How to disconnect a PS5 controller from a Mac
Hold the PS button for about ten seconds, until the light bar and the player lights go out. That turns the DualSense off, and the Mac sees it disconnect. To drop it from the Mac without turning it off, open Control Center, open the Bluetooth list and click the controller's name. To take it off the Mac for good, choose Forget This Device in System Settings, Bluetooth.
Which one you want depends on where the controller is going next: back to the Mac tomorrow, or back to the PS5. Both are below. The same steps for Xbox, PS4 and Switch controllers are on how to turn off or disconnect a controller on a Mac.
On this page: 8 sections
Steps
- To turn the controller off, hold the PS button for about ten seconds until the light bar goes out.
- To disconnect it and keep the pairing, open Control Center, open the Bluetooth list and click the controller's name.
- To remove it from the Mac, open System Settings, Bluetooth, click the info button beside it and choose Forget This Device.
- To use it on the PS5 again, plug it into the console with a USB cable and press the PS button.
Turn it off from the controller
- You: Hold the PS button for about ten seconds.
- The controller: The light bar and the player lights go out.
- Check: The Mac shows it as not connected, and a press of the PS button later brings it back.
On a cable, unplugging it is enough. A Mac never puts a DualSense to sleep, so it stays on until you turn it off or the battery runs down. On a PS5 the idle timer is a console setting, and a Mac sends no such instruction.
InputConfig is free on the Mac App Store. macOS 14 or later, no account, no tracking, open source.
Disconnect it and keep the pairing
- You: Open Control Center in the menu bar, open the Bluetooth list, and click the controller's name.
- macOS: Disconnects it but keeps it paired.
- Check: Later, one press of the PS button reconnects it with no pairing steps.
Disconnect is the one to use when the controller is coming back to the same Mac. In InputConfig, the free mapper I make, the same thing is on the controller's entry at the top of the sidebar: click it and choose Disconnect.
Remove it from the Mac for good
Open System Settings, Bluetooth, click the info button next to the controller, and choose Forget This Device. Do this when you are giving the controller away, when it has stopped connecting properly, or when the Mac keeps taking it from the console.
After Forget This Device, the controller has to be paired again before the Mac sees it. That means holding PS and Create until the light bar flashes: how to connect a PS5 controller to a Mac has the steps.
Send it back to the PS5
Plug the DualSense into the PS5 with a USB cable and press the PS button. Unplug it and it stays paired to the console.
A controller goes back to the last device it paired with. If you move it between the Mac and the PS5 every day, a USB cable on the Mac side saves pairing it again each time.
If it keeps going to the wrong device
- It goes to the Mac and you wanted the PS5. Pressing PS wakes the controller and it looks for the last device it paired with. Pair it to the console again with the cable.
- The PS5 keeps pulling it away from the Mac. A PS5 in rest mode can do that. PS5 controller keeps disconnecting from a Mac covers it.
The controller goes back to whichever device it paired with last.
The short version
- Off. Hold PS about ten seconds.
- Off the Mac, still paired. Click it in Control Center's Bluetooth list.
- Gone for good. Forget This Device in System Settings, Bluetooth.
- Back to the console. USB cable into the PS5, then press PS.
Turn it off when you finish, because the Mac will not do it for you.
Questions
How do I disconnect a PS5 controller from a Mac?
Hold the PS button for about ten seconds to turn it off, or open Control Center, open the Bluetooth list and click the controller's name to disconnect it while keeping the pairing.
How do I disconnect a PS5 controller from a MacBook without turning it off?
Open Control Center in the menu bar, open the Bluetooth list and click the controller's name. It disconnects and stays paired, so one press of the PS button reconnects it.
How do I unpair a PS5 controller from a Mac?
Open System Settings, Bluetooth, click the info button next to the controller and choose Forget This Device. To use it on the Mac again you pair it from scratch.
How do I get my PS5 controller back on the PS5 after using it on a Mac?
Plug it into the PS5 with a USB cable and press the PS button. It pairs to the console again and stays paired after you unplug it.
Does a PS5 controller turn off by itself on a Mac?
Do not count on it. The idle timer that switches a DualSense off is a PS5 setting, and a Mac has no equivalent, so turn it off yourself or it runs the battery down.
Related
Free. macOS 14 or later. No account, nothing leaves your Mac. Open source on GitHub.
Updated