Sony's Dualshock 4 may be our this generation, but it's hard to beat the convenience of the Xbox One controller. If you're PC gaming with a pad and want a dead simple plug-and-play experience, the Xbox controller is the obvious choice. With a driver built into Windows, you won't need any special software for your PC (and most games) to immediately recognize your pad. So what's the point of a guide at all? There are a couple ways to use the Xbox One controller wirelessly, and a few things you should know about different iterations of the controller and what how they'll work with your PC. What you need Hardware. Xbox One controller.
Dec 23, 2018 Once the Xbox One controller is connected to your Mac successfully, you can set some options to make the controller easier to use. On the front page you can selectively adjust joystick operation. The main option is to invert either the X or Y axis of the controller. Using the Wireless Adapter. To connect wirelessly, you’ll need an Xbox Wireless Adapter for Windows 10.This may have come with your controller, but you can also buy it separately.
(optional, for wireless). Micro-USB cable (optional, for wired). AA batteries Software. Xbox Accessories app (optional, for software updates) Using your Xbox One controller 1. Using a wired Xbox One controller on PC is as simple as it gets. Plug your micro-USB cable into the controller and into a USB port on your PC.
Windows should install the necessary driver, the Xbox Guide button in the center will light up, and you're in business! Windows version note: On Windows 10, you can connect up to eight Xbox One controllers, while on Windows 7 and Windows 8, you can connect up to four. On Windows 10, you can only have four controllers connected if you also connect an Xbox chat headset to the controller or two with the stereo headset.
Audio throughput isn't supported on Windows 7 and 8. Troubleshooting note: the vast majority of micro-USB cables carry data no problem, but some manufacturers cheap out and produce cables that can only charge. If you're using a random USB cable from a drawer and having trouble, try a different one.
How to connect with the Xbox Wireless adapter for Windows This process is nearly as simple as connecting with a USB cable, and is basically identical to connecting the controller to an Xbox console. Plug the into a USB port. Turn on your Xbox One controller by holding the Guide button in the center. Now press the the small sync button on the top of the controller until the Guide button begins flashing.
Press the small sync button located on the side of the Xbox Wireless adapter for a couple seconds. Watch the flashing Guide button on the controller. When it goes solid, you're connected! How to connect the Xbox One controller via Bluetooth Here's where things get a little complicated. Certain models of the Xbox One controller can connect to any old PC Bluetooth adapter.
Others can't. Here's how to tell if your Xbox One controller has built-in Bluetooth: The shape of the plastic molding at the top of the controller is your clue. The first iteration of the Xbox One controller does not support Bluetooth and has a few other annoyances. Its bumpers have a narrower click range, making them less comfortable depending on where you position your fingers. The redesigned controller launched with the Xbox One S console and has a smaller plastic molding along the top. It also adds a 3.5mm headphone jack to the bottom of the controller, another easy giveaway.
![Configure Configure](/uploads/1/2/5/6/125660436/256322905.jpg)
On top of that headphone jack, it also has built-in Bluetooth! Press the Windows key and type 'Bluetooth' until search brings up the Bluetooth & other devices settings option.
Click it to open that settings page. Here you should see your Bluetooth is set to 'On' and is discoverable.
Windows version note: Using the Xbox One controller via Bluetooth only works on Windows 10 with the Anniversary update applied. Turn on the Xbox One controller by holding the Guide button. Press the sync button on top of the controller until the Guide light begins to flash rapidly. In the Bluetooth settings menu, click 'Add Bluetooth or other device' and then select Bluetooth from the menu options. After a few seconds of searching, your Xbox controller should show up. Click it to pair. And you're wirelessly connected!
Headset note: Only one Xbox One controller can be paired via Bluetooth. Headsets not supported. How to update and configure the Xbox One controller It's not just games that have updates these days.
So do controllers! While it's not necessary to update your Xbox controller, if you want to, the process is pretty simple. Open the Windows Store and search for Xbox Accessories. Install the app and open it. Windows version note: The app only works with Windows 10 with the Anniversary update applied. Plug your Xbox One controller in with a micro-USB cable. Click the 'More options' button to check if there's a firmware update for your controller.
Instead of configuring controller options on a game-by-game basis, you can also use the Accessories app to change button mapping, swap and invert sticks and triggers, and enable or disable rumble. If you have an Xbox One Elite controller, you can also use the Accessories app to configure options like trigger and analog stick sensitivity. You can save different configurations to the two profiles the controller supports.
The Xbox One controller is one of the finest handheld controllers on the market. It’s a case study in usability and ergonomics. The total lack of major changes over the years is a testament of just how “right” Microsoft made the Xbox controller. No hard edges, everything is in easy rich, comfortable with any hand size, and intuitively laid out. Connecting an Xbox One Controller to your Mac is not quite as easy.
You’ll need to do a little bit of prep work to get the Xbox One controller functioning with macOS. Wireless functionality is fortunately spotty on the Mac. If you try to connect an Xbox controller wirelessly with its USB dongle, you won’t be able to establish a connection. The functionality has since macOS El Capitan (10.11), and it had to be disabled to make the rest of the software usable. Wireless over USB doesn’t work, but strangely, Bluetooth does work, but only on controllers made after August 2016. Microsoft will help you. Those controls have the correct Bluetooth transmitter in them, and macOS will automatically support the connection.
![One One](/uploads/1/2/5/6/125660436/909042492.jpg)
Since that’s essentially a plug-and-play operation, we won’t cover that here. We were not able to test the functionality for this post.
In every other case, the Xbox control needs to be connected with a wire to work. Xbox One wireless controllers also have a micro USB port on the top, so they’re relatively easy to connect to your Mac. As of now, this is the only way to connect an Xbox One controller to the Mac. Connect an Xbox One Controller to Your Mac Unlike the PlayStation 4 controller, the Xbox One’s controller requires some third-party software to work properly. Was the best of several options, but it has since been deprecated.
360Controller is the most up-to-date of the options, and you can it from GitHub. It does require macOS 10.11 or up, so it won’t work with a Mac running anything below El Capitan. These “drivers” install a kext (kernel extension) to tell macOS how to work with the Xbox controller. Since there is no native kext and Microsoft, one of Apple’s major competitors, has not made one, we need to rely on the kindness of strangers. Once you’ve downloaded 360Controller, open the package and run the installer. Do not connect the controller yet. Restart your Mac when prompted by the installer.
Once your Mac restarts, you can connect the controller via USB cable. Open “System Preferences” from the Apple menu. Click on the “Xbox One Controller” preference pane that’s just been installed. In this preference pane you’ll see a screen to test your controller’s connection. If you do not have the controller connected, connect it now via micro USB cable.
If the controller is not connected properly, you’ll see “No device found” in the drop-down menu. The image on the controller will react to the buttons you press on your controller. To test the connection, press a few buttons on your controller and make sure they show up on the preference pane. Once you’re sure it’s connected, you’re ready to go! Related: Setting Other Options for Your Xbox Controller Once the Xbox One controller is connected to your Mac successfully, you can set some options to make the controller easier to use. On the front page you can selectively adjust joystick operation. The main option is to invert either the X or Y axis of the controller.
In short, inverting the controls means you press the stick upward to look down like you might expect in a flight simulator. Each stick has its own settings, so you’ll need to be sure to set them separately.
In the next tab, “Binding,” it links each control to its associated function. This page should allow you to adjust which button does what action. However, this functionality does not seem to work properly under current versions of macOS, so we were unable to test it. Under the “Advanced” tab, you can calibrate the controller’s sticks to fix dead zones. If you’re having trouble with sensitivity, tick “Normalize” to smooth out your controller’s output curve. You can also toggle the driver on and off or uninstall it completely from your machine.
Conclusion Connecting an Xbox One controller to the Mac is not as easy as it could be, thanks to a lack of native support for the hardware and a lack of interest in creating support. Thanks to the available third-party drivers, you can get the controller to work on macOS. If you’re seeking further guidance or troubleshooting help, consult the or, the progenitor of all the Xbox + Mac drivers that are available.