Installing Roon

Installing Roon

Operating Systems covered in this article:

  1. macOS
  2. Windows
  3. Linux
  4. iOS and Android

Minimum Requirements

See the FAQ: What are the minimum requirements? for more information about the hardware and software platforms supported by Roon.

Installing Roon on macOS

  1. Download the .dmg (Disk image) file from our downloads page. See Software Packages if you're not sure what to grab
  2. Open the .dmg file by double-clicking it
  3. In the Disk Image window, drag the Roon icon into the Applications folder
  4. Navigate to your Applications folder in Finder, and double click Roon to launch it. If Roon doesn't launch, try right-clicking it and selecting Open
  5. Eject the Disk Image in Finder



Installation Errors on macOS

On occasion, Roon may not have the correct permissions to run on macOS. If you attempt to launch Roon and the icon bounces but Roon never opens, your permissions may not be set up correctly. To fix this, first make sure Roon is not running. Then, you'll need to open Terminal like this:



Then, just copy this command (CMD+C) and then paste it into the terminal window (CMD+V):

sudo chown $(whoami) ~ ~/Library; chmod u+rwx ~/ ~/Library

At this point you'll be asked to type in your password -- note that you may not see anything as you type. That's expected, so just type the password correctly, hit enter, and you're done! Try to run Roon again, and let us know how it goes.

If you're still having issues, it may be related to macOS's enabled fonts. Roon uses Arial, which is included with OS X so it should always be available, but if it is not enabled, macOS prevents Roon from accessing the font and the app can't launch. To fix the issue, open the application "Font Book" on your Mac. When you open "Font Book" you'll notice that some fonts or styles are grayed out and say "Off", which prevents applications from accessing those fonts. Right-click Arial in the list, and click Enable. This will give Roon access to Arial and your next launch should be successful.

If Roon still won't launch on macOS, login to our Community Site using your Roon account and let us know the details of your situation.

Firewall Configuration on macOS

Roon should be able to connect with your firewall enabled, but some users have reported issues that we’ve traced to their firewall. Turning off your firewall is a good way to start troubleshooting if you're having problems running Roon with a remote, and you’ll want to turn it off on both sides -- the computer running your main Roon install, and the computer running your remote. There are instructions for how to do that on OS X here.

Media Keys on macOS

macOS Mojave changed some details about how permissions work. If you would like to continue using media keys on your keyboard to control Roon, you need to enable that by clicking "Grant Permissions" in Settings->Setup, and then following the prompts. Note that this step is now required even on older versions of macOS.

Installing Roon on Windows

  1. Download the .exe file from our downloads page. See Software packages if you're not sure what to grab
  2. Open the .exe file by double-clicking it
  3. Follow the on-screen instructions to install Roon

32-bit vs 64-bit

Roon can run as a 64-bit application on both Windows and OS X. This means better performance, particularly for members with larger collections.

For OS X users Roon will always run in 64-bit mode, as will RoonServer.

Windows users will still be able to run Roon as a 32-bit app, but most users will want to switch over to 64-bit versions of Roon and RoonServer, especially with collections over 100,000 tracks.

OS X users will run the 64-bit version of Roon (or RoonServer) automatically

Windows users - Roon can switch Roon to 64 bit by grabbing the appropriate installers from our Downloads page. Then quit Roon, run the installer, and you're all set!

Windows users - RoonServer can also switch to 64 bit by grabbing the appropriate installers from our Roon Server FAQ page. Quit Roon Server, run the installer, and you're set. You can confirm you're running the 64-bit version of Roon or RoonServer by visiting the About page, accessible from Settings. 

Installation Errors on Windows

If you're getting an error like "OpenGL 3.0 Required" when you try to launch Roon on Windows, then it's possible your graphics card drivers are out of date, or your graphics card is not powerful enough to run Roon. Roon requires OpenGL 3.0, but you can always install Roon Server from our downloads page and control Roon remotely from your phone, tablet, or another PC that has OpenGL 3.0. If Roon won't launch at all on Windows, login at our Community Site using your Roon account and let us know the details of your situation.

Firewall Configuration on Windows

Roon should be able to connect with your firewall enabled, but some users have reported issues that we’ve traced to their firewall. Turning off your firewall is a good way to start troubleshooting if you're having problems running Roon with a remote, and you’ll want to turn it off on both sides -- the computer running your main Roon install, and the computer running your remote. There are instructions for how to do that on Windows here.

When I minimize Roon, all I see is a blank screen?

This is a Windows-specific issue related to a bug in certain Intel drivers, and can even happen in programs as ubiquitous as Excel. You can confirm what video card(s) your computer has by visiting Device Manager on your PC, then clicking the Display Adapters dropdown.

You can often resolve this issue by finding the latest drivers for your video card and manually installing them. If your PC has a standard Intel HD GPU and another Nvidia or Radeon card, you may also be able to resolve this issue by configuring Roon to use your Nvidia or Radeon card instead of the Intel. If you have an Nvidia card you can do so with these steps:
  1. Press the Windows key and search for "NVIDIA Control Panel" and open the control panel
  2. Under 3D settings in the sidebar, click 'Manage 3D Settings'
  3. In the Program Settings tab, click 'Add' under option number 1 'Select a program to customize'
  4. Click Browse, then navigate to `C:\Users\`[your username]`\AppData\Local\Roon\Application`, and select Roon
  5. Press 'Apply' and ensure Roon has been added
  6. Restart Roon
If you have a Radeon card you can follow these steps:
  1. Press the Windows key and search for "AMD Radeon Settings" and open the control center
  2. Click the Gaming button
  3.  Click the Add button and select "Browse"
  4. Navigate to `C:\Users\`[your username]`\AppData\Local\Roon\Application`, and select Roon
  5. Click Open. You will see a Roon profile has been created
  6. Click on the Roon profile button (not on the vertical ellipsis section). This opens the custom graphics settings for Roon
  7. Turn the "OpenGL Triple Buffering" setting ON
  8. Restart Roon

Installing Roon on Windows Server (Not Recommended) 

Dependencies

Roon requires certain codecs to be installed on your system. Without these codecs, Roon can have trouble importing or playing certain kinds of files, which can cause instability. 

For this kind of setup we often find that a headless Roon OS or Linux install will work much better. 

Installing Roon On Linux

Roon Server is available on Linux!  We love Linux here at Roon. It's fast, powerful, and endlessly customizable. 

Visit our Linux Installation guide for more information. 

Installing Roon on iOS and Android 

Roon is available on both iOS and Android in the App Store and Google Play stores respectively. 

For more information on what iOS and Android devices are supported, visit these links: 


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