Troubleshooting
Fixes for the common issues: no AI response, helper daemon not starting, MIDI that sounds wrong, plugins not appearing, and activation failures.
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Troubleshooting
No response from AI
- ●Verify your API key is entered correctly (Settings, General tab, API Key)
- ●Check that you have a valid internet connection (not needed for local providers)
- ●Try switching to a different model: some models may be temporarily unavailable
- ●For local providers, the server has to be started, not just a model loaded. Loading a model in LM Studio's chat window does not start its server: that is the status toggle in the Developer tab. Ollama needs its app or service running. Aether looks for LM Studio on port 1234 and Ollama on 11434 unless you have changed the server URL in Settings. When nothing answers, the message names the address Aether tried.
A local model's context window is too small
- ●Aether needs a context window of at least 32,768 tokens. When a local model has less, Aether says so in place of a reply.
- ●In LM Studio the window is set when you load the model. Load it again with Context Length at 32768 or more, and more for long chats. The message names the window LM Studio loaded and what the request needed.
- ●With Ollama, Aether asks for the window itself, so the message means the model cannot hold that much. Choose a model that supports at least 32K tokens of context.
- ●Keep Ollama up to date (0.12.6 or later). Older versions shorten a request that does not fit without telling Aether, so the model answers from part of it.
Helper daemon not starting (plugin mode)
- ●The helper starts on its own a few seconds after you open the plugin window, before you generate anything. If it does not, go to Settings → Start Helper
- ●Ensure no firewall is blocking localhost connections in the range 38274 to 38289. Aether tries each port in turn and records the one it settled on, so blocking the whole range is what stops it.
- ●In Standalone mode, the helper is not needed: Aether calls APIs directly
- ●After an update, the first plugin window you open replaces a helper still running from the older version. A generation running at that moment in another DAW stops, and you can send it again.
Generation times out
- ●Aether waits up to 10 minutes for a reply, in your DAW and in the standalone app. A heavyweight reasoning model on a long arrangement can take longer, and then the chat says "Request timed out (no response after 10 minutes)."
- ●Lower Reasoning Effort in Settings, ask for fewer bars, or switch to a faster model.
Playback is a plain tone instead of a piano
- ●Aether could not find the Headroom Piano and fell back to a test tone. The samples install alongside the plugin, so this usually means a partial install or a moved folder.
- ●Reinstall Aether and let the installer place the instrument content; it lives in /Library/Application Support/Aether/Instruments on macOS and C:\ProgramData\Aether\Instruments on Windows.
- ●Your generated MIDI is unaffected either way. Aether outputs MIDI, so you can route it to any instrument in your DAW instead of using the built-in preview.
"License saved to this host only"
- ●Your DAW sandboxes plugins tightly enough that Aether could not write the activation file shared by all formats. Logic, GarageBand, and MainStage are the common ones.
- ●Aether is activated for that host, but your other formats will still ask for a key.
- ●Fix it by activating once in the Aether Standalone app, which writes the shared file and syncs every format. Launching the Aether Helper before re-activating also works.
A bounce or freeze came back silent
- ●Check that the instance is activated. An unlicensed Aether mutes its audio and drops its MIDI, and it does that during an offline bounce or a track freeze exactly as it does live, with no warning from your DAW.
- ●Open Settings → License on that instance to confirm the status, then re-render.
MIDI output sounds wrong
- ●Switch the Raw / Clean / Enhance control on the transport bar to Clean, which fixes out-of-range pitches and overlapping notes. Clean is the default, so if you are on Raw you are hearing the model's notes untouched.
- ●Open the Enhance gear next to that control to turn on quantize, velocity shaping, or humanize individually.
- ●Check that the key and scale parameters match your project
- ●Try a different AI model: some models produce better musical output than others
- ●Compare Raw against Clean or Enhance mid-playback. Both versions are computed when the generation arrives, so switching is instant.
Plugin not appearing in DAW
- ●Run a plugin rescan in your DAW's preferences
- ●Ensure the plugin file is in the correct directory for your platform (see Installation section)
- ●On macOS, check System Preferences → Security & Privacy if the plugin was blocked
Activation fails
- ●"No internet": activation requires a network connection the first time. Check firewall/VPN settings.
- ●"Invalid key": verify you've copied the full key with no trailing whitespace. Check the email receipt.
- ●"All slots used": you've used every activation on your license. Free one by opening Settings → License on the machine you no longer use and clicking Deactivate This Machine, or deactivate it from your account page.
- ●Activation stuck on "Activating...": check your system clock is correct. Aether rejects a server response whose timestamp is more than five minutes from your clock, which surfaces as "Could not verify server response".
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