If you have a Mac, it can also be connected via USB as a proper game controller for most of the steam games. Here are two ways to help you get it setup and enable Xbox One controller on your Mac. There are quite a few projects on Github that brings Xbox One driver to the Mac. The latest version of Xbox One Controller Enabler is 1.0 on Mac Informer. It is a perfect match for Device Assistants in the System Tools category. The app is developed by Terry Demco.
Hello, all respected users hope you are successfully using your Mac. We are giving our best articles to guide you all about the functionality of your Mac. Today we are here to tell you “How to Connect Xbox one Controller to Mac”.
When it comes to the controllers while using your Mac as a source of extreme entertainment, the Xbox One controller is regarded as one of the best ones and you all are crazy for Mac and Xbox. It is with comfortable curves that adjust into your palms easily. Best-textured buttons and with incredible vibration system.
These all make Xbox most wanted to Mac. Hence you should familiar about “ How to Connect Xbox One Controller to Mac”. Who wants to experience the best way of gaming on their Mac.
After all, you prefer the best controller for gaming like Xbox 360 controller. This article will enable you to know about “How to Connect Xbox 360 Controller to Mac Without Receiver” to have a wonderful experience of gaming on your Mac without Keyboard and mouse.
The Xbox One with its soft curved shape, wonderful buttons, and the wireless range is much Famous among Mac users. But what if you want to Use “ Xbox One Controller on Your Mac and you don’t know how to Connect Xbox One Controller On Mac”. Simply follow these easy guidelines to Connect Xbox Controller to your Mac.
Before we proceed,
you might find it interesting to read
Easy Steps to Connect your Xbox One Controller to Mac
Contents
- 1 Easy Steps to Connect your Xbox One Controller to Mac
Xbox One is a wireless controller, but instead of Bluetooth, it implements its own special Microsoft connectivity wireless system. Due to this, it is not possible to use your Xbox One controller on the Mac wirelessly, by Bluetooth or wireless adaptor however, MacOs itself does not allow wireless connectivity.
However, you can use Xbox along with special connectivity cables. Along with that, you will also require special devices for connectivity. The steps are easy, so follow them and let’s get started!
Installing the Third-Party Drivers
- Open your Mac Web Browser.
- Download the latest release of 360 Controller that is available on the GitHub link. As of this article, the latest release is 360 Controller 0.16.10.
- Before you are going to install drivers, Save your files or other ongoing tasks or work as your Mac Computer will restart as part of the installation process of Xbox 360 Controller Driver.
- The .Dmg file 360Controllerinstall_*.Dmg will be present in the downloads folder. Double click to open it, and open the Pkg file.
- Click on continue. Then click on continue to Agree to the License Agreement present in front of this paper (Go through it if you want). Then click on install.
- You will be able to restart your Computer to continue installing the software, as mentioned before. Click on Continue Installation.
- Click on Restart. Your Mac will restart.
- After restarting, open System Preferences. You will now find Xbox 360 Controllersamong the given icons at the bottom. Click to open it.
- If your Xbox is not connected then it will show “ No new device found or connected”.
- The next step will be connecting your controller with your Mac.
Connecting the Controller
- fix in the Xbox One controller in your Mac. For the latest Mac, use the USB-C to USB-A
- A System Extension Blocked warning might be shown. Click on OK.
- In System Preferences, go to Security and Privacy. Open the General Tab, and click on the lock in the lower left. Enter your password to Unlock.
- Then Click Allow.
Testing of the Connection
- You can check either your controller is functioning properly or not in your Mac in the Controllers Test
- When your controller is connected and you press these buttons, the image on the controller will respond. Test the buttons and check if they show up on the Preference pane. After checking all the buttons, you can be sure that the Xbox One controller is now functioning properly with your Mac.
The controller is ready to use:
Your controller is Connected run your favorite Mac Games and start playing with the Xbox One Controller.
Configuring Xbox Controller on your Macbook
Once your Xbox 360 or Xbox one controller has been connected, you can o set some changes according to your choice.
- On the front page, you can invert the X or Y axis of the controller, for both left and right stick. For example in-game, if you press the joystick upwards the camera will move downwards. This is preferable to the User’s choice.
- In the Binding tab, you can also link each control to a custom or default function, as per your choice. This custom button mapping might prove to be buggy in the current version.
- Under the Advanced tab, the controller’s sticks can be calibrated in order to fix the dead zone.
- Advantage:
- If for any reason you wish to uninstall the driver from your Mac, there is an uninstall option present in the Advanced
Concluding Thoughts
We hope your Xbox One controller has been able to connect to your Mac successfully. If you need more help to Connect Xbox with your Mac you can put your queries to remove your confusion.
if you face any further problems in connecting the Xbox controller, you can ask in the comments section below and we shall solve your problems as soon as possible.
We hope this article is helpful to you. That’s all for today’s article about How to connect your Xbox One Controller to Mac computer.
Keep on reading for more full of knowledge articles related to topics that might increase your interest.

Whether you’re trying to no-scope that enemy on COD or score a last-minute slam-dunk on NBA, the touchpad just doesn’t do it.
Xbox One Controller Mac
So, we thought we’d share the best tips on how to connect an Xbox 360 controller to your Mac, to make them tense gaming moments a little easier.
Before you do: Clean up your Mac
BUT, before we get into all the juicy techy stuff, let’s remind you of how beneficial cleaning up your Mac can be.
Before installing any new hardware, it’s important to have an un-cluttered file space so the new software can run efficiently, and you can keep an eye on what’s where.
With CleanMyMac X, it’s easy. It’s one-click cleaning approach and powerful scanning means you can swiftly dispose of useless documents and apps which may be slowing your Mac down.
So, to get optimal controller connectivity, you should download CleanMyMac and tidy up your digital space – prior to any installations. Now, onto how to use an Xbox 360 controller on a Mac.
How to use the Xbox 360 controller on Mac
Not many of us know it, but there could be a handy use for all those old Xbox 360 or Xbox One controllers lying around. But, before you get set up, you need to have the correct hardware installed on your Mac to enable connectivity.
Here’s how.
First of all, you will need either a wired or wireless Xbox controller. Both work fine, but for all those passionate gamers with a tendency to erupt, a wireless device would be best to save any damages to wires (or opponents). These wireless receivers can be bought for around $20 on Amazon, and can handle up to 4 Xbox 360 controllers.
Free Drivers
Obviously, Macs don’t have an in-built driver for Xbox controllers as Apple are in no way affiliated with Microsoft. Similarly, Microsoft doesn’t supply drivers for Mac users for their hardware, which leaves us wanting users having to find our own way.
So back in 2006, it was music to gamer’s ears to hear that Tattie Bogle had developed their own driver free of charge to users across the gaming globe. However, this driver hasn’t been updated since 2012, and is therefore sticky when it comes to compatibility with MacOS X.
For a more streamlined approach to this conundrum, download GitHub’s free driver – it’s maintained and updated frequently and is free to all Mac users.
1. Install the driver
After opening the GitHub link, double click on the DMG file visible under ‘Assets’. This will start the installing process, where you will have to follow the appropriate instructions.
Remember though, as with any new program installation, it will reboot your Mac, so don’t panic. After the restart, you should be able to find ‘Xbox 360 Controllers’ in the system preferences.
2. Connect the Xbox 360 Controller to your Mac
Now you’ve installed the driver, the next step is to connect the controller, which is simple and only needs to be done once.
Firstly, you need to plug the USB receiver into a free USB port on your Mac. Once plugged in, the USB receiver’s light should start blinking
Press the big Xbox logo button on the controller so it lights up green
Press the button on the USB receiver
Press the connect button on the controller, which can be found at the top - in-between the left and right toggles
The top left quarter of the circle around the Xbox button should now light up, indicating you are the first controller connected
Now the controller and Mac are linked - so in the future if you want to connect again, all you need do is press the big Xbox logo button to get going. Told you it was simple!
3. Test the Controller
As with all things techy, there’s always loopholes. So, it’s important to test the connections to ensure the controller works before we embark upon a mobile-gaming-gallivant.
Go to ‘System Preferences’, ‘Xbox 360 Controllers’ and you’ll see a screen like below.
This is a control pad, which indicates whether all the buttons on the controller are working properly. That’s about all you can do on this, as well as shutting the controller down by clicking ‘power off’.
4. Configuring for multiple games on your Mac
We all have different tastes in games - some of us like sports and some of us like military, there’s no right or wrong (asides from Half-Life, that’s just awesome and it’s not up for debate).
With these different games come different control configurations, which can get tedious when you only have one type of controller.
For full flexibility of use, there are many tools and apps available which allow you to play any game with any Mac compatible joystick or controller – even the ones that are not compatible with joysticks.
5. Use Joystick Mapper
Out of the many apps to choose from, Joystick Mapper is our pick. And at only $4.99 from the App Store, it’s real value for money – especially when considering the amount of effort it takes to develop such a complex tool.
Here’s how it works –
Xone Controller Driver For Mac
Once you download the Joystick Mapper app, you need to create a pre-set for your game preferences. To do this, open the app and click ‘Add new pre-set’.

Enter a name for future reference such as ‘My Game’, and for each joystick, click ‘Add a new joystick’.
Now that you’ve identified the joystick, you need to ‘bind’ joystick inputs to keyboard or mouse movements - which is easier than it sounds.
Xone Controller Mac Driver
Click on ‘Add new bind’, and then ‘Scan’, and press the button of your game controller that you’d like to use. Next select a mouse or keyboard action, and that will ‘bind’ the chosen inputs.

Simply repeat this process until you’ve bound all the buttons you’d like to use.
If by chance you’re using a controller other than an Xbox 360 or Xbox One, you can replicate these actions and apply them to different controllers. To do this, simply click the ‘Clone’ icon in the top right corner. To put the pre-set into action, set a checkmark before the preferred pre-set/profile you’ve created for the game you’re about to play. Now, you’re good to go!
BUT – don’t close the Joystick Mapper app before starting the game, it needs to keep running to work. Simply select ‘cmd + H’ to hide the window.

Declutter your Mac to make more room for games
Remember, all of these processes won’t work as effectively if you have a messy Mac.
On average, there is a whopping 62GB of junk found on Macs, with jam-packed caches and folders full of useless documents cluttering the hard drive.
This considerably slows down the performance of your Mac, preventing quick and easy installations, and can even hinder the controller connectivity.
CleanMyMac X is an app dedicated to cleaning your Mac head-to-toe. It scans everything on the computer - even old folders that have been evading your wrath for years - identifying what needs to be removed.
The Mac is inspected rigorously, and with its smart one-click clean-up, CleanMyMac sweeps away the unwanted rubbish to organize folders and speed up performance.
Furthermore, CleanMyMac X is free to download. So, what are you waiting for? Download it for free here.