Connecting an X32 / M32 via powered USB hub
A powered USB hub is the most reliable way to connect an X32 or M32 to an iPad or iPhone — especially on older Lightning iPads, or any setup with multiple USB devices on the same chain. The hub supplies the mixer from wall power, so the iOS device only carries data, and the X32's USB card has the steady current it needs for a clean handshake.
What you need
- A Behringer X32 or Midas M32.
- An iPad, iPhone, or Mac (Apple Silicon only).
- A powered USB hub (any quality USB 2.0 or 3.0 hub with a wall-powered supply — Anker, UGREEN, and OWC are reliable choices).
- The right cable from your device to the hub:
- Lightning iPad / iPhone — Apple Lightning to USB Camera Adapter (the passthrough-power version keeps the iPad charging).
- USB-C iPad / iPhone / Mac — USB-C to USB-A cable.
- A USB-A to USB-B cable from the hub to the mixer.
How to connect
This order works on every supported iOS version and is the most reliable across older and newer iPads:
- Plug the hub into wall power.
- Connect the hub to your device. With the mixer still powered off, connect the mixer's USB-B port to one of the hub's ports.
- Launch ShowPlayer Pro.
- Power on the mixer and let it fully boot.
- In ShowPlayer Pro, open MIDI Interface from the menu and select the mixer.
- iPad / iPhone: no audio selection is needed — iOS routes ShowPlayer Pro's audio to the mixer automatically as soon as it's the connected USB audio device. Mac: open System Settings → Sound and pick the mixer as the Output device.
Watch the hub's port light. A solid light means the USB handshake completed cleanly. A blinking light means the mixer is still trying to negotiate — power-cycle it (off, wait a few seconds, on) with the cable connected, and the light should go solid.
Notes
- Cable quality matters even more here. A flaky USB-B cable will keep the hub light blinking through every handshake attempt, even after power-cycling. If the cold-boot doesn't get a solid light, swap the cable before troubleshooting further.
- iPadOS only routes audio to one USB audio interface at a time. If you have the X32 and a second audio interface (a Scarlett, for instance) plugged into the same hub, iOS picks one — usually whichever enumerated first — and hides the other from ShowPlayer's audio interface picker. To ensure the X32 is selected, plug it in first, then add other devices. MIDI is unaffected: multiple MIDI devices coexist fine and you can pick which one ShowPlayer routes to.
- Hub quality matters. Cheap hubs sometimes fail to propagate composite USB devices (the X32 presents audio and MIDI on one cable). A name-brand hub usually avoids this.
- Passthrough power on the Apple Camera Adapter keeps the iPad charging while the mixer is connected — useful for long rehearsals.
- No USB card? If the X32 / M32's option slot has been replaced with a Dante, MADI, or other expansion card, the on-board USB-B port is gone. Use a separate USB audio + MIDI interface to send signal into the mixer: the audio interface's stereo outputs (L/R) feed a pair of the mixer's analog inputs, and the MIDI interface's MIDI OUT feeds the mixer's MIDI IN. See Connecting a DIN MIDI mixer.
- Why this order? USB MIDI works regardless of launch order. USB audio on older iPads needs an app holding the audio category at the moment the mixer enumerates — launching ShowPlayer Pro before powering the mixer ensures that. On newer iPads the OS handles late binding automatically, but the same procedure works there too.