How to pair PS4 or Xbox controllers with iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, or Android – The Verge

The Dualshock 4 and Xbox One controllers were originally designed to work on their respective consoles, but thanks to recent software updates from Apple, you can more easily pair them via Bluetooth with your iOS 13 device, iPad tablet, or your Apple device. tv via tvos 13. android 10 also makes it very easy to pair any of the controllers, and you can also pair with older versions of android and ios.

This is probably of particular interest if you subscribe to Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass, as you can play several of the games on offer from either service with a controller. fortnite paved the way for expanding controller support when it came to select phones, but ps4 and xbox controllers (although not all xbox controllers) work on mobile devices with more games than ever, and more importantly, many of those games offer native support for their button. designs.

The process for setting up the dualshock 4 and xbox wireless controller with your device is simple, but the details of setup vary a bit depending on which controller you have and the operating system you’ll be pairing the controller with. let’s touch on all the variables next.

Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge

First, put your controller into pairing mode

No matter what kind of device you pair the sony dualshock 4 with, you’ll need to put the controller into pairing mode first. To do this, press and hold the “share” button on the left of the trackpad, then also press and hold the middle “playstation” button. the light bar on top of the controller will begin to flash, an indicator that it’s searching for a device to pair with.

If you have an xbox wireless controller, first make sure it’s bluetooth ready. There’s an easy way to tell just by looking at it: If your gamepad has shiny plastic surrounding the Xbox button, it won’t work. however, if that region is made of the same matte plastic as the front of the controller (as shown in the image above), it will.

To enter pairing mode, turn on the controller by holding down the xbox button in the middle. Once it powers on, click and hold the connect button on the top of the controller, near the bumpers, until the xbox logo flashes. this indicates that it is ready to pair.

How to pair your controller with iOS

• Open the “settings” app, then tap the bluetooth option near the top of the page. When your Dualshock 4 or Xbox controller is in pairing mode, you’ll find it listed as “Dualshock4 Wireless Controller” or “Xbox Wireless Controller”, respectively.
• touch the appropriate option. Once successfully paired, the light bar at the top of the Dualshock 4 will turn pink. the center backlit button on the xbox controller will stop flashing and stay lit.
• if you are using an ipad with ipads, follow these same steps to connect either controller.

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

On Apple TV (running tvOS 13)

• open the “settings” app on the apple tv home screen and then scroll down to “remote controls and devices” and click on that option.
• scroll down until you find “bluetooth” and then click on it. a helpful resource called “how to pair game controllers” will be the first option on the next page. Please read if necessary, but if not, if your controller is in pairing mode, it will appear in the “other devices” section of this bluetooth connection screen.
• Once your controller is connected, you can use it instead of the included apple remote.

On Android

• It has been possible to pair bluetooth controllers with android phones on software versions prior to android 10, but the latest google update recognizes the controllers faster. And, as a bonus for Android 10 users pairing a Dualshock 4, the touchpad can be used as a mouse pointer for the OS as well as in-game, in case you don’t want to navigate with the analog device. It’s great!

(note: These steps will vary slightly depending on the phone you’re using.)

• if you are using pixel on android 10, go to “settings” app then click “connected devices”. Finally, you can find and pair your controller by selecting “pair new device”. the dualshock 4 will appear as “wireless controller”, while the xbox controller will simply be called “xbox wireless controller”.
• in android 10, the light bar on the dualshock 4 turns blue to indicate that it has been configured correctly, and the center backlit button on the xbox controller stays lit while it’s connected to your phone.
• If you’re using an older version of Android, such as Android 7 Nougat or Android 8 Oreo, you may need to drill down into a bluetooth submenu from the “connected devices” settings to pair a controller.

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