Questions

Does a ROCCAT Kone mouse work on a Mac?

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Yes, as a mouse. A Kone plugs into a Mac and the pointer, clicks and wheel work, but I could not find a Mac version of Swarm, the software that sets its buttons and Easy-Shift layer, and ROCCAT is now part of Turtle Beach. What the mouse has stored keeps working, and the buttons that reach the Mac can be bound there.

I searched Turtle Beach's support pages and ROCCAT's pages on October 21, 2026 and found no Mac build of Swarm or Swarm II, so treat that as what I could not confirm, not as a rule. I make InputConfig, a free Mac app that reads a mouse's extra buttons and gives each one a job.

On this page: 12 sections
  1. Steps
  2. See what Swarm does on a Mac
  3. Know what works with nothing installed
  4. Find out what each button sends
  5. Bind the buttons
  6. Build your own Easy-Shift layer
  7. Macros and options
  8. Ideas for a Kone user
  9. If a button does nothing
  10. What it cannot do
  11. The short version
  12. Questions

Steps

  1. Plug in the mouse or its dongle. The pointer, clicks and wheel work at once.
  2. Check Turtle Beach's support page for your model to see whether Swarm II runs on a Mac.
  3. If it does not, save your settings once from a Windows PC.
  4. Open InputConfig, add a row, press Scan and press a thumb button.
  5. Bind each button, then press Activate.

See what Swarm does on a Mac

Swarm is the software for ROCCAT mice, and Swarm II is Turtle Beach's new version. I found no statement that either runs on macOS. A Turtle Beach support answer I found for a different mouse, the Burst II Air, says Swarm II is on PC only and that on a Mac the mouse works as a generic mouse. I have not seen that wording for the Kone, so ask Turtle Beach about your exact model.

MouseWhat I know
Kone XPA shift button called Easy-Shift sits in the thumb groove and adds a second layer of button functions, according to a review I read.
Kone ProPart of the same Kone line. I did not confirm its button count.
Kone IIAn older mouse. I could not confirm its software for a Mac.

Swarm may not run on your Mac, but the mouse works and the buttons that reach macOS can still be bound.

Know what works with nothing installed

  • Pointer, clicks and wheel. A Kone is a standard mouse on a Mac.
  • DPI. The mouse steps through stored levels with its own button, and no Mac app sees that button.
  • Easy-Shift. It is a layer inside the mouse. Whether it does anything depends on what Swarm stored.
  • Side and thumb buttons. They reach a Mac as mouse buttons, or as keys if the profile says so.

Find out what each button sends

  • You: Open InputConfig, add a row, press Scan and press each button.
  • InputConfig: Names each button that arrives and lights it in the Live Visualizer.
  • Check: Press the Easy-Shift button with another. If the second press reports a different button or key, the layer works. If nothing reports, the layer lives only in the mouse.
ButtonHow it reportsUse it for
Left, right, wheelLeft click, Right click, Middle clickWheel click as Mission Control.
Side buttonsButton 4 and upBack, Forward, shortcuts.
Easy-ShiftProbably nothing alonePress Scan to check.
Tilt wheelSideways scrollSee the tilt wheel page.
The Live Visualizer in InputConfig showing a mouse and trackpad with Side button 4 lit in green in the list of inputs.
Figure 1. The Live Visualizer lights each button the Mac receives and names it, here Side button 4. A Kone has more buttons than most, so look for each one lighting.

Bind the buttons

  • You: Choose a button as a row's input and pick an output, for example Keyboard Key with Command and the left bracket for Back.
  • InputConfig: Sends it when you press the button.
  • Check: Test it in Safari or Finder.
The InputConfig button menu listing Left click, Right click, Middle click, Button 4 to Button 8, a More buttons submenu running from Button 9 to Button 31 and Scan press a mouse button.
Figure 2. The button menu. Button 4 to Button 8 are listed first and More buttons holds Button 9 and up. A Kone with several thumb buttons can reach the buttons above Button 8.

The wheel on a Kone XP tilts, and the tilt wheel page explains what InputConfig can do with that. A second control in a row, While also holding, gives you a combo of your own, and it does what Easy-Shift does inside the mouse.

Build your own Easy-Shift layer

If Swarm is not an option, InputConfig can give you the same idea on a Mac. Pick one button as the shift and hold it, and each other row reacts to it through the While also holding control.

  • You: Choose a thumb button as the Second control on the rows that should change, and set the outputs for the held state.
  • InputConfig: Fires the second job only while you hold that button.
  • Check: Hold the button and press another. The second job should run, and the plain press should still run alone.

A held button plus a second button is a layer, and you can build it without Swarm.

Macros and options

  • Macros. A step list with a wait and a hold time per step, from Options.
  • Hold and double tap. A second and third output on each row.
  • Block the original action. For the side buttons an app also reads.
  • Per app layouts. The layout follows the front app.
The Options of an InputConfig row with Run a sequence of steps ticked and a list of steps that hold Command, tap C, release, tab and paste, each with a wait and a hold time.
Figure 3. The macro step list, where each step has its own wait and hold time. A macro built in InputConfig works with any Kone, no Swarm needed.

Ideas for a Kone user

A Kone is a large, button rich mouse, so most of the value is in getting the thumb buttons right. I would start with three jobs you do many times a day, such as Back, copy and paste, and only then add anything fancy. If a button does something you never use, give it a hold action instead of leaving it empty. I have not tested a Kone myself, so press Scan on yours before trusting any row.

  • Editing. Put undo, redo and cut on the thumb buttons.
  • Writing. Type Text on a button for an email sign off.
  • Games. List the game under Automation and Gaming Utilities so the layout switches when it opens.
The Automation and Gaming Utilities section of an InputConfig preset with an Activate when these apps are in front list that holds Final Cut Pro.
Figure 4. The list that ties a preset to an app. One preset per app keeps the Kone useful in each.

If a button does nothing

Climb this ladder, smallest step first:

  1. Scan it. Nothing named means the mouse is not sending it.
  2. Check the mode switch. Wireless Kone models have a connection switch.
  3. Check the profile. A Windows PC with Swarm can restore it.
  4. Check Accessibility. System Settings, Privacy and Security, Accessibility must list InputConfig.
  5. Set keys to F13 to F20. If a button types a letter, change it in the profile.
  6. Look for a hidden mode button. Some mice have a small button that switches the side buttons to media keys or another stored layer, so a button can seem dead when the mouse is in a different mode. Press it once and Scan again.

What it cannot do

  • Run Swarm. I found no Mac version.
  • Change DPI, lighting or the stored profile. Those stay with the mouse.
  • See Easy-Shift alone. If it sends nothing, no Mac app can.

The short version

  • Works. A Kone is a mouse on a Mac.
  • Swarm. I found no Mac version, so set the profile on Windows once.
  • Buttons. Scan and bind them.

A Kone keeps its stored profile, and the Mac can bind whatever reaches it.

Questions

Does ROCCAT Swarm work on Mac?

I found no Mac version of Swarm or of Turtle Beach's Swarm II. Check Turtle Beach's support page for your exact mouse.

Does the ROCCAT Kone XP work on a Mac?

As a mouse, yes. Its Easy-Shift layer and other settings are stored by Swarm, which I could not confirm for macOS.

What is Easy-Shift on a ROCCAT mouse?

A shift button in the thumb groove that adds a second layer of button functions. It lives in the mouse's profile.

How do I use Kone side buttons on a Mac?

Press Scan in InputConfig, press the button and choose what it sends. A While also holding control lets you build your own shift layer.

Is the ROCCAT Kone Pro compatible with Mac?

It works as a standard mouse. Software support on Mac is not something I could confirm, so ask Turtle Beach.

Can I use the Kone without Swarm on a Mac?

Yes. It works as a standard mouse, with whatever profile is stored in it. You can build a shift layer in InputConfig with While also holding.

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