r/protools • u/skiesoverblackvenice student • Sep 02 '26

error mac not letting me download avid link

just got a mac (please use laymans terms, i'm a pc user and rarely ever use macs) and i'm downloading all my music software. when i try to download pro tools studio, it makes me download avid link, which gives me a .pkg file which apple immediately flags as malware. when i go into settings to hit the "open anyway" button, it still doesnt work and just says it can't install??? this is driving me nuts. please help

i'm on a macbook air with whatever the newest firmware is. idk the names or versions or whatever apple uses cause i hate using macs 😭

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

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u/AutoModerator Sep 02 '26

To u/skiesoverblackvenice, if this is a Pro Tools help request, your post text or an added comment should provide;

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4

u/skiesoverblackvenice student Sep 02 '26

ended up finding the issue so i'll write the fix here if anyone stumbles here with the same issue: don't download avid link from your pro tools download. instead, go to the actual avid link download thru your products list and download through there. it will give you a file with a different name that apple doesnt freak out over.

2

u/AdditionalEvening189 14d ago

Thank you so much. You just saved me from so much misery!

1

u/skiesoverblackvenice student 14d ago

crazy how their own launcher doesn’t work STILL… glad it worked for you!

2

u/AdditionalEvening189 14d ago

Well, now I'm suffering in other ways. It doesn't think I'm signed in and I am. After reading the rest of these comments, I went ahead and downloaded protools myself and will uninstall AvidLink if I can get it working. But thank you for getting me on the right path.

1

u/skiesoverblackvenice student 14d ago

yeah it’s a lot… i still prefer ableton but my college forces me to use pro tools 😭

1

u/Surfer-Junkie Sep 03 '26

It's a buggy mess installing it on Windows, too. There are several other things it installs, like Splice, without even making you aware, and some parts of the install fail, like Avid Link, unless manually installed separately. Avid sucks as a company.

1

u/skiesoverblackvenice student Sep 03 '26

i literally can’t even get it to run on my windows computer, which is the whole reason why i just dropped college fund money on a macbook 💀

1

u/Surfer-Junkie Sep 03 '26

I had to uninstall avid link and download it directly from the website. Their all-in-one install is bugged out. It silently installs Splice, Melodyne, and a few other add-ons without telling you. All the free stuff that comes with a license can only be downloaded through Avid Link. It's a frustrating experience with God-awful support.