Xbox Controller Driver for macOS

About
Installation
Uninstallation
Usage
My controller doesn't work!
Adding Third Party Controllers
Developer Info
Licence

About

As of December 28, 2020, there are not plans to add Big Sur support, including Apple Silicon support. It will most likely not work on Big Sur.

This driver supports the Microsoft Xbox series of controllers including:

Original Xbox
- Original Xbox controllers are supported by using a USB adapter.
Xbox 360
- Wired Xbox 360 controllers are supported directly.
- As of macOS 10.11, Wireless Xbox 360 controller support causes kernel panics. This issue cannot be resolved with minor changes to the driver, and requires that the driver be re-written from scratch to resolve the issue. Due to an excess of caution, we have disabled Wireless Xbox 360 controller support as of 0.16.6. If you want to use a wireless controller, download 0.16.5 or earlier and disable the driver before the computer enters a "sleep" state in order to prevent kernel panics. Alternatively, you can revert to a macOS version before 10.11 to avoid this issue.
Xbox One
- Xbox One controllers are supported when connected with a micro USB cable. Using the controller with the Wireless Adapter is not currently supported.
- Bluetooth capable Xbox One controllers (released after August 2016) are natively supported by macOS without the use of this driver. However, installing this driver will allow you to use the controller via USB.

The driver provides developers with access to both force feedback and the LEDs of the controllers. Additionally, a preference pane has been provided so that users can configure their controllers and ensure that the driver has been installed properly.

Controller support includes ALL devices that work with an Xbox series piece of hardware. All wheels, fight sticks, and controllers should work. This includes things like the Xbox One Elite controller. If your hardware does not work with an Xbox console we cannot support it. Sorry.

This project is a fork of the Xbox360Controller project originally created by Colin Munro.

Installation

See the releases page for the latest compiled and signed version of the driver. Most users will want to run this installer. If you are using macOS 10.13.4 or later, then you will have to allow the signing certificate of "Drew Mills" in order for the software to run. Usually, the installer will prompt you to complete this process: System prompt: System Extension Blocked You can either click "Open Security Preferences" to quickly fix this. If you didn't see this prompt, you can navigate to the same window using the Apple menu in the top left hand corner of your screen, navigating the "System Preferences" and then clicking on "Security & Privacy." This will open up the following page. All you need to do is click the "Allow" button near the bottom right. Security & Privacy Preference Pane displaying prompt to user: System software from user "Drew Mills" was blocked from loading This prompt has been known to have issues with software or hardware that interferes with mouse movement. If you are using software that impacts the movement of your mouse, such as MagicKeys, or are using a special interface device, such as a Wacom tablet, please using a standard input device, such as a mouse, to click this button. This is a security feature of macOS and is out of our control.

Uninstallation

In order to uninstall the driver: navigate to the preference pane by opening your "System Preferences," navigating to the "Xbox 360 Controllers" pane, clicking on the "Advanced" tab and pressing the "Uninstall" button. This will prompt you to enter your password so that the uninstaller can remove all of the bundled software from your machine.

Usage

The driver exposes a standard game pad with a number of standard controls, so any game that supports gaming devices should work. In some cases, this may require an update from the developer of the game. The preference pane uses the standard macOS frameworks for accessing HID devices in addition to access of Force Feedback capabilities. This means that the preference pane is a good indicator that the driver is functional for other programs.

It is important to note that this driver does not work, and can never work, with Apple's "Game Controller Framework." This GCController framework corresponds to physical gamepads that have been offically reviewed by Apple and accepted into the mFi program. Due to the fact that we are not Microsoft, we cannot get their gamepad certified to be a GCController. This is an unfortunate oversight on Apple's part. If you would like to discuss this, please do so at this location.

Users have been maintaining a partial list of working and non-working games. Please contribute your findings so that you can help others debug their controller issues.

My controller doesn't work!

I'm using a driver from the Tattiebogle website

The Tattiebogle driver is NOT the same driver as this Github project. We do NOT support that driver. Under NO circumstances will we support that driver. If you download the latest version of this driver from the releases page we will do our best to help you out. This driver will install over the Tattiebogle driver. You don't have to worry about uninstalling the Tattiebogle driver first.

My controller doesn't work with a game!

We cannot fix game specific issues. This driver does its absolute best to put out a standardized format for games to use. If they don't take advantage of that, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING we can do. The best we can do for you is give you the "Pretend to be an Xbox 360 Controller" option in the "Advanced" tab. This will make any wired Xbox 360 or wired Xbox One controller appear to games as if it were an official Microsoft Xbox 360 Controller. That way if the game is only looking for Xbox 360 controllers and isn't looking for other devices like third party Xbox 360 controllers or Xbox One controllers, you should be able to trick the game. If you experience an issue with a game that this toggle does not fix, we cannot help you, sorry. That is just the nature of drivers.

How do I find my Vendor ID and Product ID?

Navigate to the Apple menu at the top left corner of your screen. Select the About This Mac option. This will open a new window, where you need to select System Report... in the Overview tab. This will open another new window. On the left hand side of this window, there will be a number of options. Select USB. It will be somewhere near the bottom of the Hardware section. This will show you the USB device tree. Find and click on the entry that corresponds to your controller. This will provide you with the information needed at the bottom of the window. If you cannot find your device, make sure that all devices are properly connected to the computer. Try different cables if the controller still is not found.

Original Xbox Controllers

Make an issue describing your problem.

Wired Xbox 360 Controllers

Always check your controller with the preference pane found at: Apple Menu -> System Preferences -> Xbox 360 Controllers before creating an issue. If the controller works in this menu, then the driver is operating as intended. If your controller works with this menu, but not with a specific game, then read the My controller doesn't work with a game! section. If you have a third party controller, make an issue following the template with the "Product ID" and "Vendor ID" of the controller. Follow How do I find my Vendor ID and Product ID? for instructions on how to find this information.

Wireless Xbox 360 Controllers

**As of macOS 10.11, Wireless Xbox 360 controller support causes kernel panics. This issue cannot be resolved with minor changes to the driver, and requires that the driver be re-written from scratch to resolve the issue. Due to an excess of caution, we have disabled Wireless X

360Controller

Install / Use

README