Help

Google Stadia Controller

Google's Stadia controller is a good Bluetooth pad and it is cheap now. It has to be unlocked once with Google's Bluetooth update tool before it will pair with anything other than Stadia itself. After that it is an ordinary extended gamepad on the Mac.

Unlock it first

  1. Open stadia.google.com/controller in Chrome on any computer.
  2. Follow Google's steps to put the controller into its update mode and apply the Bluetooth update. This unlocks Bluetooth pairing permanently.
  3. Afterwards the controller no longer needs Stadia and can pair with any Bluetooth host.

Pair with the Mac

  1. Hold the Stadia, Y, and A buttons together for two seconds, then release. The status light pulses.
  2. Open System Settings, Bluetooth.
  3. Click Connect on Stadia Controller under Nearby Devices.
  4. InputConfig detects it as a standard extended gamepad.

Layout

Stadia follows the Xbox arrangement: A at the bottom, B right, X left, Y top. Any preset built for an Xbox pad works without changes, including FPS (Xbox). The Assistant and Capture buttons report as extra buttons and can be bound too.

Questions

Does it work by cable?

The Stadia controller only sends input over Wi-Fi to Stadia or over Bluetooth once unlocked. Use Bluetooth on the Mac.

Does the update tool still work now that Stadia is gone?

Google has kept the controller page up for the unlock. If it ever goes away, a controller that was already unlocked stays unlocked.

Related

Download on the Mac App Store