Is there an Xbox Accessories app for Mac?
No. Microsoft offers the Xbox Accessories app on Xbox consoles and on Windows 10 and 11 through the Microsoft Store, and there is no Mac version. The app does three jobs: it updates a controller's firmware, it remaps buttons, and it builds the profiles an Elite Series 2 or an Adaptive Controller stores. On a Mac, the first and third have to be done on a console or a PC once. Remapping does not: a mapper does it on the Mac itself.
I make InputConfig, a free Mac app that remaps an Xbox controller system-wide, to keys, mouse and macros. It never touches the controller's firmware or its stored profiles.
On this page: 7 sections
Match each job to a Mac route
| In Xbox Accessories | On a Mac |
|---|---|
| Update the controller | Not possible. Use an Xbox console or a Windows PC once |
| Remap buttons | A mapper such as InputConfig, the game's own settings, or Steam |
| Elite Series 2 profiles | Make them on a console or PC. They travel inside the controller |
| Adaptive Controller profiles | The same: made elsewhere, stored in the controller |
| Controller Assist, once called Copilot | No Mac version. Two controllers can be mapped to the same keys |
Updates and stored profiles need a console or a PC, but remapping does not.
InputConfig is completely free on the Mac App Store. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon.
Remap buttons on the Mac
- You: Open InputConfig, add a row, press Scan, and press a button on the controller.
- InputConfig: Records which button it is.
- Check: Choose what it sends: a key, a click, a shortcut, a macro, or pointer movement from a stick.
That is a different kind of remapping from the Xbox app's. Xbox Accessories changes which controller button a button acts as. A mapper changes what the Mac does when you press it, which is what a keyboard-and-mouse game needs. On a Mac, remapping means choosing what each button does, and it takes no Microsoft app. Xbox controller keyboard mapping on a Mac has a full layout.
Update the firmware somewhere else
A controller update runs on an Xbox console, or on a Windows 10 or 11 PC in the Xbox Accessories app with the controller on a USB cable. The app cannot update over Bluetooth. The update stays in the controller afterward, so a few minutes on a friend's console or laptop is enough. A Mac rarely needs the update, and one borrowed machine covers it when it does. Xbox controller firmware update on a Mac has each route.
Carry Elite and Adaptive profiles over
An Elite Series 2 stores up to three profiles inside the controller, made in the Xbox Accessories app, and its profile button switches between them on a Mac as well. An Adaptive Controller stores profiles the same way. With a profile active, a paddle sends whatever button the profile gave it. To give the paddles jobs of their own on a Mac, use the default profile, with no profile light on, and bind them in a mapper. Profiles live in the controller, so they work on a Mac even though the app does not. The Elite Series 2 on a Mac and the Xbox Adaptive Controller guide go further.
Share one game between two controllers
Controller Assist, which Microsoft used to call Copilot, lets two controllers act as one on a console or a PC. There is no Mac version of it. For games played through a mapper there is a workable stand-in: in InputConfig each connected controller has its own rows, so two controllers can be given the same keys and either one can play. Two controllers mapped to the same keys is a simple way to share a game. How to use two controllers on a Mac covers the setup.
The short version
- The app. It only runs on Xbox consoles and Windows.
- Remapping. You do this on the Mac, with a mapper.
- Updates and stored profiles. Do these once, on a console or a PC.
The app has no Mac version, but the only part of it I think a Mac user really misses is the updater.
Questions
Can you download the Xbox Accessories app on a Mac?
No. Microsoft offers it on Xbox consoles and on Windows 10 and 11 through the Microsoft Store. There is no Mac version.
How do I remap an Xbox controller on a Mac?
With a mapper. InputConfig, free on the Mac App Store, gives each button and stick a key, a click, mouse movement or a macro, in every app.
How do I update an Xbox controller without the Xbox Accessories app on a Mac?
A Mac cannot update it. Use an Xbox console, or a Windows 10 or 11 PC with the Xbox Accessories app and a USB cable. The update stays in the controller.
Do Elite Series 2 profiles work on a Mac?
Yes. They are stored inside the controller, so profiles made on an Xbox or a PC work on a Mac, and the profile button switches between them.
Does Copilot work on a Mac?
No. Controller Assist, formerly Copilot, is a console and Windows feature. In InputConfig two controllers can be mapped to the same keys instead.
Related
Completely free. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon. Open source on GitHub.
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