Dante device not showing up in Dante Controller

1. Confirm it's a discovery problem, not a power problem

Check the device's own status LEDs and its web UI (if it has one) on its management port. If the device is booted and healthy but absent from Dante Controller, you have a discovery/mDNS problem — keep going. If it's dark, it's power or PoE, not Dante.

2. Put your computer on the same subnet and switch

Dante discovery uses mDNS (multicast). If your laptop running Dante Controller is on a different VLAN or subnet than the device, discovery packets won't cross without an mDNS reflector configured. The fastest test: plug your laptop directly into the same switch (same VLAN) as the missing device.

3. Check the switch: IGMP snooping needs a querier

1. 1If IGMP snooping is enabled on the switch (it usually should be for Dante), there MUST be an active IGMP querier on that VLAN — otherwise multicast, including discovery, gets pruned and devices disappear intermittently.
2. 2Verify one switch (or the L3 gateway) is elected querier for the audio VLAN.
3. 3As a diagnostic only, temporarily disable IGMP snooping on a small test switch — if the device reappears, your querier/snooping config is the culprit.

4. Look for a clocking or subnet mismatch

Dante devices must share a subnet and see a valid PTP clock. A device with a static IP on the wrong subnet, or one stuck as its own clock leader on an isolated segment, may partially appear or flap. Confirm all devices are in the same IP range and that one clean PTP leader exists.

5. Rule out a second NIC or VPN on your computer

Dante Controller binds to one interface. If your laptop has Wi-Fi, a VPN, or a second Ethernet adapter active, Controller may be listening on the wrong one. Disable everything except the wired NIC on the audio network and relaunch.