Most of the PC gamers use keyboard and mouse as their primary input devices for gaming, but there are many others who like something unconventional. That’s why they choose any one of the fight sticks, trackballs, racing steering wheels and controllers, dependent on the game they’re playing.
Today, we’ll talk about the controllers. They’re one of the common accessories in console gaming, but now many PC gamers have started to play games with a controller too.
PS4’s DualShock 4 is one of the best controllers out there due to its button-layout and hardware quality. That’s why if you already have a DualShock 4 controller, don’t need to buy a new controller for your PC.
Just follow some simple steps, and you would be able to use your PS4 controller with your PC.
But here’s a thing though. This controller’s audio jack isn’t supported yet, which means if you want to use any headphones while gaming, you have to connect them directly with your PC.
OK, coming back to the topic, there’s one more question you need to answer before proceeding further. That is, do you want to use the PS4 controller as a wired or wireless controller?
Wired vs Wireless Connectivity
If you want to use it as a wired model, then what you all need is a USB cable. That’s it.
On the other hand, for using it as a wireless model, your PC/laptop should have a built-in Bluetooth capability. If Bluetooth is currently not available in your PC, then you can also buy a separate Bluetooth adapter such as DUALSHOCK®4 USB Wireless Adapter from Sony (or any other adapter that provides Bluetooth 2.0 and higher connectivity).
How to connect PS4 controller on PC
Download DS4Windows Software
Although the process of using DualShock 4 on PC is really easy, it’s not as simple as plug-n-play and you have to download a software called DS4Windows to connect your controller with your PC.
In simple terms, this software tricks your PC into thinking that you have an Xbox controller (which is a PS4 controller in reality) to connect, which is supported in Window by default.
To download this software, you need to go to the Github repository of its developers and download a file name DS4Windows.zip.
Install DS4Windows
Once the .zip file has been downloaded, you need to unzip it and run the .exe file as shown below.
In case you’ve any problems running that software, run another file that came in that .zip file called DS4Updater.exe
Set up DS4Windows
When you’ll run the DS4Windows software for the first time, a new window will appear which will have the button called “Install the DS4 Driver“. This step will enable this controller to be used in Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.
On the other hand, if you have Windows 7 running, click on the button labeled as ‘Install 360 Driver‘.
Connect Dual Shock controller to Your PC through USB Cable
Note: This step is about wired connectivity, if want wireless connectivity, skip this step.
OK, so now that you have completed all the pre-requisites for this tutorial, connect the PS4 controller with your PC through a mini-USB cable. This time you PC should be able to detect the controller, and then you can play PC games with it.
Connect Dual Shock controller to Your PC through Bluetooth
For wireless connectivity, press the PS button and the share button (on the center-left position) on DualShock controller for 3 seconds. Then, go to Bluetooth settings on your PC, and turn it on.
After this, you should be able to see your controller among the nearby devices list. You may be asked for pairing before connecting it with your PC. That’s it, now you can use DualShock 4 as a wireless controller for your PC.