Red Range - Windows Compatibility Information

As of RedNet Control 2.8 the Red Range (Red 4Pre/8Pre/8Line/16Line) of Thunderbolt interfaces is now compatible with Windows systems that meet the following requirements:

Requirements:

- Computer with Thunderbolt 3 port.

• Thunderbolt 1 and 2 systems are not supported but may work.
• Thunderbolt 4 systems are not officially supported as accessories built to Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 specifications are not supported by Thunderbolt 4 PCs therefore we cannot recommend them for use with the Red4Pre or Red8Pre as both units are Thunderbolt 2 devices and therefore are unlikely to function. The Red8Line and Red16Line are both Thunderbolt 3 units and should function. 

- Windows 10/11 64-bit operating system

- Intel processor*

- Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter**

- Configured as per our optimisation and troubleshooting steps outlined in this article

- The latest version of RedNet Control (find your product in our Downloads section and check the “Software” tab)

The following systems have been seen to work well with all Red devices:

Model	Processor	Thunderbolt Controller
Dell XPS 15	9th Gen Intel i7	1575 - Alpine Ridge 2C 2015
Lenovo P70	6th Gen Intel i7	1577 - Alpine Ridge 4C 2015
Molten Music ASUS X-99	5th Gen Intel i7	1577 - Alpine Ridge 4C 2015
Dell XPS 13 9370	8th Gen Intel i7	15D2 - Alpine Ridge 4C 2016
ASUS Z390A + ThunderboltEX 3 card	9th Gen Intel i5	15D2 - Alpine Ridge 4C 2016
Dell Precision 7530	8th Gen Intel i7	15EB - Titan Ridge 4C 2018

On particular systems we have seen an issue that can sometimes cause short bursts of output-only glitches with Red 4Pre/8Pre only (Red 8Line/16Line are unaffected).

Systems that have exhibited playback problems with Red 4Pre/8Pre are:

Model	Processor	Thunderbolt Controller
Intel NUC (NUC8i5BEK)	8th Gen Intel i5	15D9 - Alpine Ridge 2C 2016
Intel NUC (BXNUC10i7FNK)	10th Gen Intel i7	15E8 - Titan Ridge 2C 2018
HP ZBook 15 2020	8th Gen Intel i7	15E8 - Titan Ridge 2C 2018

If you’re unsure as to what Thunderbolt Controller chipset your machine has then you can check by:

- Navigating to Device Manager (right-click the Windows icon and select "Device Manager")

- Expand "System Devices"

- Locate the "Thunderbolt Controller" in this section:

If your computer has one of the potentially problematic Thunderbolt Controllers listed above and you encounter sporadic output glitching then please Contact Technical Support and we can run a scan to determine whether the issue is caused by the Thunderbolt implementation on your computer or by something else (in which case we can troubleshoot). Please note that the aforementioned “scan” can only be run when a Focusrite Red Thunderbolt interface is connected to the computer in question.

* Initial testing of the performance of our Thunderbolt devices on any Windows systems with AMD processors has revealed some potential problems which we are investigating. It's entirely possible that these problems have nothing to do with our Thunderbolt implementation and therefore cannot be solved by us. This being the case, we currently do not support or recommend AMD-based Thunderbolt systems.

** For Red 4Pre and Red 8Pre devices. Not required for Red 8Line or Red 16Line as they’re Thunderbolt 3 devices and therefore don’t need an adapter to be connected to a Thunderbolt 3 host computer.

We’ve seen differing performance between the various Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapters on the market depending on what particular computer they’re used in conjunction with. On some systems an adapter will allow for “hot-plugging” (connecting/disconnecting the Focusrite interface while the computer is switched on), on other systems the same adapter does not allow for this.

This being the case, we can’t recommend a specific adapter. All we can advise is trying one adapter (e.g. the Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter) and, if that doesn’t support hot-plugging either remember to avoid hot-plugging entirely, or try a different adapter (e.g. the Startech or Cable Matters Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapters).