Support → Loopback

Instructions for: AirfoilAudio HijackLoopbackPiezoSoundSource

Uninstalling ACE with Loopback

The ACE component makes it possible for Loopback to capture audio on your Mac. If you wish to uninstall ACE, Loopback can do so with a built-in command. Read on for more details.

When Loopback is first launched, it will install both the ACE audio capture component needed to pull in audio, and a background component which keeps its virtual audio devices available at all times, even if the main Loopback app isn’t running.

If you wish to uninstall and remove Loopback completely, be sure to use the Uninstall ACE option in the Loopback menu of the app itself. If you instead just delete the Loopback application from your Mac without running the uninstaller, Loopback's virtual devices will remain.

If you've already deleted the Loopback application and are attempting to remove its virtual devices, you'll need to re-download Loopback from this link. Open Loopback, then run the Uninstall ACE option in the Loopback menu.

Once you've completed the steps in the uninstaller process, all Loopback devices on your system will be removed and the software will be fully uninstalled. You can then delete Loopback from your Mac.

If you use other products powered by ACE, you’ll receive a warning during the uninstallation process:

If you wish to remove ACE anyway, complete the process by clicking the Uninstall Anyway button. If you later run an application which requires ACE, it will need to be reinstalled.

Manually delete the ACE component files

If you wish, it’s also possible to delete ACE manually from the Finder, using these steps:

1. Quit any and all apps powered by ACE.

2. In the Finder, select the Go to Folder… command from the Go menu.

3. In the folder field, enter the following location:
   /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL/

4. Press Enter (or click the Go button on older versions of MacOS). In the window which appears, you'll see the ACE.driver folder.

5. Select that folder, and move it to the Trash.

6. Confirm this action in the Finder when prompted.

7. Restart your Mac.

Removing ACE’s background items

If you manually remove ACE from the Finder, the background items that keep our component functional for Loopback will also need to be deleted. You can find the files here on your Mac:

• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.rogueamoeba.loopbackd.plist
• /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.rogueamoeba.aceagent.plist
• /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.rogueamoeba.acetool.plist

Once your Mac has been restarted, ACE will be fully removed.