Audio Capture Engine, generally referred to as “ACE”, is Rogue Amoeba's powerful audio handling component for macOS.
The installation of Audiolens requires some extra steps in order to allow ACE to capture audio.
On this page, we detail the full, step-by-step sequence needed to install ACE on macOS Big Sur, Monterey and Ventura, on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. This is a one-time process, and you'll be up and running in just a few minutes.
Step by Step Instructions:
1. During Audiolens installation, you will see a System Extension Blocked dialog. Click the Open Security Preferences button to open the Security & Privacy System Preferences > General tab.
2. Click the lock in the bottom left corner of System Preferences and enter your admin password to make changes to System Preferences.
3. Click the Allow button next to the “System software from developer “Rogue Amoeba Software, LLC” was blocked from loading” message.
4. Click Restart in the prompt that appears. The system extension will be enabled after restarting your Mac.
1. During Audiolens installation, you will see a System Extension Blocked dialog. Click the Open System Settings button to open the Privacy & Security System Settings > Security section.
2. Click the Enable System Extensions… button below “Your current security settings prevent the installation of system extensions”.
3. Enter your admin account password when prompted and click Unlock.
4. Click the Restart button in System Settings under the “New system extensions require a restart before they can be used” message. The system extension will be enabled after restarting your Mac.
1. During Audiolens installation you will see a System Extension Blocked dialog. Click Open System Preferences to open the Security & Privacy System Preferences > General tab.
2. Click the lock in the bottom left corner of System Preferences and enter your password to make changes.
3. Click the Enable System Extensions… button next to the “Your current security settings prevent the installation of system extensions” message.
4. Click Shutdown in the prompt that appears.
5. Boot into macOS Recovery mode: hold the power or Touch ID button down until you see “Loading startup options…” appear on the screen.
6. In the macOS Recovery window, choose your admin user account and click Next. Enter your password when prompted.
7. In the System Startup Utility window, select the icon for the volume you installed Audiolens on and click the Security Policy… button.
Note: If the System Startup Utility window doesn’t open by default, go to the Utilities menu in the menu bar and open it from there.
8. In the Startup Security Utility window: Select Reduced Security and check the “Allow user management of kernel extensions from identified developers” option and click OK.
9. Enter your admin password in the prompt.
10. Open the Apple menu and select Restart to reboot your Mac with the new Security Policy settings applied.
11. After logging into your account, you will see a System Extension Blocked dialog, click Open System Preferences in this dialog.
12. Click the lock icon in System Preferences and enter your admin password.
13. Click Allow under the System software blocked message: “System software from developer Rogue Amoeba Software, Inc was blocked from loading.”
14. Click Restart in the dialog that appears. The extension will be enabled the next time you login.
Note: In rare instances, a bug in macOS 11 prevents System Preferences from offering the expected option. If you encounter this issue, follow our troubleshooting steps in this article.
Additional Details on M Chip Installation:
• The “Reduced Security” setting still provides your Mac with powerful security, only allowing operating systems approved by Apple to run.
• ACE is actually a standard audio plug-in, not a kernel extension. However, it receives enhanced privileges to access your system's audio, so Apple uses their existing kernel extension verification system on macOS 11 and above to allow ACE to load.
1. During Audiolens installation you will see a ‘System Extension Blocked’ dialog. Click Open System Settings to open Privacy & Security System Settings > Security section.
2. Click the Enable System Extensions… button below the “Your current security settings prevent the installation of system extensions” message.
3. Enter your administrator password if prompted to unlock System Settings.
4. Click Shutdown in the “To enable system extensions…” dialog.
5. Boot into the macOS Recovery environment: hold the power or Touch ID button down until you see “Loading startup options…” appear on the screen.
6. In the macOS Recovery screen, select the icon labeled Options and click Continue.
7. * For FileVault Users only: select your admin user account, click Next and enter the admin account password when prompted.
8. In the menu bar at the top of the screen, go to the Utilities menu and select Startup Security Utility.
9. * For FileVault Users Only: Select the volume you installed Audiolens on in the Startup Security Utility window and click Unlock… in the bottom right. Enter your admin account credentials when prompted.
10. In the Startup Security Utility window, select the volume you installed Audiolens on and click the Security Policy… button in the bottom right.
11. Adjust the settings in the Startup Security Utility window:
Select Reduced Security, Check the “Allow user management of kernel extensions from identified developers” box, Click OK.
12. Enter your admin password in the prompt to confirm the change.
13. Open the Apple menu and select Restart to restart and login to your Mac.
14. After restarting and logging into your account, a System Extension Blocked dialog will appear. Click the Open System Settings button.
15. In System Settings, click Allow under “System software from developer “Rogue Amoeba Software, Inc” was blocked from loading.”
16. Enter your admin password twice when prompted. Once to unlock changes to System Settings, and again to confirm allowing the blocked extension.
17. Click Restart in System Settings under the “New system extensions require a restart before they can be used” message. After restarting the system extension will be enabled.
Additional Details on M Chip Installation:
• The “Reduced Security” setting still provides your Mac with powerful security, only allowing operating systems approved by Apple to run.
• ACE is actually a standard audio plug-in, not a kernel extension. However, it receives enhanced privileges to access your system's audio, so Apple uses their existing kernel extension verification system on MacOS 11 and above to allow ACE to load.
1. Install Loopback:
2. Uninstall ACE using Loopback:
https://rogueamoeba.com/support/knowledgebase/?showArticle=ACE-Uninstall&product=Loopback
3. Uninstall Loopback if desired using the link from step 1: