Mac’s trackpad and keyboards are not the best controllers in the world, so if you want to play some games, better get yourself an Xbox One Controller. It is simply the best gamepad you can play with. Comparing with Windows 10, where Xbox One Controller is natively supported, macOS works a bit strange with Microsoft’s gamepads. Luckily enough, connecting Xbox One Controller to Mac is very simple. Sometimes it works natively and wirelessly, but sometimes it requires wired connection and third-party app (driver). This article has all you need to know about connecting Xbox One Controller to Mac.
Tip. Xbox One Controller works better with Windows 10, so our advice is to use Windows 10 (Bootcamp is fine). In addition to better gamepad compatibility, you will get better performance in your games.
How to Connect Xbox One Controller to Mac Wirelessly?
Pc Driver For Xbox One Controller X64
First, make sure you have an updated controller which supports Bluetooth connection. Only updated Xbox One Controller (2016) supports Bluetooth. You can find out which model you have using the picture below:
- Make sure Bluetooth on your Mac is enabled. You can simply ask Siri to turn it on, use menu bar or open System Preferences > Bluetooth and press Turn Bluetooth On.
- Now it is time to take your Xbox One Controller and press big Xbox One button at the center of the gamepad. It will start blinking slowly. At the back of the gamepad, there is a small button in between LB and RB. Press and hold it until the Xbox logo on the gamepad starts blinking swiftly.
- Now you should see the Xbox Wireless Controller. Press Connect. Xbox One logo on your gamepad should stop blinking. This means the connection is set and you can start playing games.
In the below segment, let us focus on the ways to download, install, and update the Xbox One controller PC driver. Way 1: Get Microsoft Xbox One Controller Driver Using The Driver CD/DVD. Although an ancient method, yet sometimes it might come as a handy option for downloading and installing the Xbox One controller driver for Windows 7. Download Microsoft Xbox One Controller Driver for Windows 64-bit. OS support: Windows 7 / 8 64-bit. Category: Input Devices.
Pretty straightforward, isn’t it? The thing is some games do not “see” Xbox One Controller connected to the Mac using this method. It all depends on the developer. If you can open game and gamepad works perfectly, you can stop reading this. If the gamepad is connected but seems to be not working, proceed to the next section of this article.
How to Connect Xbox One Controller to Mac via Micro USB Cable?
If the wireless connection does not work with your games, find a micro USB cable and connect your gamepad to the Mac. The gamepad will vibrate, but Xbox logo won’t light up. That is fine, don’t worry. MacOS has no built-in driver for the wired connection, so we are going to help this system learn how to work with your gamepad.
Tip. Although we are talking about Xbox One Controller, this method allows you to connect Xbox 360 to Mac as well.
- Open this link and download file 360ControllerInstall_0.16.10.dmg. Open it and follow the on-screen instructions. Important: this procedure requires administrator-level access, therefore make sure you know administrator password.
- Restart the Mac after the procedure is done and open System Preferences.
- At the bottom of the screen, you will see new Xbox 360 Controllers entry. Click it.
- Go to Advanced tab and make sure Enable Driver is enabled. Gamepad won’t work if this option is turned off. Again, you will need to enter the Administrator password in order to enable the driver.
- You will see Xbox One Wired Controller (Wired) in the drop-down menu at the top of the window.
- Switch to Controller Test and make sure all input elements work fine.
- Your controller is ready to rock.
As you see, there are plenty of options allowing you to disable vibration, spoof controller as an Xbox 360 Gamepad, map buttons, invert sticks, etc. Spend some time messing around with app’s elements and you will be able to use your Xbox One Gamepad with Mac like a boss.
Xbox One is a line of eighth generation home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. As a well designed controller, Xbox One Controller can provide gamers excellent experience when playing a game. But it has problems sometimes. Keeping your Xbox One Controller driver updated is an important thing you need to do to maintain good performance of Xbox One Controller. Here are three ways you can use to update this driver.
Methods:
Install Xbox One Controller Driver
Method 1: Update Xbox One Controller Drivers in Device Manager
Updating drivers in Device Manager is a very common and simple one among the three ways. Here are steps to do that.
1. Press Windows + R key and input devmgmt.msc. Then click OK.
2. Expand Xbox Peripherals. Right click Microsoft Xbox One Controller and select Update Driver Software.
3. Select Search automatically for updated driver software.
Then it will search and install Microsoft Xbox One Controller Driver of new version for you.
Method 2: Download and Update by Driver Booster
Driver Booster is a professional tool that can help you download and install updated and missing drivers. If you want to update several drivers at the same time, using this application is a good option. More importantly, Driver Booster affords you tremendous game components. It can perfectly fix Xbox one controller not working issue as well.
1. Download, install and run Driver Booster on your computer.
2. Run Driver Booster and click Scan to look for Xbox one Controller driver for Windows 10.
3. Locate Microsoft Xbox One Controller in the list and then click Update.
Then Driver Booster is able to install the updated Xbox One Controller driver on Windows 7, 8, and 10.
Method 3: Update Xbox Driver from Windows update
When you want to download Xbox One Controller Driver in Microsoft’s official website, you will find a message saying: “Update: Run Windows Update and it will automatically pick up the latest drivers, therefore I am removing the links below.“
Therefore, you can update this driver by performing Windows update. You can go to Settings > Update & security > Windows Update > Check for updates.
Then your computer will check and download available updates automatically. After the process is completed, your Xbox One Controller Driver should be updated.
These three ways are all not difficult, so you can choose any one of them to update Xbox One Controller Driver. Remember to make sure this driver regularly so that you can get better experience when you use Xbox One Controller.
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