Fixing "CoreAudio driver went missing"

Shane Conry
0 
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FIXING "CoreAudio driver went missing"
SoundID Reference on macOS Tahoe (Apple Silicon)
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Applies to: macOS 26 (Tahoe), Apple Silicon Macs (M-series),
            SoundID Reference 5.13.5+

Symptom:    SoundID Reference launches, then within ~30 seconds throws
            "CoreAudio driver went missing." "Restart CoreAudio" doesn't
            stick. Reinstalling doesn't help. SoundID doesn't appear as an
            output device in the sound menu.

Root cause: The SoundID HAL audio driver is installed and valid, but macOS
            never authorizes coreaudiod to load it, so the app can't
            communicate with its own driver. The fix is a system extension
            toggle that reinstalling alone does not set -- but a clean
            removal followed by reinstall forces macOS to re-present that
            toggle.


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PART 1 -- FULLY REMOVE SOUNDID REFERENCE
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Quit the app first (menu bar > Quit, or Cmd+Q). Then open Terminal
(Applications > Utilities) and run these one at a time. You'll be asked for
your password the first time you use sudo; type it (it won't display) and
press Return.

Remove the apps:

    sudo rm -rf "/Applications/SoundID Reference.app"
    sudo rm -rf "/Applications/SoundID Reference Measure.app"

Remove the driver and audio plugins:

    sudo rm -rf "/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL/SoundID Reference.driver"
    sudo rm -rf "/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/SoundID Reference.component"
    sudo rm -rf "/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/SoundID Reference.vst3"
    sudo rm -rf "/Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins/SoundID Reference.aaxplugin"

Remove user settings, caches, and autostart items:

    rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/com.sonarworks.soundid.reference.systemwide
    rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/com.sonarworks.soundid.reference.measure
    rm -rf ~/Library/Preferences/com.sonarworks.soundid.reference.systemwide.plist
    rm -rf ~/Library/Preferences/com.sonarworks.soundid.reference.measure.plist
    rm -rf ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.sonarworks.soundid.reference.systemwide.plist

  NOTE: The next command deletes your saved calibration profiles. To keep
  them, first copy ~/Library/Sonarworks somewhere safe (e.g. your Desktop),
  THEN run it.

    rm -rf ~/Library/Sonarworks

Remove any system launch daemons:

    sudo rm -rf /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.sonarworks.*.plist

Reset CoreAudio:

    sudo killall coreaudiod


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PART 2 -- REBOOT
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Do a FULL restart (Apple menu > Restart), not just a relaunch. This clears
the old driver state out of CoreAudio.


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PART 3 -- REINSTALL
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  1. Download the current installer fresh from sonarworks.com (don't reuse
     an old .pkg).
  2. Right-click the .pkg > Open (right-click, not double-click -- this
     avoids a Gatekeeper quirk on Tahoe).
  3. Run through the installer to completion.
  4. Restart again if the installer asks.


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PART 4 -- AUTHORIZE THE AUDIO EXTENSION  (THE KEY STEP)
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This is the step that actually fixes it and that reinstalling alone won't do:

  1. Open System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions.
  2. Scroll to the Extensions section at the bottom.
  3. Turn on / verify Sonarworks SIA is enabled. (Depending on the build this
     appears as a Login Item entry and/or an Audio plug-in extension --
     enable Sonarworks anywhere it appears.)
  4. Authenticate with Touch ID / password when prompted.


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PART 5 -- VERIFY THE DRIVER IS NOW LOADED
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In Terminal:

    sudo killall coreaudiod; sleep 4
    system_profiler SPAudioDataType 2>/dev/null | grep -i -A2 -E "sonarworks|soundid"

If this prints a SoundID/Sonarworks entry, the driver is loaded. (Empty
output = not loaded; re-check Part 4.)

Now launch SoundID Reference. It should stay open with no error, and
"SoundID Reference" should appear as an output device in your macOS sound
menu.


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IF IT STILL FAILS AFTER ALL OF THE ABOVE
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If Part 5 stays empty even with the Sonarworks extension enabled, the driver
is valid but macOS won't load it -- a platform-level issue, not something you
can fix locally. Send Sonarworks support this exact description so it reaches
their dev team:

    "macOS 26.x (Tahoe), Apple Silicon. SoundID HAL driver is present in
    /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL and `codesign -dvvv` verifies clean (valid
    Developer ID), but coreaudiod never instantiates it -- system_profiler
    SPAudioDataType shows no Sonarworks device, and the app logs repeated
    'failed to send heartbeat to driver: Failed to deliver mach message -
    can not open the Mach port' before timing out with 'CoreAudio driver
    went missing.' Sonarworks audio extension is enabled in Login Items &
    Extensions."


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QUICK DIAGNOSTIC REFERENCE (OPTIONAL)
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To confirm the diagnosis on any affected machine before doing the full
cleanse:

Is the driver present and signed?

    codesign -dvvv "/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL/SoundID Reference.driver" \
      2>&1 | grep -E "Authority|Identifier"

Valid result shows:
    Authority=Developer ID Application: Sonarworks SIA

Is the driver actually loaded by CoreAudio?

    system_profiler SPAudioDataType 2>/dev/null | grep -i soundid

Empty = not loaded -> the Audio extension authorization (Part 4) is the fix.


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THE HEADLINE: It's not the driver, the license, or the install -- it's the
extension authorization in Login Items & Extensions, and a clean removal +
reinstall is what makes that toggle reappear so you can flip it.

This guide is provided as-is for troubleshooting reference. Commands using
sudo make system-level changes; review each before running. Not affiliated
with or endorsed by Sonarworks or Apple.

================================================================================
Courtesy of True Peak Audio LLC
Written with the help of Claude Opus 4.7 by Anthropic
================================================================================

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