Corsair iCUE (MacOS) Now Available as Open Beta!

[blazinsmokey 31]

TLDR, a lot of Corsair HID peripherals are now supported. I know there were other solutions like CKB-Next that got some things working but now we have a more streamlined experience. I hope this was the proper place to post this.

 

Link below and the post it refers to.

http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?p=982647#post982647

 

 

Hi everyone,

It has been a long time coming but I am happy to finally announce the beginning of our OPEN BETA for iCUE on MacOS! 

Link: http://downloads.corsair.com/Files/CUE/iCUE-3.10.125-release.dmg

 

Some of you may remember that I was beta testing a macOS version of CUE2 about a year ago. Since we were planning to launch iCUE in early 2018, I made the hard decision to stop development on macOS for CUE2 because I did not want two different experiences on both platforms. We used this time to accomplish a few tasks:

1.) Ensure that almost all of our CUE2 products will be supported on the macOS platform.
2.) Complete iCUE for Windows and then port it over to macOS.
3.) Validate it for MacOS on desktop and laptop models to ensure a clean transition.

 

The difficulty of implementing iCUE on macOS wasn’t so much the software but the firmware. Due to architectural changes, existing firmware on our devices would not properly be detected in macOS iCUE. Those who tested CUE2 would be familiar with this issue. To resolve this problem, we had to implement a new protocol for firmware. This means that most users will have to update the devices on their Windows machine first, if you have a legacy product, while users with our newest keyboard (K68 RGB and newer) can actually use their devices out of the box without any update. For reference, here are all of the devices that will support iCUE without requiring a firmware update:

K68 RGB
K70 RGB MK.2 SE
K70 RGB MK.2/RAPIDFIRE
K70 RGB MK.2 LP
Strafe RGB MK.2 
M65 RGB Elite
M65 PRO RGB
K70 RGB LUX
K70 RGB RAPIDFIRE
SCIMITAR PRO
STRAFE RGB
HARPOON RGB
All VOID headsets (except Stereo)
All HS headsets (except Stereo)
ST100
MM800 (All versions)

 

To prevent any potential issues with deploying firmware updates, we decided to stagger out firmware releases this time in batches for macOS compatibility. Therefore, the first batch of legacy products that will support macOS will be the following and are live already:

K95 RGB PLATINUM
K55 RGB
K63 WIRELESS/SE
DARK CORE RGB/SE

 

Users should use iCUE (Windows) to update their hardware. You will know you’re on the proper firmware if you are on version 3.XX for the legacy devices (STRAFE MK.2 and K68 RGB will show 1.XX but already use the new protocol). For users who don’t have an access to a Windows machine, we are in the process of documenting how to do a manual firmware update with a Mac so you can do the update without iCUE. However, I advise using iCUE is the best method when possible. 

I hope you all enjoy iCUE on a new platform as we’ve been working on this for more than a year and a half. We will start to deploy more and more firmware updates so if your product isn’t support yet, it will be by sometime in December. If any of you have any questions, feel free to PM me anytime. And as always, thank you for your support with our CORSAIR products!

 

Regards,
James

 

FAQ:

1.) What products are supported in iCUE for macOS?
iCUE for macOS will only support HID products (keyboards, mice, headset, headset stand, and mousepads).

2.) Why does iCUE for macOS not support DIY products?
We use Windows Service to control DIY products and we also use CPUID SDK to do so. Unfortunately, neither of these are compatible with macOS at this time. We are looking at alternative methods but as most people are using macbooks and mac desktops, we don’t think there is a strong enough demand yet to support DIY with users who have Hackintosh’s. However, we are carefully monitoring feedback as well as investigating how to improve the overall experience when it comes to device support.

3.) Is it possible to update firmware on iCUE macOS in the future?
Yes but we have not uploaded any firmware for this platform yet. We will do so soon so we can continually monitor people’s experiences during the open beta.

4.) Is there anything missing from iCUE macOS from Windows besides device support?
We currently support all the features (Actions, Lighting Effects, Surface Calibration, Performance, Hardware Playback, Surround Sound, etc.) but one known issue is OSD. We are still working on that for macOS but do not have an ETA for now. However, all the main features of iCUE supported with your peripheral are available now.

5.) Will we be able to update iCUE versions on macOS?
Yes, when we deploy a new version on the mac, you’ll be prompted to update it through the software just like we do on Windows.

6.) Is there anything special I need to do in macOS?
If you want key repeat enabled in macOS, you will need to enable this through the terminal.
This is the command to enable press and hold:

Enable: defaults write -g ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool true <return>

Disable: defaults write -g ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool false <return>

(Thanks Manofclay)

After you enable this, you will need to restart your system.

7.) Is this an official release for macOS?
No, this is just an Open Beta so we can gather bugs and feedback. However, this can be shared with anyone you desire.

8.) What version of macOS does this support?
We are supporting High Sierra and newer but we recommend using the latest if possible.

 

[surfinchina 201]

 

4 hours ago, blazinsmokey said:

TLDR, a lot of Corsair HID peripherals are now supported. I know there were other solutions like CKB-Next that got some things working but now we have a more streamlined experience. I hope this was the proper place to post this.

Thanks blazin!

I was running the old CUE as an alpha / beta for ages but they never released it.

This one works well on my K95 without the latest firmware update, although I did update it some time ago to V 3.0.5. 

As you can see it picked up my old macro key assignments just fine.

Edited December 13, 2018 by surfinchina

[SavageAUS 668]

Awesome, installing now.

[mitch_de 294]

I perhaps plan to buy an K55 RGB Keyboard - is not expensive.

Do i undertstand right, that this keyboard needs an update of his firmware using windows - i have on an extra HD, update with win native so is available for me.?

 

[SavageAUS 668]

I perhaps plan to buy an K55 RGB Keyboard - is not expensive.
Do i undertstand right, that this keyboard needs an update of his firmware using windows - i have on an extra HD, update with win native so is available for me.?
 

I would try with macOS first to update the firmware and if that doesn’t work then yes you will need windows to update the firmware to make it compatible with icue for macOS.


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[tikizondo94 99]

JUST FREAKING AWESOME!!! Thank you!! Loving it@!

[Pavo 994]

I have been using CUE for Mac for quite some time now and it has ran pretty good, this seems very buggy

[mitch_de 294]

Hi, i ordered K55 RGB and use it now with High Sierra + that beta app.

Firmware was newest, ao no update needed.

Question:

I set the keyboard light to an fixed, dimmed colour. Worked!

But, only if ICUE Mac app stay running in background ... app takes constant 5% cpu power, not good.

If i close icue app, keyboard ligth goes back to standard multi colour and shifts that colours... i dont like

Any way to set colour that it stays fixed with that settings?

 

[blazinsmokey 31]

On 12/15/2018 at 5:17 AM, mitch_de said:

Hi, i ordered K55 RGB and use it now with High Sierra + that beta app.

Firmware was newest, ao no update needed.

Question:

I set the keyboard light to an fixed, dimmed colour. Worked!

But, only if ICUE Mac app stay running in background ... app takes constant 5% cpu power, not good.

If i close icue app, keyboard ligth goes back to standard multi colour and shifts that colours... i dont like

Any way to set colour that it stays fixed with that settings?

 

 

I think you can save static light schemes to your device. Check the screenshot.

[Moviemakergr 218]

Not working with RGB ram's ..

[mitch_de 294]

What do you mean with not working RGB rams?

Thanks for hint with saving static light setting - i will try. I really dont like that multi colour lights show when ICUE didnt run

 

[SavageAUS 668]

Not working with RGB ram's ..

1.) What products are supported in iCUE for macOS?
iCUE for macOS will only support HID products (keyboards, mice, headset, headset stand, and mousepads).


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[Moviemakergr 218]

7 hours ago, SavageAUS said:

 

1.) What products are supported in iCUE for macOS?
iCUE for macOS will only support HID products (keyboards, mice, headset, headset stand, and mousepads).


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iCue on Windows works with all RGB Corsair products.. with Hydrocooler and RGB Ram's too.

[SavageAUS 668]

iCue on Windows works with all RGB Corsair products.. with Hydrocooler and RGB Ram's too.

Yes but what I wrote is what Corsair wrote about what they are supporting on macOS. I have a Corsair commander pro plus rgb fans and a aio cooler and psu all from Corsair that won’t be supported on macOS.

 

 

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[sld87 8]

Thanks for the link guys, much apprecaited!