Microsoft has finally ushered in the era of MIDI 2.0 for Windows 11, more than a year after first teasing the functionality for Windows Insiders.
In addition to a raft of enhancements, Microsoft has addressed several key user pain points in this release: allowing multiple applications to use the same MIDI device and port simultaneously, and permitting users to control the names assigned to MIDI ports.
MIDI 1.0 dates back to 1983, and official support appeared with Windows 3.1, although extensions were available in earlier versions. MIDI 2.0 dates to 2020, and, according to Microsoft, key updates to the protocol specification were later made to support better discovery and fallback.
At its core, it is a communication protocol to connect electronic musical instruments and computers.
Pete Brown, principal software engineer at Microsoft, has talked about the technology for years, and a preview arrived on February 5, 2025, for Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel.
At the time of the preview, a musician pal of The Register enthused, “Having inbox MIDI 1.0 and 2.0 drivers means the end of badly written OEM drivers. The new multi-client MIDI implementation ensures you’re no longer locked into a single application, allowing for custom MIDI routing while still using a DAW.”
The possibilities offered by MIDI 2.0 were also lauded – faster connection speeds and two-way communication were singled out for particular praise.
That said, backwards compatibility with MIDI 1.0 is critical. The old usbaudio.sys driver has been retained, and Microsoft has “fixed some small bugs in it to make it even better.” A newer USB MIDI 2.0 class driver, usbmidi2.sys, is also present, although the Windows behemoth noted:
“By default, most MIDI 1.0 devices will continue to use the older driver, to ensure compatibility, but can be manually assigned to the new driver if/when desired.”
The post by Brown and Gary Daniels marks a refreshing change for Microsoft, as it does not mention Copilot or AI at all. As such, there is unlikely to be a perky assistant helpfully asking, “It looks like you’re trying to make some sweet, sweet music. Do you want some help with that?” ®