How To Set Up A Xbox One Controller For Csgo On Mac
Plug the Xbox Wireless Adapter for Windows into your PC. For more info, see Set up the Xbox Wireless Adapter for Windows. Turn on your controller by pressing the Xbox button. When you turn on the controller, the Xbox button will start flashing. Press and hold the Bind button on the Xbox Wireless Adapter. A small light will flash for several seconds.
Making the jump from console gaming to playing on a Mac can be a difficult transition, especially if you buy into the idea that the average Mac gamer is more skilled than their console equivalent.
Besides, you’ll also need to consider the fact that by moving to Mac you’ll no longer be able to use your library of console games, or play with friends you’ve made on there. Plus, you’ll have to learn to use a mouse and keyboard. Or will you?
If you’re wondering how to use Xbox One controller on Mac, or the one from PS4, you’re in the right place. This article is about using Xbox One controller on Mac, as well as PS4, to play games like Overwatch, Minecraft, Eve: Valkyrie, House of the Dying Sun, Thumper, Elite Dangerous, and Star Trek: Bridge Crew (be warned: you might need virtual PC software for some of these titles).
The great thing about having a choice in which controller to use is that, even though both of them are around the same price point, they have a few distinct differences, meaning every Mac user can pick the one more suitable for them. An Xbox One controller is, for example, a little heavier and boasts haptic feedback triggers, whereas the lighter Sony DualShock 4 has an additional (touchpad) button, integrated lithium ion battery, and motion sensitivity.
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How To Connect PS4 Controller To Mac
In addition to the advantages mentioned above, many Mac gamers prefer the DualShock 4 to an Xbox One controller because there are a few different ways of connecting PS4 controller to Mac. The first, and perhaps most obvious, is to use an official wireless adapter.
Connecting PS4 controller to Mac wirelessly
It’s likely that many of you reading this, namely those who have struggled with unofficial products and sketchy workarounds in the past, will be breathing a sigh of relief to learn that an official DualShock USB Wireless Adaptor exists.
The official wireless connector is a decent solution for Remote Play or playing Mac games that support the use of external controllers. But the critics may be sceptical about the high price of the accessory — the top video on YouTube that mentions this product is titled “WHY DID THEY MAKE THIS???” — as much cheaper options are readily available: such as micro USB and Bluetooth.
How to use PS4 controller on Mac with micro USB
If you’re not, for whatever reason, picky about whether you play wirelessly or not, then you can just connect PS4 controller to Mac using the micro USB cable that you’d usually use to plug it into your PlayStation.
The extra benefit of using micro USB is that the cable also charges your controller while you play. When you plug it in, you’ll see an orange light appear on the touchpad indicating that it’s charging.
Pair PS4 controller with Mac via Bluetooth
The easiest, fastest, and cheapest way to start playing is to connect PS4 controller to Mac with Bluetooth via PS4 Bluetooth pairing. To do that:
- Open System Preferences > Bluetooth
- Press the PS and Share buttons simultaneously on your controller until you see a light on your DualShock 4 start blinking to indicate that it’s ready to pair
- Look for the wireless controller in the list of Bluetooth devices on your Mac
- Click Pair, and the light on your controller will go from blinking to lit
An even quicker and easier PS4 Bluetooth pairing option is to use ToothFairy, a utility that lets you add and manage all your Bluetooth devices:
- Simply launch ToothFairy
- Highlight the controller from the list of devices
- Click Select
In Settings, you can also choose to add an icon to your menu bar that will connect to your chosen device (in this case, your PS4 Bluetooth controller) with a single click. At this time, there’s no controller icon, but you could use something like a keyboard symbol or the magic wand in its place.
Get ToothFairy for quick connection
Install ToothFairy for free and forget about any Bluetooth trouble. Any device will be paired with your Mac in a click.
If you love shortcuts, ToothFairy gives you an option to record a hotkey to connect or disconnect your controller, and show how much battery life your DualShock 4 has left next to its icon. As long as your controller is awake, ToothFairy is really handy for connecting it to your Mac with a single click!
Best of all, ToothFairy is available for free during your trial with Setapp, along with more than 150 top Mac utilities and apps. Try it out for seamless PS4 Bluetooth experience.
How to connect Xbox One controller to Mac
Since it’s so easy to connect a PS4 controller to a Mac, and since Xbox One controllers have built-in support for connecting to Windows, you could be forgiven for thinking that connecting Xbox One controller to Mac would be simple. Unfortunately, you’d be wrong — consider it a casualty of the ongoing Windows vs. Mac war!
It’s possible to connect Xbox One controller to Mac, but doing so requires a little bit of extra work. For a start, you can’t use Bluetooth to connect, so that’s the wireless route blocked right off the bat. You’ll also need to purchase a micro USB cable, since one isn’t included with Xbox One controllers like it is with a PS4 handset.
Once you’ve got your controller and cable in hand, you’ll need to download an Xbox One controller driver for Mac before you can plug anything in:
Head to GitHub (yes, it’s shocking that mapping an Xbox One controller requires unofficial drivers downloaded from GitHub)
Download the latest release
Double click the .dmg file that appears in your Downloads folder
Run the .pkg file
Follow all of the instructions, check out the Read Me file, and then click Install to progress to the next step
Restart your computer and you’ll find an Xbox controller icon in your System Preferences menu
Now it’s time to (finally) plug your controller in, using a USB-C to USB-A adapter if necessary, and head to Security & Privacy to bypass the popup that’ll appear when you plug the controller in.
Once all that’s done, you should be connected!
Which controller should you choose?
Firefox for mac 10.7.5 download. Just a quick glance at the instructions above shows that listing how to connect Xbox One controller to Mac takes up almost as much space as three different ways of explaining how to pair PS4 controller with Mac. So for some readers, that will make the decision of which controller to use a no-brainer.
If you already own an Xbox controller, it’s worth remembering that, while the above may look like a bit of a headache, the process is something that you only need to go through once.
Console and Mac gaming often tend to be treated as polar opposites, as if they are on different ends of the spectrum, and never the twain shall meet. But in reality, there’s a huge grey area in the middle that offers up a lot of fun.
Using a controller can, for example, be a really compelling way to enjoy VR titles that aren’t “on rails.” In fact, until someone starts mass producing those omnidirectional treadmills from Ready Player One, they are the best way to do so.
Whichever option you choose, using a controller offers an intuitive and familiar experience that’s backed up by all of the processing power a high-end Mac can offer. And don’t forget to make sure your Mac is properly optimized for games.
There are certain viewpoints that are widely held by gamers — those who play mobile games aren’t for “real” gamers, a Mac doesn’t make for an effective gaming laptop or desktop, and that “controllers are for consoles, mice and keyboards are for computers.”
Don’t buy any of that for a second! Gaming should be something that brings you joy and, whether that means crushing candy all the livelong day or using a controller with your Mac, more power to you.
Gaming on a Mac is not what Apple is historically known for. However, with Apple delving into the fledgling virtual and augmented reality space, some traditional game interfaces and not so traditional interfaces (think HTC wands or Valve's knuckle controllers) now need to be supported on macOS to reap the VR/AR benefits to their fullest.
To ready you for some amazing VR pilot games such as Eve: Valkyrie that utilize a traditional game Xbox game controller, we're here to show you how to connect one to your Mac! In the past this method only applied to the Xbox 360 controller, but the latest version of the software you'll be using also now supports the Xbox One controller.
How to download and install the drivers
We're assuming that you already own a wired Xbox controller, but if you're needing to buy, a standard controller is about $50. You'll need to connect it to your Mac using a microUSB cable which, sadly, isn't included. If you buy a third-party wired controller you won't have to worry about this.
Next, follow these steps.
- Launch Safari.
- Navigate to https://github.com/360/Controller/360Controller/releases.
Download the latest release of the 360Controller driver. As of this writing, the latest release is 0.16.5.
- Go to your Downloads folder in Finder.
- Double-click the 360Controllerinstall_*.dmg file.
Double-click the Install360Controller.pkg that pops up in Finder.
- Click Continue.
Again, click Continue.
- Select to Agree the license agreement.
- Click Install.
Agree to allow a restart of the computer by clicking Continue Installation.
- Click Restart.
You can optionally have the downloaded file Moved to Trash.
- Upon restarting the computer start System Preferences from the dock or the  menu.
- Click on Xbox 360 Controllers.
How to connect your Xbox 360 controller
Once you've installed the drivers, you'll now logically see that there are No devices found, since we have yet to physically connect the game controller to the Mac.
- Plug in your controller to your Mac. If you have a current model MacBook or MacBook Pro, you'll need a USB-C to USB-A adapter.
- Click OK when the System Extension Blocked warning message pops up.
- Go into System Preferences via the dock or  menu.
Click Security & Privacy.
- Under the General tab click the Lock at the bottom left.
Enter your password and click Unlock.
- Click Allow.
Your Xbox wired controller should now be connected!
Final thoughts
I am super stoked about developers climbing aboard the VR/AR hype train. As a mere consumer of VR, I can only hope for more and more creative minds to get on board. If you're a VR/AR developer, or even better yet, a macOS VR/AR developer, what other ways can Apple help promote virtual reality on their platform? Let us know in the comments!
Updated April 2018: Updated to reflect that this method also now supports the Xbox One controller.
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