Questions
How to use a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro on a Mac
Yes. Plug it in: the Extreme 3D Pro is a standard USB joystick, and the Mac reads it with no driver, on Apple silicon and Intel. X-Plane and other flight simulators that run on a Mac read it directly and set it up in their own joystick screen.
Games made for the keyboard and mouse do not, and for those InputConfig, the free app I make, reads every part of the stick and sends the keys or mouse movement you choose. Version 1.6 reads its stick at full resolution.
On this page: 9 sections
Steps
- Plug the stick in, with a USB-C adapter on a MacBook.
- In X-Plane, set the axes in its joystick settings.
- For keyboard games, open an InputConfig preset and move each axis in the Live Visualizer.
- Scan each axis direction and button onto a row and choose its key.
Connect and check it
- You: Plug the stick in. It has a USB-A plug, so a MacBook with only USB-C needs a plain USB-C to USB-A adapter. Plug straight into it rather than a hub.
- macOS: Reads it as a USB joystick and lists it in System Information.
- Check: Hold Option, open the Apple menu, choose System Information, and look under USB.
It will not appear under Game Controllers in System Settings, which only lists gamepads; that is normal for any flight stick.
Set it up in X-Plane and other flight sims
X-Plane runs natively on the Mac and has its own joystick settings: move each axis, tell it which is pitch, roll, yaw and throttle, then give the buttons their jobs. In a sim like that you do not need a mapper, and running an InputConfig preset on the same stick would make each move do two things. Microsoft Flight Simulator and DCS World have no Mac version.
InputConfig is free on the Mac App Store. macOS 14 or later, no account, no tracking, open source.
Know what InputConfig reads
The Extreme 3D Pro packs its stick into 10-bit values, which do not line up with whole bytes. InputConfig 1.6 decodes every axis at the size the stick reports it, so the full travel comes through.
| Control | Read as |
|---|---|
| Stick left and right, forward and back | Axes 0 and 1, at full resolution |
| Twist | Axis 2 |
| Throttle lever on the base | Axis 4, reading 0 to 1 like a trigger |
| 8-way hat | A D-pad; a diagonal is two directions at once |
| Trigger and thumb button | Trigger (1) and Thumb button (2) |
| Head and base buttons | Button 3 to Button 12, by their printed numbers |
- You: Open a preset, move each axis to its end and press every button once.
- InputConfig: The Live Visualizer draws the stick with every button where it sits on yours, the hat lighting two arrows on a diagonal.
- Check: Every control lights before you build a layout.
The buttons are numbered as printed on the stick, so what you read is what you bind.
Fly a keyboard game with it
In InputConfig each axis direction is its own row, so the stick is four rows and the twist is two. A row holds its key while the axis is past the row's deadzone, 25 percent of the travel by default, and Adjust live in the row's options moves that point while you watch the stick. Press Scan on a row and move the control you mean, and the row is bound to it. For a game that flies from the keys:
| Control | Send |
|---|---|
| Stick forward and back | The game's pitch keys |
| Stick left and right | The roll keys |
| Twist | The yaw keys |
| Trigger | Fire, or the main action |
| Thumb button | The second action |
| Hat | Camera or look keys |
- Keys. On or off, so a small push counts as a full one once it passes the deadzone.
- Mouse steering. For a game that steers from the mouse, give the stick's rows Mouse Motion instead and turn on Variable Sensitivity, so a small push moves slowly and a full push moves fast.
- The throttle lever. It stays wherever you leave it, so it suits a key that should stay held, such as a boost, or a scroll row for zoom, better than a key you tap.
The Kerbal Space Program layout shows a full flight layout on a gamepad that you can adapt. For gradual control, use Mouse Motion with Variable Sensitivity; keys only give you on or off.
If a control does nothing
Climb this ladder, smallest step first:
- Check System Information. If the stick is not under USB, try the adapter without a hub.
- Watch the Live Visualizer. If the control lights there, the stick is fine and the row is the question.
- Lower the deadzone. A row that fires late needs its point moved with Adjust live.
- Check for two readers. If a flight sim reads the stick, stop the InputConfig preset for it.
If the Live Visualizer sees a control, any row can use it.
What it cannot do
- Force feedback. The Extreme 3D Pro has none, so there is nothing to miss there.
- Pose as a joystick. InputConfig does not make the stick look like a controller to a game. It sends keyboard and mouse input, so a game that only accepts a joystick has to read the stick itself.
InputConfig turns the stick into keys and mouse movement, which every game understands.
The short version
- Flight sims. Plug in and set it up in the sim's joystick screen.
- Keyboard games. A row per axis direction and button in InputConfig, filled with Scan.
- Mouse games. Mouse Motion with Variable Sensitivity on the stick's rows.
No driver, no setup app: the stick is ready the moment it is plugged in.
Questions
Does the Logitech Extreme 3D Pro work on a Mac?
Yes. The Mac reads it with no driver. X-Plane reads it directly, and InputConfig maps its stick, twist, throttle, hat and 12 buttons to keys or mouse movement for other games.
Is there a Mac driver for the Extreme 3D Pro?
None is needed. It is a standard USB joystick, and the Mac reads it as one.
Does InputConfig read the Extreme 3D Pro's full stick resolution?
Yes. Its stick axes are 10-bit values that do not sit on whole bytes, and InputConfig 1.6 decodes them at that size, so the full travel comes through.
Can the Extreme 3D Pro move the Mac's pointer?
Yes, with a mapper. In InputConfig, give the stick's four directions Mouse Motion and turn on Variable Sensitivity.
Related
Free. macOS 14 or later. No account, nothing leaves your Mac. Open source on GitHub.