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SAMPLETANK (IAA) BROKEN SINCE OS18
SampleTank IAA Broken After iOS 18 – Works Once After Update, Then Fails (Cubasis, AUM, GarageBand)
Hi all,
I’m hoping someone here might have insight or a workaround for an issue I’ve been chasing since iOS 18 was released.
Summary of the issue:
SampleTank (the IAA version, not AUv3) no longer works in any host (Cubasis 3, AUM, GarageBand) after updating to iOS 18.
However, it does work immediately after updating iOS (e.g., after updating to 18.5), but only once.
After that first use—once the iPad is rebooted or the apps are restarted—SampleTank no longer receives MIDI or audio, and the IAA connection appears to silently fail.
This behavior is consistent and repeatable across devices.
Devices tested:
iPad Air 4 (iOS 18.5) — broken after first run post-update
iPad Mini — SampleTank continues to work intermittently, which may be related to hardware or system config differences
Other things I’ve tried:
Reinstalling SampleTank and hosts
Resetting Location & Privacy settings
Testing across multiple IAA hosts (Cubasis 3, AUM, GarageBand)
Clean boots after app installations
Developer response:
I’ve been in regular contact with IK Multimedia since December 2023. They acknowledge the issue but insist it’s an Apple problem and have not provided a timeline or workaround.
I understand that Inter-App Audio is deprecated, but SampleTank is still actively sold and documented as IAA-only, with no AUv3 version available. I’m trying to keep some older projects functional while looking for sustainable alternatives.
Has anyone else seen this issue—or found a workaround?
Happy to share logs or do more testing if it helps others (or developers) understand what’s going on.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
Comments
Working fine here with latest ios - ipad M4 pro.
Must be some configuration you have in settings?
Good luck, hope you get it working.
I don't have SampleTank, so these are just guesses:
The microphone and network permissions may have been "tightened" in your iOS updates. Doesn't explain the app working only once, but it's an easy thing to check, and one that can stop the app from working. Background audio not being enabled would result in the midi connection disappearing shortly after appearing.
This:
"Start SampleTank standalone before adding to the host."
Thanks for your reply.
SampleTank has never worked on my 13” iPad Air 6 M2, but it used to work flawlessly on my iPad Air 4 right up to the release of OS18.0 last September.
Each time there is a new OS18.”x” update - SampleTank will only work once directly afterwards.
Another problem is when connecting my external MIDI keyboard to my iPad, ST no longer responds to incoming Midi data in both Stand-alone and IAA in Cubasis 3, but according to Lars Slowak from Steinberg, ST works well on the iPad Mini with OS18……but I don’t want to use a mini iPad!
Noteworthy facts:
This is not specific to Cubasis 3—SampleTank fails in multiple IAA-compatible hosts.
The bug does not appear to be user configuration-related; it is systemic and reproducible.
This suggests iOS 18 has changed the way IAA sessions are initialized, cached, or resumed—possibly introducing incompatibilities with legacy audio routing.
Thanks.
Mike
Thanks for your reply,
I read some information suggesting that after each OS update, the cache is completely cleared, when SampleTank is loaded directly afterwards the OS update it creates a corrupt file in permissions that prevents its self from further loading until a new OS update has been updated. It’s all a bit beyond me, .
I contacted IK Multimedia about this problem and all they say is -
Inter App Audio is an Apple feature which they have deprecated.
The fact that SampleTank is still available to purchase on the App Store, and in the “What’s New” section it states version 1.8.4 (9 years ago) “Inter App Audio Compatibility Fix” tells me this app should still work.
One month ago they released a new update version 2.0.12 that fixed an issue where SampleTank would not recognise incoming Midi data from an external device on OS18…..not in my case it didn’t!!!!
I don’t want a refund because I have too many Cubasis projects the use ST.
Thanks for your help.
Mike
This is something I have always had to do with all IAA apps
Thanks
Mike
Hi Mike. Well i have no advice as it all sounds a pain
Hi dblonde
It has been a real pain since September last, the biggest pain is IK by passing the buck by saying it’s an Apple issue!
I just installed it on my Air M2 and it is working fine for me. On the first launch, it did not respond to MIDI. After quitting and relaunching it worked find standalone and via IAA. I am running 18.something_less_than_5
@rapidfire : are you using the ST update from a month ago?
Yes, I also uninstalled it, rebooted the iPad Air 4 and reinstalled ST, still will not work?
I can’t understand how it works on your Air M2, it has never worked on my Air M2 which I purchased last spring, I accepted the fact it’s only going to work on the Air 4, I have done everything humanly possible (within my limitations). It’s just a case of - it worked before OS18 and it stopped directly after OS18, nothing else was changed, all my many Cubasis projects used to work seamlessly, but now nothing, even the Cubasis virtual keyboard won’t play ST.
Are you using Cubasis 3? If you are, would you mind if I dropped you a small single track Cubasis project that has a midi track specifically for SampleTank here on this forum for you to try, I won’t be offended if you said no.
Mike
I am not using Cubasis. I tried from Loopy Pro and AUM.
Is ST working for you standalone?
If this is an issue particular to Cubasis, it is possible that it is a Cubasis rather than an ST issue.
IK is just digging their own grave by keeping their IAA apps for sale while removing those apps that were actually decent.
If IK's been on the case since 2023 I'm quite sure during those 2+ years they could have made SampleTank AUv3 to avoid these 'support issus' which will likely end up costing them more (ie. bad PR, angry users etc.) than making SampleTank AUv3.
At some point it's better to bite the 'sour apple' and move on to using new tools...
ST doesn’t even work in Stand-alone when using a connected Midi keyboard, I can play the ST on board keyboard only. I also tried loading ST into AUM and assign ped the virtual keyboard but that still does not work, neither does it work in GarageBand.
Hi Samu,
You may be right - but I don’t want you to be right for a good reason, if you launch ST, select the Heavy Metal guitar preset, launch Cubasis and manually enter a number of Midi notes on a midi track all at varying velocities and then listen to how the tone changes from chugs to gentle guitar solos to screaming lead, I have not come across any other app that does this, there are probably plenty of other ST presets I have not used yet with equally good multi samples per note.
If ST works on other iPads then there should be no reason why it should not work on mine.
I really appreciate all the help I am getting from everyone with this issue, this is not the first thread I have started with this subject, but I do hope I can find an answer, but as Bono sang “You can’t always find what you’re looking for” hopefully someone can help find it for me.
Incidentally, I did mention to IK in January that if they couldn’t fix the issue then I will request a full refund for all the IAP’s, they instantly sent me a link for Apple refund and wished me good luck!! Mmm, that backfired on me!
Mike
It sounds like you are having issues that other people aren’t. It is mysterious.
I thought all iPad Air 4’s were the same, only the storage size and case colour differs, I purchased it new in October 2021, what could possibly be different between the same models 🤔
What about a reset of your ipad, as in from scratch as if it were new.
Then add your apps one by one to see which one is influencing ST?
A lot of effort but it would be my next strategy.
This would be far too much trouble to go to, hopefully an easier solution can be found….hopefully lol
I think its because your using ST CS. Im using the full version with all the IAPs and it works well.
ST CS working fine for me on iPad Air m2 under iOS 18.x
I started off with ST CS about 14 years ago, not long afterwards I paid for the upgrade to Full + extra sound packs. According to IK both versions work the same except the Full version will operate on older devices running on iOS10 and the CS version running on newer devices running iOS13.
I am absolutely flummoxed that ST works on on your Air M2, as I wrote earlier, ST has never worked on my 13” Air M2 since I first bought it last spring.
Thanks for letting me know, this is another arrow I can fire back at IK Multimedia.
Mike
It is possible that your problem is very rare. Given that no one else has posted that they are having the same problem, it might be something unusual -- which would also possibly explain iK not giving you better answers. FWIW, part of my job is tech support. Every once in a while someone has a problem that no one else has reported and that we can't reproduce on our end.
I joined the IK Multimedia forum specifically to see if I could find some answers, but all I found were more users with the same complaint over and over again, so I know I am not the only ST owner with this same issue, IK told me nobody else had this problem…..that’s not true, the proof is on their forum!
I just checked the reviews for both versions of ST on the App Store, they both have many negative comments telling others “don’t buy” and developer can’t be trusted.
I did a check on the 2 versions and it turns out that ST full was the first release on iOS10 and ST CS was released at a later date on iOS13, apart from that they are both the same.
When I updated to OS18.5 a few days ago, I launched ST, I then launched Cubasis 3 and selected a project that contained ST, as soon as the project loaded, a green bar appeared across the top of the screen that said LINK, ST worked perfectly at this point, but as soon as I closed everything down and the relaunch everything as mentioned above, this time there was no green banner on top of the screen and ST remained silent and has done since.
This exact behaviour occurred with the last iOS update, and the time before that, so for some reason after each new iOS update, everything must me cleared and reset, as soon as ST is launched after each update, it must create a corrupted permissions file that prevents itself from further loading.
I have gone into the iPad Setting>General>Transfer or Reset iPad>Reset>Reset Location and Privacy, this is supposed to deep clean the cache similar to a iOS update, but unfortunately it did nothing to solve the issue.
I have tried loading ST into AUM and GarageBand, no joy there either.
My only workaround to this problem is the next time there is another iOS update, to have all my Cubasis projects that use ST ready to load so that I can freeze the ST tracks or maybe mixdown the solo ST track on every project in one go and that way my projects will be usable, but how long do I have to wait for that to happen?
Mike