Questions

PS4 controller not working on a Mac

Most of the time the Mac sees the DualShock 4 fine and something else is wrong: it was paired back to a PS4, the cable only charges, or the game was never written to read controllers. Start at the top and stop at the first check that fails.

Steps

1. Confirm the controller in Game Controllers in the System Settings sidebar.
2. If it is missing, start with the pad off, hold PS and Share until the light bar flashes quickly, forget any old entry, and pair again, or use a data cable.
3. In Steam, turn on PlayStation controller support and flip the game's Steam Input setting if needed.
4. For games without controller support, activate a matching InputConfig preset.

1. Check whether the Mac sees it

Open Game Controllers in the System Settings sidebar. If the DualShock 4 is listed and the buttons light up in the picture when you press them, the controller is working and the problem is in the app or game; skip to step 6. If Game Controllers is missing or the pad is not listed, the Mac has not connected to it; carry on with step 2. The missing Game Controllers page and testing a controller go further.

2. It will not pair

• Start from off: no cable plugged in and the light bar dark, which is how Sony's own steps begin.
• Hold PS and Share together and keep holding until the light bar flashes quickly. Letting go at the first glow is the most common miss.
• If an old DUALSHOCK 4 Wireless Controller entry is in System Settings, Bluetooth, forget it first, then pair again.
• Turn Bluetooth off and on, or restart the Mac, and try once more.
• Still nothing? Plug it in with a data cable. Apple says a cable that carries data pairs and connects it on its own, which also tells you whether the problem is Bluetooth or the pad.

3. It connected once, then stopped

The DualShock 4 remembers one console or computer at a time. If it was plugged into a PS4 and PS was pressed, even just to charge it, it is paired to the PS4 again and the Mac cannot reach it. Pair it with the Mac again with PS and Share. Using it on both is easier with a cable on the Mac side.

4. It keeps disconnecting

A DualShock 4 with a worn battery drops off Bluetooth first; charge it, and if it still drops at a good charge, use it on a cable. Distance matters: a Mac mini or Mac Studio behind a desk loses a pad across the room far sooner than a laptop does. If it drops on a cable, plug it straight into the Mac rather than a hub. InputConfig records every controller connect and disconnect with the time in its activity log, which tells you whether the pad really dropped or a game stopped listening.

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

5. The cable does nothing

If the light bar glows on the cable but the Mac shows no controller, the cable is almost always charge only. Try one you know carries data, such as a cable that syncs a phone or a camera. On a Mac with only USB-C ports, a micro-USB to USB-C cable is simplest.

6. Steam

In Steam's Settings, Controller, turn on PlayStation controller support and check the pad is listed. If a game still ignores it, or reacts twice to one press, change that game's own Steam Input setting (right-click it, Properties, Controller) and relaunch; some games want Steam's translation and some want the raw controller. Launch the game from Steam, since Steam Input only reaches games Steam started. Both directions are covered: works in Steam but not in the game and works on the Mac but not in Steam.

7. Minecraft, Roblox, and games with no controller support

Minecraft Java has no controller support on any computer, so a DualShock 4 does nothing in it until something translates. The Minecraft preset in InputConfig does that with no mod: the sticks become WASD and the mouse, the triggers mine and place. Roblox is on its own page. For any other game or app that ignores the pad, the Smart Preset Maker has a ready layout for 450+ games and apps, and the play any game guide walks through it. Turn off Steam Input for that game first, so two apps are not translating the same pad.

8. Emulators such as PCSX2 and OpenEmu

Emulators read the DualShock 4 themselves, so bind it in the emulator's own controller settings rather than with a mapper, and if a mapper is running, stop it while you play so each press only arrives once. A mapper earns its place with the retro games that only ever knew a keyboard, such as DOS games in DOSBox and adventure games in ScummVM; the emulators and retro games guide has layouts for those.

9. Connected in InputConfig but nothing happens

Check that Accessibility access is on for InputConfig in System Settings, Privacy and Security, Accessibility, that the preset is activated, and that the Live Visualizer lights up when you press a button. If the visualizer lights up and nothing reaches the app, the Accessibility permission is the usual cause. More on connected but not working.

Questions

Related

• How to connect a PS4 controller to a Mac or MacBook
• PS5 controller not working on a Mac
• Controller connected but not working on a Mac
• Controller works in Steam but not in the game on a Mac
• How to play Minecraft Java with a controller on a Mac

Free. macOS 14 or later. No account, nothing leaves your Mac. Open source on GitHub.