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Access Controller sends no input

The Access Controller is connected, the battery shows in the sidebar, and pressing buttons does nothing. Nine times out of ten the controller is fine. It is holding a profile that says to send nothing, because that profile was set up on a PlayStation 5 with buttons left unmapped.

Why this happens

The Access Controller stores up to three profiles on the device itself. A profile made on a PS5 can leave some or all buttons unassigned, and unassigned buttons transmit nothing to whatever the controller is connected to. The Mac sees a controller that never presses anything.

The fix

1. Look at the profile light on the front of the controller. The lit one is the current profile.
2. Press the profile button to cycle to the next profile. The light moves.
3. After each switch, press a button while InputConfig's Scan panel is open and see whether it registers.
4. If none of the three profiles produce input, connect the controller to a PS5, open its Access Controller settings, and make sure at least one profile has buttons assigned. Restoring the default profile from that menu works too.
5. Disconnect from the PS5 and reconnect to the Mac. Input now arrives.

Keep one profile for the Mac

If the controller moves between a PS5 and a Mac, set one of the three profiles up with every button assigned and leave it alone. Switching to it with the profile button makes the controller usable on the Mac without touching the PS5 again.

Expansion ports and the stick

Switches plugged into the four 3.5 mm expansion ports are ordinary buttons on the Mac and bind with Scan like anything else. The joystick is an analog axis. A second Access Controller can be paired at the same time and gets its own slot. The full Access Controller guide covers layouts, one-stick driving, and the emergency stop switch.

Questions

Related

• Connecting a controller
• Other controllers
• The PlayStation Access Controller on a Mac
• Emergency stop