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macOS: “The Dante Virtual Soundcard Manager service is no longer responding”

Updated

You might see this error on a Mac when Dante Virtual Soundcard (DVS) can’t start. The fix depends on your macOS version.

Your macOS versionMost likely causeGo to
macOS 13 Ventura or laterDVS isn’t allowed to run in the backgroundFix 1
macOS 10.13 High Sierra to 10.15 Catalina (Intel)The DVS kernel extension can’t loadFix 2

macOS 11 Big Sur and later don’t have the kernel extension issue.

Fix 1: macOS 13 or later — allow DVS to run in the background

This often happens after a macOS upgrade.

  1. Open System Settings > General > Login Items.
  2. Under Allow in the Background, turn on Dante Virtual Soundcard and Audinate Pty Ltd.
  3. Restart DVS.

Fix 2: macOS 10.13–10.15 (Intel) — kernel extension won’t load

macOS 10.13 and later ask you to approve third-party kernel extensions before they load, and DVS needs its kernel extension to run.

Step 1: Approve the Audinate extension

  1. Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy.
  2. Allow the system software from Audinate to load.
  3. Restart DVS.

[Keep the existing screenshots of the DVS error and the “System Extension Blocked” message here.]

Step 2: Reinstall DVS

If you see “System Extension Blocked”, the DVS install or update may not have finished properly. Reinstall DVS.

Step 3: Check the restricted flag

If DVS still won’t start, a missing macOS system flag could be the cause. On affected Macs, the restricted flag isn’t set on /private/var/db/KernelExtensionManagement. It should be set when System Integrity Protection (SIP) is on.

  1. Open Terminal.
  2. Run:
   ls -ldO /private/var/db/KernelExtensionManagement
  1. Look for restricted in the output. For example:
   drwxr-xr-x@ 3 root wheel restricted 96 22 Feb 17:35 /private/var/db/KernelExtensionManagement

If restricted isn’t there, follow Step 4.

Step 4: Set the restricted flag

Disclaimer: This issue appears to be caused by macOS updates, not DVS. We can’t guarantee how this change will affect macOS or other applications. Read each step carefully before you start.

  1. Restart your Mac and immediately hold Command (⌘) + R until you see the Apple logo or a spinning globe. This starts Recovery Mode.
  2. From the menu bar, choose Utilities > Terminal.
  3. Run the following, replacing <macOS drive> with the name of your macOS drive:
   chflags restricted "/Volumes/<macOS drive>/private/var/db/KernelExtensionManagement"

For example, if your drive is called Macintosh HD:

   chflags restricted "/Volumes/Macintosh HD/private/var/db/KernelExtensionManagement"
  1. Restart your Mac normally and check that DVS runs.

Note: macOS 10.13 and earlier aren’t supported platforms, so you use them at your own risk.

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