you have to explain more cause we dont know where your connecting to.

between weds and fri did you update windows?

make sure all your drivers are updated

I have exact same issue with my pioneer controller srt1000 no matter what it won't connect windows. I have formatted clean install same issue. S9 and sl3 work fine. Latest drivers up to date im using 2.5.7 and 3.35 need a solution please also?

check your usb cables try another cable also try another usb port,

I have also Tried 3 different USB cables. Its definitely not a usb cable issue from setup.

Its Pointing to blocking of the drivers of some sort Would be my guess?

if you are using windows then the new update is the issue with connection.

another thread here: serato.com

in the meantime open up a help request and let Serato know here: support.serato.com

Try this work around. This worked for me after countless hours troubleshooting:

1. Restart your laptop, let it boot up into your windows OS.
2. Keep serato DJ closed, Plug in the USB first from your controller/device
3. Open up serato DJ. Your device should come up as connected.
4. while its still connected , make sure your close serato DJ, rather than disconnecting the USB first, there fore the program wont hang.

Let me know if it worked for you?

Thanks alot this helped out so much.. What do you think causes this to happen?

I think it points to last quality windows update dated around feb10.

Im unable to remove any updates because i clean installed latest version.
Lets hope next updates fixes this issue.

Fingers crossed

djblazinjoe83, I'm going to try this fix. Having a similar issue with my Rane FOUR controller since Saturday. Yesterday, I was able to get two separate controllers to connect randomly, but could not repeat the process. So tonight, I'm going to follow your recommendation and see what happens.

"1. Restart your laptop, let it boot up into your windows OS.
2. Keep serato DJ closed, Plug in the USB first from your controller/device
3. Open up serato DJ. Your device should come up as connected."

Holy snap! That worked! My Rane FOUR popped right up! I'm going to try shutting it down in backward order to see if it responds. Report back shortly...

Sure Thing, Let me know how it goes for you?

I have also noticed Windows 11 released a new update (2026-02 Preview) today, I will test if they have resolved anything with this USB connection issue and let you know.

Almost successful djblazinjoe83. Everything seemed to work fine until I attempted to shut down by exiting Serato DJ Pro 1st, while my Rane FOUR was still powered. Currently, My laptop is stuck in "backing up, please wait..." mode on exit.

I have a gig tomorrow night for my company's annual Euchre Tournament, so it's imperative I get this issued resolved before 5:30p tomorrow. If nothing else, at least now I know I can at least get the Rane FOUR to fire up and play. I'll worry about shutting it down after the gig.

Thank you for your help!

Yes I recommend Exiting the Serato DJ application while the USB is plugged in, then hit the shutdown.

It will hang if you just shutdown without Exiting SDJ. I recommend using 4.0.2 I made the jump from 3.3.5.

I will try with the new windows update when I get home from work so it will be a few hours from now.

After several attempts here’s what I discovered:

Following djblazinjoe83‘s startup recommendations consistently works in allowing my Rane FOUR to connect to Serato DJ Pro. I’ve been able to duplicate this process several times now.

My issue (my laptop specific problem) is shutdown. No matter what steps I take, Sersto DJ Pro freezes during shutdown causing me to do a cntrl/alt/delete force shutdown. Startup is no problem now. Shutdown’s a different story.

I want to note that this issue surfaced Saturday night after my laptop performed the latest update. Removing the update did not solve the problem. So, I’m hoping the issue is resolved with a future Microsoft update.

Just in case the shutdown caused a corruption of the database, Have you tried Creating A New Database V2 File? support.serato.com

Because I started clean install, I also recreated a new database v2 in the last few days I don't have the hang shutdown problem.

But when it first happened to me last Thursday night, Mine froze and hung on shut down like yours and had to sign out and use CTRL ALT DEL also.

Created a new database v2 file. As long as I don’t turn on the Rane Four, there’s no issue with shut down. However, if the controller connects I still get the freeze during shutdown.

For tomorrow, I’m simply going to turn it on and play through the gig; force a shutdown at the end. Then I’ll try to look for a solution over the weekend.

Hi Fellow Djs,

The problem is the new windows update in February. Do not install, it will slow your system down or cause serato not to find your controller. If you installed the update already to undo within 10 days 1. Settings 2. System, 3. Recovery and you will see the updates, click on each "uninstall" and restart your computer.

agree turn off automatic windows update.

I suspect the issue is windows updates runs and prioritizes a generic windows drivers for dj controllers, instead of the actual Rane or Pioneer drivers, which doesnt play well when running Serato. windows does this everytime you run a windows update. please turn of Auto Windows Update....

The new windows update that came today didnt help!

It's been a while since a Windows update busts something this bad. It's a shame it took a while for folks to connect the dots.

I just wanted to share that I was also hit by and resolved this issue this morning using my Rane One Mk1. I was in the middle of practicing and the audio glitched out mid-song. I power cycled the controller and Serato froze and I pretty much had the same behavior described in this thread from there.

I did locate and roll back the latest Windows Security update based on the recommendations here, and things appear to have gone back to normal, aside from some anxiety on my part. I can only imagine the panic I'd have had if I had a gig coming up. The way it manifested mid-use led me down the wrong rabbit hole, but when I saw that I also couldn't load the Rane One in Virtual DJ, it seemed like there was more to the problem. At any rate, super thankful to have found this thread.

devblogs.microsoft.com

From earlier this month, so hopefully that means fix hits sooner rather than later.

Hi everyone, apologies for any typos as English isn't my first language.

Is anyone else still dealing with this? I’m having the same issue with my Akai AMX.

I get the orange 'Attempting to connect' message; it flashes for a bit but ultimately fails to establish a connection. Closing the software or power-cycling the hardware doesn't help.

It only works after a full Windows restart. It seems to happen randomly, and I haven't figured out the correct connection sequence yet.

I think all of us who haven't been able to roll back our Windows 11 updates are still pretty much dealing with this. I've had this issue for the last 3 weeks now, I use a Rane Four controller.

If you check the link @popnwave posted above, you'll see what's causing the issue. There are even some workarounds suggested (I haven't had the chance to test any of them, but if anyone has had success with those, please report!).

A Windows 11 update will fix this eventually, it's just a matter of when.

DJBorg, yes...I'm still dealing with the issue (using my Rane FOUR as well). I can get it to connect and run successfully, but still have issues with shutting down. Follow these steps and see if it works for you:

1. Restart your laptop, let it boot up into your windows OS.
2. Keep serato DJ closed, Plug in the USB first from your controller/device
3. Open up serato DJ. Your device should come up as connected."

So this seems to be a huge problem being faced for all sorts of music related hardware.

Since Windows 11 24h2 there has been coding for a new way for Windows to handle midi and usb hardware. In more recent updates since November 2025 apparently more and more of these features have been implemented and turned on/finalised and activated, it seems a large update has kick in over the last fortnight and causing these dramas to pop up all over especially within Serato.

If there is interest I will post some potential solutions and hot fixes people can try I had marginal luck with on my Akai AMX and DDJ SZ2 (Funnily enough now classwd as unsupported as of 4.0.1 i think but still good with 4.0 and prior) so I have managed to load a clean version of windows 11 23h2 and my serato pro 4.0.0 is working perfectly.


This sort of shit made me realize how handy AI can be, especially local LLM's (fuck online shit that wastes precious resources, use your actual computer hardware)

Same for me. I just can use an old Serato version (3.0.n) but can't use the pitch.

hello Watto
Maybe do you have any news for AMX ?
I'm struggling on my end

<spam removed>

It is a massive fault within Windows 11 24h2 & 25h2 code that has been progressively being turned on more and more devices.
Basically its a change on how Windows handles Midi & USB Audio based devices and how they communicate back and forth.
There is apparently a hotfix Microsoft have put out but I had no luck.

BEST THING TO DO (And to be honest the only real solution to actually fix the problem aside from buying newer hardware)
Downgrade Windows to either W11 23h2 or W11 24H2 but it has to be a software version before November 2025 or all the way back to Windows 10.

Its sounds like a MIDI 2.0 issue.

Microsoft's MIDI 2.0 update has been released and is being rolled out gradually. All of our Windows computers have this update, but it isn't enabled on all of them. You can check this using the Midichecker tool (microsoft.github.io)).
You can enable or disable MIDI 2.0 using the following tool: ViVeTool v0.3.4 on Github ( github.com )
To disable MIDI 2.0, use the command: “vivetool /disable /id:58988972” (without quotes, as admin in CMD). Then you need to reboot the system. Et voilà: while is Serato running, Serato recognizes the controller if you are switching it on. The Controller can be turned on and off at all the time without crashes or freezes Serato. OK, its a quickfix too, but it Works more "stable" until all vendors support MIDI 2.0 and Microsoft fixes the issue.

And as always: no guarantees. This works fine for me; hopefully it will work on other systems as well.

For further Informations:
www.heise.de

Another potential issue could be: NVIDIA driver version 595.79 from March 12, 2026 is causing major issues. In my Case: RANE drivers crash or freeze. Distortions, sound cuts out, etc... Installing older drivers work (e.g., v. 591.74).

Hi All,

We are aware of customers running into issues after a recent Windows 11 update (Windows MIDI Services – 24H2 / 25H2) that has introduced some MIDI connection issues on certain systems. In some cases, DJ hardware may not be detected if they are plugged in after Serato launches, or the software may behave unexpectedly if DJ hardware is disconnected while running.

Please try the steps in our generic Windows connection issue steps:

Troubleshooting Connection Issues on Windows: support.serato.com

NOTE: If you have any issues following these steps please let us know and we will be more than happy to break anything down further for you.

If the generic windows connection troubleshooting does not help it is likely you are experiencing the known issue related to a recent Windows update:

KNOWN ISSUE: Windows 11 MIDI Services Update 24H2-25H2 Causing hardware connection issues or freezing upon disconnection in Serato Software: support.serato.com

niice

Check this thread, look under the inmusic - branded companies section. I just went through this too, the KB numbers everyone mentions don't align with what was on my machine, I uninstalled all updates back to January and it is working again. It started with hang on shutdown, then would not recognize the controller. (Rane Performer)

devblogs.microsoft.com

This video also talks about it
Watchwww.youtube.com

The latest windows update kb5086672 -March 2026 seems to have fixed the hanging and connecting issue for me.

I noticed after updating I get visual lag only on the controllers hardware waveform of the ddj srt 1000. On the windows 11 laptop its smooth.

support.microsoft.com