Focusrite Control 2 is the software you need to use to manage your interface. Focusrite Control 2 manages your routing, monitoring, mixer settings, and firmware updates.
macOS interface switching
If you're using your 18i8 on a macOS computer you can connect multiple interfaces and switch between them using the top-left tab in Focusrite Control 2.
This is useful for setting up multiple devices quickly. We don't support device aggregation.
Focusrite Control 2's Inputs tab enables you to control your 18i8's input settings remotely from Focusrite Control 2, monitor your your input levels, and rename input channels.
The Inputs tab for your 18i8
Viewing all your channels
By default, Focusrite Control 2 opens as a small window, to view more channels you can either:
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resize the Focusrite Control 2 window.
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scroll left and right within the tab.
To enable 48V (Phantom Power) from Focusrite Control 2 click the button on the input you want to enable it for. This is the same as pressing the 48V button on the 18i8's front panel.
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Phantom Power off |
Phantom Power on |
To change inputs 1 or 2 between instrument and line from Focusrite Control 2 click the Inst button once.
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Line |
Instrument |
To enable Air from Focusrite Control 2 click the button. This is the same as pressing the button on the 18i8's front panel.
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Air Off |
Air Presence on |
Your 18i8 contains a mixer controllable from the Mixer page in Focusrite Control 2. You can use this mixer to combine and send input sources to your 18i8's physical outputs using the Routing tab.
The input sources to the mixer include:
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Physical inputs
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Analogue inputs (Instrument, microphone, or line inputs)
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Digital inputs
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Playback inputs
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Output channels from your DAW software
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Software playback from other computer software.
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Once you've created your mix, you can send this to the 18i8's physical outputs to create a custom mix for your speakers, or an artist's headphone mix.
Viewing all your channels
By default, Focusrite Control 2 opens as a small window, to view more channels you can either:
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resize the Focusrite Control 2 window.
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scroll left and right within the tab.
The top bar of Focusrite Control 2's Mixer shows the different Mixes you have available listed as Mix A, Mix B, etc.
Each Mix allows you to combine inputs and send the mixes to outputs for different needs. For example, you may wish to use Mix A to listen to audio through speakers and Mix B for a singer's headphone mix. The singer may want their own vocals louder in their headphones, so you can increase the volume for Mix B only.
Tip
You can have multiple Mixes active at once in Focusrite Control 2.
Each Mix works independently, so, for example, you can route Mix A to your monitors and Mix B to headphones, without affecting each other.
Click a Mix to select it. You can now route it to any Output(s). To do this:
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Click any existing Output, or the pencil icon
right of Routed to →
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Tick the destinations you want to send this Mix to.
For example, you could send Mix A to Outputs 1-2, where you may have connected your monitors, and Headphones. You could then hear the same mix in your headphones and monitors.
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Click X
to close the Mix destinations pop-up.
Above the mixer channels, you can see which Outputs your Mix is routed to. If you've not routed a Mix to an output, you'll see No outputs assigned.
Note
You can only feed each Output from one Mix. For example, you can't send Mix A and Mix B simultaneously to your headphones. When you're choosing Mix destinations, Focusrite Control 2 shows you if an output already has a feed from a different Mix. If you route the current Mix to an Output with a Mix already routed to it, it overwrites the routing to that Output.
Note
You can also change which outputs your mixes are going to in Focusrite Control 2's Routing tab, see Using the Focusrite Control 2 Routing tab for more information.
Loopback Destination
If you would like to record the specific input mix you've made, choose Loopback as a Mix destination. See Using your 18i8 3rd Gen's Loopback feature.
Each mixer channel has several functions.
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Mix Channel Name
This shows the mixer input's name. To edit the name, click the text box and type. You can use your keyboard's tab key to quickly move between channels.
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Pan
Moves a mono channel's position in the stereo image from left to right, or changes a stereo channel's balance from left to right. The default is centre. Alt, option ⌥ click, or double-click, to reset.
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Fader
The Fader adjusts the level going to your Mix destination. Alt, option ⌥, or double-click to reset.
The faders have no effect on the sources you are currently recording.
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Meter
This shows you the channel's level, in dBFS. green shows a good level, and amber means the level is very high.
You'll see two meters for stereo channels, one for each left and right side.
The meter shows the level post-fader, the fader setting will affect the meter.
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Mute and Solo
Mute - Click the Mute button
to silence the channel in the Mix. The Mute button lights blue
when enabled. You can Mute multiple channels simultaneously.
Solo - Click the Solo button
to solo the track by silencing all other channels in the Mix. The Solo button lights yellow
when enabled. Enabling Solo on multiple channels silences any channels without Solo enabled, i.e. you will hear all the Solo'd channels.
If you enable both Mute and Solo, the last clicked option takes priority.
In the Mixer tab of Focusrite Control 2 you can link or unlink stereo pairs of channels to make it easier to set up your mixes.
For example, you might link a pair of Analogue inputs if you had a stereo keyboard connected, or unlink software Playback channels if you had a two mono DAW channels sending to individual outputs.
Important
Linking channels in the Mixer does not link preamp channels. To link preamp controls, gain, 48V, Air, etc.
To change the link status of Mixer channels:
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Click the Channels button in the top right of the Mixer window:
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Tick, or untick, any channel pairs you'd like to link or unlink.
By default, Analogue inputs are unlinked, and software Playback channels are linked.
When you link channels, their channel strips and meters merge and one fader controls both channels.
Tip
In the Channels menu, you can tick or untick the boxes next to each channel name to show or hide channels in the Mixer window.
The routing tab in Focusrite Control 2 lets you organise what inputs and mixes you're sending to the outputs of your 18i8 3rd Gen.
When you open the Routing tab, you'll see a list with columns for Outputs, Levels, and Sources:
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The Output list refers to each output on your 18i8. There are sections for: Monitor Groups, Analogue outputs (line outputs, headphones) and Digital outputs (Loopback).
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The Level control is exclusively for the analogue outputs. This lets you trim, or reduce, the output level by a set dB level, for example to level match speakers or avoid clipping external equipment.
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The Source list lets you choose what to send to the corresponding output. Sources can be hardware inputs, DAW (software) playback channels, or a combination you've created as a Mix in Focusrite Control 2's Using the Focusrite Control 2 Mixer tab.
The Routing tab in Focusrite Control 2.
To assign a source to an output, find the output in the Output list and click the corresponding Source dropdown menu. Click a Source in the list to start sending that audio to the output. The meters to the right of the row show what you're sending to the output.
You can only feed each Output from one Mix. For example, you can't send Mix A and Mix B simultaneously to your headphones. When you're choosing Mix destinations, Focusrite Control 2 shows you if an output already has a feed from a different Mix. If you route the current Mix to an Output with a Mix already routed to it, it overwrites the routing to that Output.
If you would like to record the specific input mix you've made, choose Loopback as a Mix destination. See Using your 18i8 3rd Gen's Loopback feature.
In the Routing tab, you can split stereo outputs to make two mono outputs. This lets you send them completely independent sources. You might want to use this if you're sending mono channels to outboard equipment, you have a mono speaker for testing your mixes.
To make an output pair two mono channels, click the stereo symbol in the box to the left.
The single stereo output expands to two mono outputs. Each output has its own independent Source dropdown box.
To revert to a stereo pair, click the mono symbol in the box to the left.
The speaker switching control in Focusrite Control 2's routing tab lets you turn enable the ability to switch between two different pairs of monitors.
To use speaker switching:
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Connect your main speakers to outputs 1–2 on your 18i8.
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Connect your alternate pair of speakers to outputs 3–4 on your 18i8.
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Enable the speaker switching control in Focusrite Control 2's Routing tab.
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Set the Source for Output 1 – 2 and Output 3 – 4 to the source you'd like to monitor, for example Playback 1–2 would be the main output from your DAW or computer.
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Click the Main/Alt buttons in Focusrite Control 2's Outputs panel to switch between the two pairs of monitors.
The Metering tab in Focusrite Control 2 lets you quickly see all meter levels for each input and output on your 18i8. The Metering tab is for looking at your levels only. You cannot interact with the meters.
The Metering tab has two parts. The top shows your Inputs. The bottom shows your Outputs.
Usually, you cannot see all meters in the Metering tab. Focusrite Control 2 lets you resize the window to show as many meters as your screen can fit.
Presets give you a way to quickly restore settings for your 18i8. You can change the settings to suit a particular session or set up and save this as a nameable preset. Next time you need to recall those settings, you can Load the preset.
Presets contain the following settings:
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Input settings per channel:
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Channel name
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+48V
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Inst
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Air mode
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Mixer settings
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Mix destination (Routed to →)
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Pan and balance
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Fader levels
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Mute and Solo states
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Note
Focusrite Control 2 saves presets to the computer you're using when you save it. However, your 18i8 3rd Gen keeps its settings for use with a different computer or in standalone mode.
To use Presets in Focusrite Control 2 you need to change some settings. Once you've set up Focusrite Control 2 with some settings you want to recall in future, you can save a preset. There are two ways to save a preset: saving a New Preset or Overwrite an existing preset.
Saving a New Preset
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Tweak the settings for your in Focusrite Control 2.
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Click the Presets button in the bottom left of Focusrite Control 2.
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Click the New Preset button.
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Type the preset name in the Preset Name field. Make sure the name is useful to find and reuse it later.
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Click Save Preset.
Once you've saved the preset, the preset name shows in the bottom left corner. If you change any setting while you're in that preset, the name shows an asterisk *.
When the name shows an asterisk * you can either create a new preset using the steps above, or you can overwrite the preset with the new changes.
Overwriting a Preset
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Tweak an existing preset so an asterisk * appears next to the Preset name.
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Click the Presets button in the bottom left of Focusrite Control 2.
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Hover your mouse over an existing preset and click on the three dots
to the right of the name.
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Click Overwrite.
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Before committing to overwriting a Preset, read the warning pop-up and click the Overwrite button to confirm overwriting the existing preset.
Caution
Overwriting a preset replaces the stored preset's settings with your current settings. You can't undo this change.
Loading a preset recalls a set of settings you've saved previously.
Renaming allows you to change a preset's name without changing the settings.
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Click the Presets button in the bottom left of Focusrite Control 2.
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Hover your mouse over an existing preset and click on the three dots
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Click Rename.
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Type the new name for the Preset in the Preset Name field.
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Click Rename Preset.
Caution
Deleting a Preset removes the preset from Focusrite Control 2. You cannot get it back and you can't undo this action. Deleting a Preset won't change your interface's settings.
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Click the Presets button in the bottom left of Focusrite Control 2.
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Hover your mouse over an existing preset and click on the three dots
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Click Delete.
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Before committing to deleting a Preset, read the warning pop-up and click the Delete button to confirm deleting the preset.
When you create Presets in Focusrite Control 2 they're either stored in Focusrite Control 2 or you can export the Presets to your computer. You can export these presets for many reasons, for example, as a backup, to duplicate your setup on another computer, or take them along to sessions with other artists or studios.
Once you've saved a Preset in Focusrite Control 2 (see Saving a Preset) you can Export it to your computer.
To export a Focusrite Control 2 Preset:
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Click the Presets button in the bottom left of Focusrite Control 2.
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Hover your mouse over an existing preset and click on the three dots
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Click Export.
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Choose a location to save the Preset.
By default, Focusrite Control 2 adds your presets to a Folder in your documents called Focusrite Control 2. You can choose to save it to another folder you'd like to.
To import a Focusrite Control 2 Preset:
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Click the Presets button in the bottom left of Focusrite Control 2.
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Click Import from Disk, or Import if you already have Presets.
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Find the location of the Preset you'd like to import.
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Select the preset in your file browser and click Open. You can select more than one Preset to import.
Click the ellipsis in Focusrite Control 2's top right corner and click
to open the Preferences page.
In the Preferences page, you have the tabs:
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Sample rate & clocking
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Device
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Application
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Remote Devices
Sample rate refers to the samples per second your computer is recording. The higher the value, the higher the quality; however, the higher the value, the more hard drive space your recordings take up.
Note
Some features are not available at quad-band sample rates (176.4 and 192kHz).
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Mix Sources
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Coaxial S/PDIF
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Optical S/PDIF
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ADAT Channels
Clock source sets how your Scarlett synchronises in your set-up. Usually you'll set this to Internal, but if you're using another device connected to the ADAT or S/PDIF inputs on your Scarlett you may need to change the clock source.
The Clock Sources available are:
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Internal
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S/PDIF
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ADAT
You can change your Scarlett's optical port to be able to receive either ADAT or optical S/PDIF signals.
The two options available are:
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ADAT - use the Optical In/Out ports to receive/send ADAT signals.
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At single-band sample rates, you can receive/send eight channels of ADAT.
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At dual-band sample rates, you can receive/send four channels of ADAT.
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At quad-band sample rates, the optical ports are disabled.
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Optical S/PDIF - use the Optical In/Out ports to receive/send optical S/PDIF signals.
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At single and dual-band sample rates, you can receive/send two channels of optical S/PDIF.
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At quad-band sample rates, the optical ports are disabled.
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A tick box to allow your 18i8 3rd Gen to remember the 48V (phantom power) status after you turn off and on your device.
By default, the halos around the gain controls on your 18i8's front panel follow the colour scheme:
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Green – good signal colour.
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Amber – pre-clip signal colour
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Red – clip signal colour.
The halo colours setting enables you to change the colour for each setting to suit your needs. For example, if you have colour vision deficiency and find it difficult to tell between colours.
The Main output control section enables you to select the outputs you want the front-panel Monitor dial to control.
The tick boxes let you add each output pair to the Monitor dial's control, the front Monitor dial then controls the level for each output pair you tick.
This is useful if you're using multiple sets of speakers connected to the outputs and want to control them all from the front-panel Monitor dial.
Device reset returns your Scarlett to its default, factory, settings. A reset erases all the current input, mixer, and sample rate settings.
To do a device reset:
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Click Reset to default settings.
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Read the “Are you sure?” pop-up to make sure you want to Reset your Scarlett.
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Click Reset.
Note
When you do a device reset, your presets are not deleted. So after you've factory reset your device, you can reload any previous settings you've saved as a Preset.
The Mixer metering setting allows you to change how the meters in the Mixer tab behave:
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Pre-fade – The meters always show the signal level, regardless of the fader position.
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Post-fade – The meters show the level after the fader. This mode is more representative of what you hear in the mix.
The clip reset timer lets you choose how long, in seconds, the meter's clip indicators stay on before resetting.
Use this tick box to opt into usage analytics to help us make Focusrite Control 2 better. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information.
To accompany Focusrite Control 2 we've created the Focusrite Control 2 mobile app.
The mobile app lets you connect mobile devices on the same Wi-Fi® network as your computer to control and view Focusrite Control 2.
The remote devices tab lets you manage any phones or tablets you've previously connected to Focusrite Control 2.
The Focusrite Control 2 mobile app runs on Android and iOS, and you can download it from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store by clinking on this link or scanning the QR code on your mobile device:
fc2.focusrite.com/mobile/download
Note
The Focusrite Control 2 mobile app can only control the Focusrite Control 2 when it's running on your computer.
It's not possible to use the mobile app to control your Scarlett directly.
We update Focusrite Control 2 occasionally with new features and improvements to make sure you are getting the most from your 18i8 3rd Gen.
There are two ways to make sure you have the latest Focusrite Control 2 version:
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Use the updater in Focusrite Control 2:
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Open Focusrite Control 2.
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There are two options in the Focusrite Control 2.
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If an update is available, a dialogue window automatically appears. Click to start the update.
Windows
macOS
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To check you are using the latest version, click the ellipses
in Focusrite Control 2's top right corner and click .
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Click (Windows) or (macOS) in the prompt that appears after you've downloaded the update.
On macOS Focusrite Control 2 restarts, and it's now up -to-date. For Windows, please see the next steps.
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Click when asked, “Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?”.
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Follow the instructions in the Focusrite Control 2 Installation window.
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Click Finish at the end of the installation. Focusrite Control 2 reopens, and it is now up-to-date.
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Install Focusrite Control 2 from our Downloads page:
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Go to the Focusrite downloads website:
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Find your Scarlett on the Downloads website.
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Download Focusrite Control 2 for your operating system (Windows or Mac).
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Open the Downloads folder on your computer and double-click the Focusrite Control 2 installer.
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Follow the on-screen instructions to install Focusrite Control 2.
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If it’s not already, connect your Scarlett interface to your computer with the USB cable.
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Open Focusrite Control 2 and it detects your automatically.
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We occasionally update your 18i8 3rd Gen's firmware with new features and improvements, to make sure you are getting the most from your Scarlett. Focusrite Control 2 updates your 18i8 3rd Gen's firmware.
To update your 18i8:
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Open Focusrite Control 2.
If there is an update available, Focusrite Control 2 tells you when you open it.
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Click .
Focusrite Control 2 starts the update, do not disconnect your 18i8 3rd Gen while the update is in progress.
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Click after the update has finished.
Your 18i8 3rd Gen is now up-to-date, and you can continue to use it as normal.