Audio device disconnects or stops working after inactivity within Smaart

We have been noticing issues on Windows (mainly 11, but can apply to 10) where the audio interface connected to Smaart disconnects or stops working after inactivity. We've attributed this behavior to a hidden power management feature for USB ports that may not be affected by Power Settings.

Click here to learn more on optimizing your device's power settings when using Smaart over long periods of time

In the above article, we discuss how to disable a power setting called "USB Selective Suspend", where Windows will temporarily suspend a USB device's connection when the system is inactive after a certain amount of time.

While you can disable this globally, in some cases Windows will allow the USB Root Hub itself to suspend for power management.

We do not recommend connecting your audio interface to the computer through USB extender or multi-port hub. They have been known to cause issues with device connectivity within Smaart, which can causes measurements to fail or even the program to crash. Additionally, multi-port hubs can become overloaded when connecting a USB-powered audio device that also supplies phantom power (like the Audient EVO series or Focusrite Scarlett series).

To disable this on the USB port directly:

1) Open Device Manager by right-clicking on the Windows' Start icon (bottom-left) and selecting it from the menu that appears

2) Expand "Sound, video and game controllers" and select your audio interface

3) Under the View menu, switch to view "Devices by connection" (your audio interface will remain selected)

4) Select the audio interface's parent device (one or two steps up), which should be a "USB Root Hub" device

5) Right-click the "USB Root Hub" device and select Properties

6) Under the Power Management tab, uncheck the box next to "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power", then click OK
(If there is no Power Management tab, go to the next parent device)

7) Go to the next parent device (should be a "Host controller" of some sorts) and repeat steps 5 and 6
(There may not be a Power Manager tab for the USB controller; if so, you can skip to step 8)

8) Exit Device Manager, restart your computer, and try running Smaart again

If issues persist, or if you have any questions about these steps, please contact support for further assistance.