Some network setup tips:
  • It is generally recommended to use a good quality WiFi router placed in close proximity to your workplace. If you don't have a router or are looking for a more portable solution see alternative network setups.

  • For best performance connect the DAW computer to the WIFI router by ethernet cable! Two wireless hops can increase latency.



  • If your router comes with an option to always assign the same IP address to known devices activate it. (Many routers will do this automatically).

  • Disable 'smart network switching' (aka 'Adaptive WiFi') if your device has mobile connectivity and comes with such an option.

  • Turn off Bluetooth when working with WiFi, resp. turn off WiFi when using Bluetooth. These interfere pretty badly on some devices (and not just cheap ones).

  • DAW control creates a lot of network traffic. Make sure you get a good quality WiFi signal on the Android device. Network MIDI standards all use UDP transport, which does not guarantee for packet delivery. Data that could not be delivered immediately will be gone for good. You may want to check for transmission power settings on the router and experiment with where to place it. A well working WiFi system is far superior to standard MIDI connections in terms of bandwidth and transmission speed, but WiFi has a life of its own and you should not take it for granted that your WiFi will immediately and always act as a 1:1 cable replacement without a little care-taking.

    If your WiFi sucks, TouchDAW will suck as well.


If you run into problems and suspect them to be network related:
  • All devices and computers you want to interconnect need to be on the same network and subnet. The subnet is denoted by the penultimate number in IP addresses: For example in 192.168.1.100 the single 1 would be the subnet and only devices that share the 192.168.1. part of IP addresses will be able to see each other and communicate. Normally you don't need to worry about this as DHCP enabled networks will take care of it.

  • It's a good idea to occassionally soft-reset or power cycle routers that run 24/7. Especially if you have problems with service discovery (sessions not appearing) this should be the first troubleshooting step.

  • Toggling WiFi off and on again on Android, renewing the device's network subscription, may also solve network related communication problems.

  • Make sure all involved programs (rtpMIDI, ipMIDI, your DAW if it uses mnet) are allowed through the PC's firewall. See next topic for port numbers.

  • Though not normally the case, the router may require you to open ports or set up some port forwarding. Ports used by RTP MIDI include port numbers 5004-7, 6504-7 and 5353. Multicasting with ipMIDI runs on ports 21928-31.