Questions

Logitech G27, G25, Driving Force GT and older wheels on a Mac

Yes. Plug it in and the Mac reads it: a G27, G25, Driving Force GT or Driving Force Pro is a standard USB device, with no driver, on Apple silicon and Intel. These wheels have one quirk. Each starts in a compatibility mode with fewer buttons and coarser steering until something tells it to switch, and on a Mac nothing used to.

InputConfig 1.6, the free app I make, switches the wheel to its own mode when it connects, then reads all of it. Few Mac games read these wheels themselves, so for most people the route is to map the wheel and pedals to the keys a game already understands.

On this page: 10 sections
  1. Steps
  2. Let InputConfig switch it out of compatibility mode
  3. Know what each wheel gives you
  4. Check it in the Live Visualizer
  5. Drive a game with it
  6. Rescan rows from presets made in 1.5
  7. If the wheel is not read
  8. What it cannot do
  9. The short version
  10. Questions

Steps

  1. Connect the pedals and any shifter to the wheel base.
  2. Plug the wheel's power, then its USB-A plug, with a plain USB-C adapter on a MacBook.
  3. Open InputConfig, which switches the wheel out of compatibility mode.
  4. Turn to both locks and press every pedal in the Live Visualizer.
  5. Set up One-Stick Driving as on a G29, and Scan the buttons onto rows.

Let InputConfig switch it out of compatibility mode

These wheels start as a Driving Force EX, the simplest wheel in the family, until Logitech's own software switches each one to its own mode, with all its buttons and its full steering. On a Mac the wheel stayed as a Driving Force EX.

  • You: Plug the wheel in and open InputConfig.
  • InputConfig: Sends the same short command Linux and SDL send. The wheel reconnects a moment later as itself.
  • Check: The Live Visualizer draws your model with its full button count, as in the table below.

If the switch ever fails, InputConfig reads the wheel as it is rather than not at all. You do not need Logitech's software for any of this.

Know what each wheel gives you

WheelButtonsClutchSteering shown as
G2723YesDegrees, 900 lock to lock
G2519YesDegrees, 900 lock to lock
Driving Force GT21NoDegrees, 900 lock to lock
Driving Force Pro14NoPercent of full lock
Driving Force, Driving Force EX12NoDegrees, 270 lock to lock
MOMO Racing10NoDegrees, 240 lock to lock
MOMO Force8NoDegrees, 240 lock to lock
Formula Vibration12NoDegrees, 240 lock to lock
Wingman Formula GP, Formula Force GP6NoPercent of full lock
  • Pedals. Every wheel's pedals are read the same way: gas, brake and clutch on separate axes, each 0 with your foot off and 1 on the floor. Several of the older wheels describe their pedals as one combined axis; for those, InputConfig uses the corrected descriptions Linux uses, so gas and brake still come through separately.
  • Driving Force Pro. It starts at 200 degrees and reaches 900 only with a range command that InputConfig does not send, which is why it shows as a percentage.
  • Buttons. These wheels number their buttons rather than naming them in a way the Mac can read, so InputConfig calls them Button 1, Button 2 and so on, in the order the wheel reports them.

Press Scan on a row and then the button, paddle or gear you mean, rather than guessing which number it is.

Download InputConfig on the Mac App StoreInputConfig is free on the Mac App Store. macOS 14 or later, no account, no tracking, open source.

Check it in the Live Visualizer

The Live Visualizer picks the right wheel from its USB ID and draws it as a wheel with a numbered key for each button, the right count for the model.

  • You: Turn to both locks and press every pedal once.
  • InputConfig: Turns the rim as you turn yours, with the angle beside it in degrees or percent, and fills each pedal as you press it.
  • Check: Each pedal reads empty at rest. If a pedal reads full at rest, it is wired or reporting differently from the plan, and the troubleshooting page has what to try.

Thirty seconds here tells you every axis and button works.

Drive a game with it

A Mac game that reads these wheels itself will set them up in its own controls screen. Try that first. If the game reads the wheel, close InputConfig's preset for that game so the car does not get two inputs.

For everything else, the setup is the same as for a G29, because every Logitech wheel now lands on the same axes:

  • Steering. Axis 0.
  • Gas. Axis 5.
  • Brake. Axis 4.
  • Clutch. Axis 1.

The G29 page has the One-Stick Driving steps, and pedals as keys covers the pedals on their own.

Rescan rows from presets made in 1.5

If you made rows on one of these wheels in InputConfig 1.5, the wheel now reports different button numbers. The first time it connects in 1.6, InputConfig names the presets with rows to rescan.

If the wheel is not read

Climb this ladder, smallest step first:

  1. Plug in the pedals first. Connect the pedals and any shifter to the wheel base before you power it, as the manual says.
  2. Skip the hub. These wheels have a USB-A plug. On a MacBook with only USB-C, use a plain USB-C to USB-A adapter and plug straight into it, since some hubs drop USB game devices.
  3. Check the button count. If only a few buttons work, the wheel is still in Driving Force EX mode. Reconnect it with InputConfig open.
  4. Follow the full checklist. Racing wheel not working on a Mac has the rest.

A plain adapter straight into the Mac rules out a hub that drops the wheel.

What it cannot do

  • Force feedback. Not used. InputConfig sends keys and mouse movement only.
  • The G27's shift lights. Not used.
  • 900 degrees on a Driving Force Pro. InputConfig does not send the range command, so it stays at its starting range.

Everything you press and turn is read; nothing is sent back to the wheel.

The short version

  • Plug in. No driver. Pedals into the base first, a plain adapter on a MacBook.
  • Open InputConfig. It switches the wheel to its own mode.
  • Map it. Steering axis 0, gas 5, brake 4, clutch 1, and Scan for every button.

An old Logitech wheel is a good Mac wheel again, as long as something sends it the mode switch.

Questions

Does the Logitech G27 work on a Mac?

The Mac reads it as a USB device with no driver. Few Mac games use it directly, and InputConfig 1.6 reads all 23 buttons, the clutch and the full 900 degree steering once it switches the wheel out of compatibility mode, which it does by itself.

Do I need Logitech software for a G27 or G25 on a Mac?

No. InputConfig sends the wheel the same mode switch Logitech's software would, so the wheel reports everything without it.

Why does my old Logitech wheel show only a few buttons?

It is still in Driving Force EX compatibility mode. InputConfig 1.6 switches it when it connects. If you use another app, that app has to send the switch itself.

Does force feedback work on a G27 on a Mac?

Not through InputConfig, which sends keys and mouse movement only.

Download InputConfig on the Mac App StoreFree. macOS 14 or later. No account, nothing leaves your Mac. Open source on GitHub.