Traktor Kontrol S4 Mk3 - temporary loss of power?

Ashley Brown

Hi all - hope you are all keeping well.

Has anyone had any experience with temporary power dropouts with the S4 Mk3?

Have only experienced this once (so far) with my new-to-me second hand and out of warranty S4 mk3. Connected to mains power with the official power adaptor and to MacBook Pro by USB cable and USB-A to USB-C adaptor.

I’ve seen some posts (here and on the interwebs more broadly) about loose power cords and loose USB ports, but I don’t seem to have either of those, just a random loss of power for ~1-2 seconds; unit goes fully dark, Traktor Pro keeps on playing (but no audio output), then the unit powers back up and picks up where it left off.

Will try and recreate this issue over the next few days, but keen to hear if others have had an issue such as this?

cheers,

ish

Dj Dodger

Any luck on this. I have the same issue but with S4 mK2 AND TRAKTOR 3 software. Been using this set up glitch free for two years. I think its when I have to plug into an extension lead in certain venues or when other equipment is plugged into the same lead.

I have ordered new power cable and new USB cable. I cant seem to get the official traktor s4 power supply from N.I.

gili

Hi I have the same problem which has started to occur the last weeks

Only today it happened 3 times at the club I was playing

I also noticed that something has to do with other appliances connected to the same plug

any news ?

Ashley Brown

@Dj Dodger and @gili - No, no news yet… still working through the hardware support process to find out what the causes might be (and what the options to fix might be). Will post update once I know more.

jay wearden

Had this happen to me 4 times in Saturday. Not great in a busy venue. Be interested to find out the fix. I have a S5.

lord-carlos

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/72195#Comment_72195

Have you checked if it could be a faulty cable?

DJMontero

Sorry for my english, i'm italian. So, I have the same problem with a s4 mk2 - connected with its power supply and usb cable - which loses power for a few seconds and then turns on again, the computer continues to work as if nothing had happened and the music starts again. It only happens to me with the S4 while with the S2 no problem. It's clearly an electrical problem that even a usb hub hasn't fixed. The last attempt would be to do with an uninterruptible UPS power supply. Do you have solutions or do I think the console is faulty?

djron

If you use window 11. in the event viewer (application) look for an event ID 258 AIHardwareService...

"Server: onConnectionDropped: NIHWTraktorKontrolS4MK3-1EE156050075" …I hope this helps anyone over at Native find a way to patch this.

event id 258.png

🙂

PoorFellow

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/83437#Comment_83437

If you used a powered USB Hub and that didn't help then it is unlikely that it is a power delivery problem though if one stretches imagination then I suppose noise in the electrical grid could induce that the connection is severed (in which case an UPS or a noice filter might help) . But IMO then it is much more likely that there is some problem with the connection or the USB chips set , or it's drivers ' or Windows USB internals or same as with PC with respect to the the S4 hardware internals..

The event viewer (application) event ID 258 AIHardwareService... Server: onConnectionDropped report by djron , alas to me only serves to testify that the connection has actually been dropped , which of course is useful to know but for me still only begs further scrutiny of the hardware included , the connection and all the drivers , BIOS , software...

Barry

Had the same issue with my S4 and I found the problem,when I install the unit and software it was running on MK2 asio drive,when I changed it to mk3 asio drive problem solved,runs perfectly,so maybe check that,I think it just caused an issue as when it powered off and came on again it was always asking to connect to mk3 audio.this just kept on happening and then I noticed I had no mk3 asio drive in my preferences,so I changed it and no more powering on and off

DJMontero

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/83492#Comment_83492

thanks for the reply, but the problem persists even if the computer works perfectly and it has been set and updated with all the drivers and setups for the best performance with Traktor (it's a computer that I use only with Traktor, never connected to the internet and with all performance set for no interruption). USB cables, power supplies and hubs have been changed, but the problem persists and a recrudescence is noticed when the power and usb cables are barely touched even though they are functional and well connected.

PoorFellow

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/88435#Comment_88435

Quote : "but the problem persists and a recrudescence is noticed when the power and usb cables are barely touched" ...

If you have a recrudescence when touching the power and usb cables the slightest then that still suggests a problem with the connection which were among my initial guess of likelihood. You could have a damage port or a port with bad contact. I can not remember within recent time to have had that anywhere on my computer things but it were occurring much more years back. (then especially with peripheral/add-on print cards or solid state cartridges for computers) If it is just a question of a bad connection (as opposed to a damaged port) then it is possible that a cleaning or a tightening of the squeeze part of the plug may help (the latter if too much wiggling of the plug has occurred). However it can be difficult to clean (if dirty/eroded/oxidized) or to tighten.

All of this of course is just me offering my interpretation of possible reasons for your problem from how you have described it and where you are now ! Though of course I can not rule out that there could also be some problem or defect within the N.I. hardware..

dance2lance

yes i have this issue as well...s4 mk3. bought new usb cable and power cable..didnt help..i noticed the on /off switch is super sensitive.....just holding your finger near it sets it off... done the updates -is there a compatibility issue with big sur?

Ashley Brown

Hi all, just wanted to post an update on this. Looks like it was an issue with the hardware itself, after having troubleshooted and debugged all of the above (cables, software versions, etc, etc).

Just wanted to give a big shout out to the hardware support folks at NI. These forums sometimes pile a lot of grief on to NI, but the support folks have been really great for me. They are obviously swamped and understaffed, but I’ve managed to work my way through the queue and they’ve helped coordinate with the local distributor to sort out a solution for me. Big props NI, thank you! 🙏

Not sure if this helps anyone (i.e., don’t think it was a ‘known issue’, just a hardware defect) but thought I’d close the loop for you all anyway.

PoorFellow

I am sorry if you found that my attempts to assist were of no help. However , it ought to be understood that unless you by any other means are able to arrive at that conclusion earlier then the only way to rule out other sources of error than the unit itself are to go through and check things step by step. Also the 'unit' itself can give multiple reasons for having a problem , including (as suggested earlier) defect USB port , defect power button or defect internal electronics...

Paz

so, for those who have solved this, do I just submit a ticket and send my S4 in to NI for a repair?

Or are there any other solutions?

I just had this happening several times in a show this weekend and it was not ok..

I have another event next week and I need to find a solution.. been playing with the controller and it cuts every 2 minutes or so..

Thanks all