Many gamers wonder how to connect PS4 controller to PC to play their favorite games . Computers are getting more and more powerful, and sometimes it’s worth playing games like Battlefield on a good PC to see its full potential. However, many are used to playing this type of game on a console and, therefore, with a controller. For this reason, today we bring you several ways to use your favorite controller: the Dualshock 4.
There are many controllers for PC and those for Xbox One and Xbox 360 are fully compatiblewith Windows system. However, we focus on the case of the Sony controller because, in Spain, PlayStation players are the majority. Therefore, it is easier to have a PS4 controller on hand to play games on your PC than not to buy one on purpose.
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How to connect the PS4 controller to the PC (step by step)
There are several aspects that you must take into account in order to use your PS4 Dualshock 4 on PC and that it works in all the installed games. We collect three possible installation modes.
1. Basic installation of the PS4 controller on Windows
To begin with, we must make it clear that Windows recognizes the PS4 device as if it were a generic controller . The problem is that, basically, it only recognizes some buttons and in some games, something that will cause us several problems if we want to play with it. For everything to work properly we need our computer to have specific software.
1.1 Check if we have the correct driver
If your PC has Windows 7 installed, you will have to incorporate yes or yes the Xbox 360 driver that can be found on the Microsoft website. It is true that at first it does not make much sense, or because they are rival companies, but for everything to work well we need the PC to recognize our PS4 controller as an Xbox 360 controller. If you have Windows 7 SPI, Windows 8 or Windows 10 , you don’t need this driver, since it comes natively. However, it never hurts to reinstall it.
1.2 Use the PS4 controller wirelessly
With the software installed we can now connect our PS4 controller to the PC with the USB cable. If all of the above is correct, Windows should recognize the driver, but we must take into account more things to be able to use it well. If you want to play wirelessly, you will need a Bluetooth 2.1 adapter. There are many on the market, but we recommend the Sony wireless adapter, which, being official, has no pairing problems and connects much faster.
2. Using the PS4 controller with Steam games
Steam is without a doubt the most used platform for playing video games on PC. Therefore, the update of Valve’s software related to the PS4 controller was highly celebrated by gamers. Steam has had native support for the Dualshock 4 for a while now .and recognizes it for all of its games as long as they are played through the Valve platform.
Steam games are compatible with the Dualshock 4. | Image from: Steam.
2.1 Check the connection
However, for everything to work correctly we must follow a few steps. First, we connect the PS4 controller to PC before launching Steam . Next, we run the program and go to its menu. Specifically, we will go to “Parameters” and then to “Command”. Finally we will enter “General remote settings” to check that it detects the Sony remote.
2.2 Customize the controller in Steam
At this point, if it detects it ok, we can check the “PS4 Settings Support” box. if you do,You can customize the buttons in the games you play and, with a customization window, you can change the name of the controller, adjust its vibration and change the color of the controller’s LED.
You should now be able to play any Steam game with the Dualshock . If a game isn’t working for you, use Steam’s Big Picture mode. Many times it is activated by connecting the controller, but we can force it by touching the button with a drawing of a control in the upper right corner of the interface.
3. Connect the PS4 controller with DS4Windoes
Although Steam is the queen of video game platforms on PC, there are games that are played outside of it, either on other platforms such as Origin or directly from your PC.In most of these cases there is no support for the PS4 controller , so we are going to have to install a program that helps us with this.
3.1 Install the library
First we must have the Microsoft NET Framework 4.5.2 library installed , because without it we will not be able to use the program. You will easily find it on the official Microsoft website.
3.2 Install the software
With the DS4Windows program, our Dualshock 4 will work in absolutely all games . The function of this software is to use the PS4 controller as if it were an Xbox 360 controller, which is supported by Windows. We download DS4Windows on its website, where we will also find the language pack to put it in Spanish.
The download includes two ZIP files, one with the program and the other with the language pack. We unzip the files and copy the resulting language pack folder into the unzipped DS4Windows folder. If we have done it right, we will have a folder in which there are two executable files (‘DS4Updater.exe’ and ‘DS4Windows.exe) and the folder with the language we have chosen (if it is Spanish the folder will be called ‘es’).
DS4Windows, ideal for connecting the ps4 controller. | Image from: Softonic.
If everything is fine, we will run the program and the PS4 controller will detect us. If it doesn’t, we can try restarting the program, trying to connect the controller before or after executing it. If we have fulfilled all the steps, I would have to recognize it well, but before starting to play there are adjustments to be made.
3.3 Configuring the Dualshock 4
On the ‘Settings’ screen there are several boxes that we need to examine . The first is “Hide DS4 Controller”. We must activate this if two cursors appear in our game, as if it detected two controllers at the same time. The next box is “Use Xingut ports”, where a “12” should always appear if we don’t want to have problems with old games. Finally, if we want the program to start when we start the computer, we check “Run when Windows starts” .
There are many more adjustment options that are already to the taste of each player. However, something that is also important is the issue of customization. In the “Controllers” tab we will find the command profile , which we can customize as we please. There are many options that are practical and we invite you to play with them until you find your favorite profile.
If you have followed all the steps, which are actually easier than it seems, you will be able to perfectly play any PC game with your PS4 controller . Plug in your Dualshock and enjoy a long session of fun.
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