This post initially started as a Bug Report. But it has since been discovered, that this is a Windows USB Power Management related issue. Please see the provided Solution.
Bug Description
This was quite intense to figure out. But it would seem that the Play stops sending USB MIDI messages or has USB MIDI lockups after a certain amount of time.
At first i thought this was in combination with other devices (see the history of this entry), but it turns out it happens even when used by itself.
I can confirm this to only happen under Windows and not OSX.
This only affects USB MIDI. TRS MIDI always works.
Reproduction Steps
- Turn on the Play / Restart the Play
- Send Clock Out / Transport Out to USB and Jack/TRS.
- Create a simple sample pattern and a MIDI pattern (sending Notes to a USB Channel).
- Open a MIDI Viewer to see data (i used Midi View)
- You should see the clock message (
f8) and other MIDI data transmitted via USB.
- Use the play, or let it sit idle for 25 ~ 60 minutes.
- At some point USB MIDI will hang itself up.
- Time is variable and can be longer, but most hangups/lockups happen within this time.
- Start / Stop will not do anything anymore and USB MIDI clock messages will not be sent anymore either.
Occurrence
The time before USB MIDI hangs seems to be variable. I’ve done multiple tests. The quickest hangup was within 25 minutes. The longest was around an hour, but it is possible that it may take even longer.
Workarounds
Only way around it, is to restart the Play.
Found in
I will try and narrow down this problem as far as possible. Currently there are still too many moving parts involved.
- Tracker receives Clock/Transport via TRS from the Play
- Tracker also sequences things in the DAW.
I will remove all other parts tomorrow. So that it’s only Play → DAW and report back my findings.
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- I have updated the initial report to reflect my new findings.
- I have now removed all potential outside factors.
- The play is directly connected to the computer.
- I’m only listening to USB MIDI Messages via a Midi Viewer.
I’m trying to get a more accurate sense of how long it takes for this issue to appear. Next update will hopefully include that information.
I can now safely say, that i am able to reproduce this. But as stated in the updated bug description, the time before this issue occurs is still variable. The fastest USB MIDI hangup i’ve had, was after 25 minutes of idling.
But as i have also stated, sometimes USB MIDI can just hang itself up while working on the Play after a Start/Stop event for example.
Simplified my report. After all the testing, i even made the report complicated 
Hi @Sandroid , thanks for investing the time in analysis and such detailed report. This is big help for us and we appreciate it.
Just to clarify some things: which version of Windows are you using? Which USB cable? Which USB port? Is Play directly connected the computer (no USB hubs)? Does MIDI stop working completely (clock and notes?)
Thanks again and sorry for the trouble you’re having.
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No trouble at all. Glad to be of help.
- I’m using Windows 11
- It’s directly connected to the computer (no hub)
- Using the original supplied usb cable
- All USB MIDI data stops (clock, transport, note messages)
- All TRS MIDI still works perfectly
I’m going to try the same thing with OSX today and will report back what i found out.
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I’ve ran countless hours of tests since i’ve last posted 
Including different hardware and different operating systems. And it’s safe to say that this is not a Play issue but a Windows issue.
It would seem that Windows Power Management is a bit too harsh and decides to cut the connection, resulting in USB MIDI not being transmitted anymore.
For anyone running into the same issue:
- I’ve changed some power settings specifically related to USB, so that Windows doesn’t suspend devices auto-magically.
- You can find those in the Power Options → Advanced Settings → USB Settings → USB selective suspend settings.
It would seem that when this happens, the connection is cut, resulting in USB MIDI messages not being received anymore. While the Play then still appears as a connected device, the messages apparently just vanish into the digital nirvana.
My final result was that the Play managed to run for 9 hours without interuption today. Only to find the connection to have hung itself up, once the computer went into sleep mode. After waking up, messages were not received anymore, forcing me to restart the play.
@miropoly i would consider this a closed case. I think a small investigation could be helpful to find out if there is a way to check if connection state is normal and if there is a way to circumvent this or restart it. But i have doubts that there is anything that Polyend can do, when the USB connection is in that state.
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