Chapter 14 - Your Data & Troubleshooting¶
Two halves: where your data actually lives (read this before you need it), and what to check when connections misbehave (read this when you do).
Where your data lives¶
CONNECT has no cloud and no account. Everything it stores - your patch library, your rigs, your preferences - lives in your browser's local storage, on this machine:
| Data | Lives in |
|---|---|
| Patch Store folders (including backups) | This browser |
| Routing rigs | This browser |
| Theme, channel colours, panel layout, visualizer choices | This browser |
| Your patches and settings on the hardware | The device itself |
That design has real virtues - nothing about your music leaves your machine, and there's nothing to sign into. It also has consequences worth stating plainly:
- A different browser is a different library. Chrome and Edge on the same computer don't share. Neither do two computers, or a private/incognito window.
- Clearing browser data deletes the library. "Clear site data", "clear cookies and site data", aggressive privacy cleaners - any of these erase every folder, every backup, every rig. There is no undo and no recycle bin.
The rule that makes this safe¶
Anything you'd mind losing should also exist as an exported file. Folder exports (Chapter 8) and rig exports (Chapter 10) produce ordinary JSON files - put them wherever your other precious files live. A library that exists in two places survives anything; a library that exists only in one browser is one settings-menu accident from gone.
The habit: after any session that created something good - export it. Backups of the device protect against device problems; exports of the library protect against browser problems. They're different risks, covered by different actions.
Troubleshooting¶
The selector says NO DEVICE FOUND¶
- Cable - the classic. It must carry data; charge-only cables power the device and connect nothing. Try the cable that came in the box.
- Quick press ↻ reconnect after plugging in - the browser doesn't always notice arrivals.
- Try another USB port - and avoid unpowered hubs while diagnosing.
- Check the browser - Chrome or Edge (Chapter 3). On first use, the browser may be waiting for you to allow MIDI access - look for a permission prompt near the address bar.
- Something else holding the device - a DAW with the device selected can make it invisible to the browser on some systems. Close other MIDI software and reconnect.
Go Live fails, or the device isn't in the port list¶
- The port is busy. Only one program can hold the serial connection - another browser tab already Live is the usual culprit (including a forgotten one). Close other CONNECT tabs.
- On Android, make sure you confirmed the USB permission prompt; unplug/replug to trigger it again, and check your OTG adapter.
- After a firmware update or device restart, the port can take a few seconds to re-enumerate. ↻ reconnect, then Go Live.
Live keeps dropping¶
- Nearly always physical: a loose or marginal cable, or an unpowered hub browning out. Swap the cable first, go direct to the computer second.
- Check the Log panel (Chapter 11) - connection events land there, and a pattern (drops when you touch the cable, drops under load) points at the cause.
- If the device itself restarted, that's not a connection problem - fetch the crash dump (Chapter 12).
The screen mirror is frozen¶
- During a transfer, freezing is normal - the mirror pauses for patch reads/writes and diagnostics fetches, then resumes (Chapter 6).
- Frozen at any other time usually means Live dropped - check the broadcast icon, reconnect if it's no longer green.
"Layout-version mismatch - refusing to write"¶
The safety guard, doing its job (Chapter 8): the stored patch was made under a different device storage layout than the connected device is running, and writing it would corrupt. Nothing was touched. This typically means the backup predates a firmware update that changed the layout - check midicake.com/support for the migration options for your versions.
The visualizer shows nothing¶
- The visualizer runs on the MIDI level, not Live - so the device must be selected in the top-bar selector, and actually playing.
- Notes lingering after a disconnection are cleared with the Clear button (Chapter 9).
My patches / rigs have vanished¶
- Same browser, same machine, same profile? The library doesn't follow you between browsers, computers, or browser profiles - it's probably still where you left it.
- If browser data was cleared, the library is gone - restore from your exported files, or re-read patches from the device (the hardware copy is untouched by anything that happens in the browser).
Something else¶
midicake.com/support - and if the problem involves the device misbehaving, attach a crash dump (Chapter 12) and say what you were doing when it happened.