Midi instrument still works perfectly every time. This issue is repeatable and quite deterministic. Annoying but true!

 

It's just an underlying bug that's been with us for years. I certainly encountered it back in 2016 or so, when I bought my Roland FP-30. I thought the piano's Bluetooth was dodgy ever from the start! But no, it's just this stupid interface bug.

 

I'm especially frustrated that back in 2016 or 2017 (can't remember exactly), it worked over Bluetooth. What could have possibly changed since then?

My hunch is back then you used a USB mouse! I didn't, which is why I've always had this problem. It's my Magic Mouse…

 

I never used a USB mouse, it's always been the Magic Mouse and Magic Keyboard, even when it used to work. At this point, I've just connected my FP-30 with the usual USB wire, and it's fine since it's close enough to my iMac.