Questions
PS5 controller not vibrating on a Mac
A DualSense that connects to a Mac and works in a game but never vibrates is almost always fine. macOS supports its rumble motors, but a game only vibrates the controller if its developer asked macOS to, and many Mac games and ports never did. Test the motors first, in under a minute, so you know which of the two you are dealing with.
Test the motors
- Install InputConfig, free on the Mac App Store.
- Pick the Haptic Feedback preset in the sidebar and press Activate.
- Click into a text field, then press Cross, Circle, Square, and Triangle. Each one types a letter, A to D, and rumbles, from a light tap on Cross to the strongest on Triangle.
It buzzes: the controller, the connection, and the Mac are fine, and the game is the reason. It does not: turn the controller off, reconnect it over a USB-C cable, and try again. If it still does nothing, the fault is in the controller.
InputConfig is free on the Mac App Store. macOS 14 or later, no account, no tracking, open source.
Why a game stays still
Rumble is something a game has to send. On the Mac it goes through Apple's controller framework, and a game that never wrote that code gets buttons and sticks but no vibration. Games that run through a Windows compatibility layer are hit and miss for the same reason; the CrossOver page covers that case. If the game is in Steam, Steam Input sits between the game and the controller, so turning Steam Input on or off for that one game in its controller settings is worth one try each way. None of that is something a controller app can fix from outside the game.
What a Mac does not do
What you get on a Mac is rumble: the two motors, stronger or weaker. The textured haptic effects of PS5 games and the resistance in the adaptive triggers are not part of it, and InputConfig does not add them. If a Mac game feels flatter than the same game on a PS5, that is the difference.
Add vibration to what you press
What InputConfig can do is make the controller vibrate when one of your own bindings fires. In a row's Options, under Feedback, switch on Vibrate and set the strength and duration, from a tap to two seconds. I use it on rows whose result I cannot see, like a macro or a hidden shortcut, so I can feel it went through. It works on the DualSense and DualSense Edge over Bluetooth and USB, and on Xbox controllers through macOS. It does not pass a game's own rumble through or add rumble to a game's explosions. The vibration page has the details.
Questions
Does a PS5 controller vibrate on a Mac?
Yes. The motors work on a Mac, in games that send rumble and in apps like InputConfig. Many Mac games do not send it, which is why the controller can feel dead.
Does rumble work over Bluetooth on a Mac?
Yes. InputConfig vibrates the DualSense and DualSense Edge over Bluetooth and over USB.
Can I test DualSense vibration on a Mac without a PS5?
Yes. Activate InputConfig's Haptic Feedback preset and press the four face buttons; each rumbles at a different strength.
Do the adaptive triggers work on a Mac?
Not through InputConfig, which reads the triggers as analog inputs and leaves their resistance alone. A Mac game would have to set the resistance itself.
Related
Free. macOS 14 or later. No account, nothing leaves your Mac. Open source on GitHub.