Editing the Hosts File

Checking the hosts file and removing any "Sonarworks" entries.

In this article:

• Hosts file issues
• Remove Sonarworks entries from the hosts file
  • macOS
  • Windows

Hosts file issues

If you're unable to access our website and/or have trouble downloading the SoundID Reference installer (or the 'Install' button is grayed out - unable to proceed), it's possible the hosts file on your computer contains the mapping of IP addresses of Sonarworks host names. This can lead to encountering other connectivity issues to our host as well. 

Follow the instructions below to resolve the problem on your macOS or Windows device.

Remove Sonarworks entries from the hosts file

macOS

1. Click the Launchpad icon in the dock > type in Terminal in the search > open Terminal.
2. Type in the following command and hit Enter/Return to execute: sudo nano /etc/hosts
3. Enter your admin password.
4. Delete all Sonarworks-related listings.
5. Save the changes by pressing Ctrl+O and Exit with Ctrl+X commands.

Windows

1. Type Notepad in the Windows search bar, right-click on and Run as Administrator.
2. Click Yes, when presented with this dialog: “Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?”
3. Go to File > Open, and navigate to this directory to open the "hosts" file: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
   • Note: If the hosts file is not visible, click on the file type dropdown menu (bottom-right corner), and change it from Text documents (*txt) to All files (*).
4. Delete all Sonarworks-related entries.
5. Save changes and close the file.