Guides
The PlayStation Access Controller on a Mac
Sony's Access Controller is a flat, round pad with eight large swappable buttons, a joystick that can be mounted on either side at any height, and four 3.5 mm ports for external switches. It was designed for the PlayStation 5, but it pairs with a Mac like any other PlayStation controller, and with InputConfig it becomes a full mouse, a keyboard's most used keys, and a game controller. This is the complete setup, including the one thing that catches almost everyone: the profile stored on the controller itself.
Steps
- Pair the Access Controller with the Mac over Bluetooth by holding the PS button and the profile button together until the light flashes, or connect it by USB-C.
- If it appears in InputConfig but no button registers, press the profile button to cycle profiles until one sends input, or set a profile up on a PS5 with every button assigned.
- Download the Access Controller Desktop preset from this page and open it with InputConfig.
- Activate it and try the stick, the click button, and the hold-to-right-click.
- Plug any external switches into the expansion ports and rebind rows to them with Scan.
- Put Emergency Stop on the switch that is easiest to reach.
- For driving games, download the Access Controller Driving preset and read the one-stick driving section.
Pairing and the profile trap
Pairing is ordinary: System Settings, Bluetooth, hold PS and the profile button until the light bar flashes, click Connect. The sidebar shows it, usually labelled as a DualSense with 8 buttons and 2 axes, which is cosmetic.
Then the trap. The controller holds up to three profiles on the device, and a profile made on a PS5 can leave buttons unassigned. Unassigned buttons transmit nothing, to a PS5 or to a Mac. If Scan sees nothing when a button is pressed, cycle the profile button and try again after each switch. If no profile works, connect the controller to a PS5 once, assign every button in its Access Controller settings (or restore the default profile), and bring it back to the Mac. Keep one profile fully assigned for Mac use and leave it alone. The short version of this is on its own page.
What the Mac sees
Eight buttons, which macOS reports as the standard face and shoulder buttons of a PlayStation pad according to the active profile, plus the PS button and the profile button. The Live Visualizer shows which physical button is which as you press them, and Scan makes the numbering irrelevant: press Scan on a row, press the button, done. The joystick is two axes, left-right and up-down, and it can be pressed as a stick click. Anything plugged into the four expansion ports appears as a button too. A second Access Controller, paired at the same time, gets its own slot and doubles everything.
The desktop layout
The Access Controller Desktop preset assumes the stick is where the person can use it best and the buttons are within reach of a hand, a fist, a chin, or a foot. It gives every button more than one job so that eight is enough. The rows are built on buttons 0 to 7; after opening it, press Scan on any row and press the physical button you want for that job.
| Control | Press | Hold (about half a second) | Double press |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stick | Pointer, Smooth curve, wide deadzone | ||
| Stick click | Toggle drag (holds the mouse button until pressed again) | ||
| Button 0 | Click | Right click | |
| Button 1 | Scroll down | Page Down | |
| Button 2 | Return | Escape | |
| Button 3 | Scroll up | Page Up | |
| Button 4 | Go back (Command bracket) | Go forward | |
| Button 5 | Start Dictation | Speak Selection | |
| Button 6 | Tab | Shift Tab | |
| Button 7 | Spotlight | Mission Control | Lock screen |
Hold thresholds are 600 ms and double-tap windows 400 ms, longer than the defaults, because the Access Controller's buttons are large and slow to press. Shorten them in the row's Options once you know the person's timing. Every row speaks its name when Speak is switched on, which is worth doing for the first week.
External switches
Any 3.5 mm accessibility switch, a large button, a sip-and-puff switch, a foot pedal, plugs into the expansion ports and shows up as a button. Press Scan on a row and press the switch to move that job to it. The common pattern is to put the two most used actions, click and Return, on switches placed wherever they are easiest, and leave the pad's own buttons for everything else.
A switch for the emergency stop
Give one switch a row with the output App Action, Emergency Stop. The moment it is pressed, everything stops and every held key is released. A dedicated stop that can be reached without precision is worth more than any other single binding for someone who cannot quickly grab a keyboard. The two-second hold on the PS button does the same if a switch is not available.
One-stick driving for games
The Access Controller Driving preset switches on one-stick driving with the stick as the whole vehicle: left and right steer, forward accelerates, back brakes, and two quick snaps back shift into reverse. It outputs keyboard and mouse, so any driving game that can be played from the keyboard works, which is most of them. The buttons carry handbrake, horn, camera, and pause. Adjust the reverse tap count and window in the One-Stick Driving panel to the person's speed; a single tap with a long window is fine if double snaps are hard. The one-stick driving guide goes deeper.
Two Access Controllers, or one plus a DualSense
Two pads give sixteen buttons and two sticks: one stick for the pointer, one for scrolling or for a second player. A DualSense next to an Access Controller is a common setup for someone with one strong hand: the DualSense's stick and shoulder buttons on that side, the Access Controller's large buttons within reach of the other. Every controller has its own slot in the same preset.
Keeping it reliable
- Bluetooth sessions that run for days can go quiet; a USB-C cable avoids it entirely and keeps the battery full.
- Launch at login and menu-bar-only mode make the setup invisible.
- Export Backup after any change. The file restores the whole setup on any Mac.
- If a button ever stops registering, check the profile light before anything else.
Download
- Access Controller Desktop presetThe table above: pointer on the stick, click / right click / double click on one button, dictation, and long hold and double-tap windows. 9 KB
- Access Controller Driving presetOne-stick driving on the stick, with handbrake, horn, camera, and pause on the buttons. 4 KB
Open a downloaded preset with InputConfig, or drag it onto the app icon. It lands in the sidebar, ready to activate or edit. Any launch target inside a preset file is cleared on import; add one yourself in the editor if you want it.
Questions
Does the Access Controller work over Bluetooth on a Mac?
Yes, Bluetooth and USB-C both work with every button, the stick, and the expansion ports.
Can the joystick be a keyboard's arrow keys instead of the pointer?
Yes. Bind the four stick directions to the arrow keys, or use stick regions for the diagonals as well.
Why does it show as a DualSense?
macOS reports it in the DualSense family. Every input is read correctly; only the name is borrowed.
Does the Xbox Adaptive Controller work the same way?
Yes, and it has its own guide. Its switch ports appear as Xbox buttons.
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