I may have a solution. Here's what I did to remedy the problem. I just tested this with a game compatible with the controller we both use, and it appeared to have solved the problem. Make sure your controller is turned off and the wireless receiver is plugged in to your PC before proceeding with the steps below:
Microsoft confirmed last August that official PC drivers for the Xbox One controller are coming sometime this year, but someone has put together a video. Xbox One Controller Gets Unofficial PC. Unofficial Xbox360 Controller Driver for Win98. Download: http://www.zshare.net/download/143540581df9be2a/.
1. Press Windows key+X.
2. Click 'Device Manager'.
3. Find any listings of 'Unknown Device' in the list of devices, likely under Human Interface Devices or Other Devices. Make sure you right click it and select the 'Scan for hardware changes' and 'Update Driver Software' > 'Search Automatically for Updated Driver' options before the next steps, especially if you have more than one 'Unknown Device' listed.
4. Right-click on 'Unknown Device' and click 'Update Driver Software'.
5. Click the option 'Browse my computer for driver software'.
6. Click the option 'Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer'.
7. Near the bottom of the list, select the option that looks something like 'Xbox 360 Peripherals' and click 'Next'.
Download Xbox 360 Controller Driver
8. From the list, select the driver option 'Xbox 360 Wireless Receiver for Windows [2/15/2007]' and click 'Next'.
9. A warning will appear about the possibility of the device or your computer not working properly and likelihood of system instability. Disregard it and click 'Yes' in the bottom right corner of the panel.
10. A message should appear within a few seconds saying that the device has been correctly installed. Click 'Ok' and exit out of all device manager windows.
After performing these steps, do as I did and power on your controller, checking to see if the top left light near your Guide button (the one with the tiny number 1 engraved next to it) remains on. Press the Guide button to see if the Xbox Guide controller status windows appears on your screen and don't worry if you don't see it like you did before. If the light is there on your controller, run a game that is compatible with it, such as I Am Bread or Skyrim, and see if you can perform the simple task of selecting game menu items with the controller. If it works, problem solved!
If the Guide lights on your controller continue to flash, indicating that the controller is not paired with the receiver, try pairing them again by pressing the little black button on the receiver and the pairing button on your controller at the same time, then wait to see if the top left light turns on and remains on. If it does, try testing the controller as mentioned above. If this still doesn't solve your issue, continue to ask Microsoft and/or Xbox for more assistance. I hope my suggestion helps fix this for you! :)
I want to have an Xbox 360 controller to be connected wireless to an iMac.
I suppose it can be done via Bluetooth, or having a reciever plugged into an USB port, but I'm not sure which controller type should I buy. I have an Xbox 360 wireless controller (2013), but it seems not discoverable at all.
2 Answers
The absolute best way to use any sort of Xbox controller on Mac is to install the 360Controller unofficial open source driver:
It works with the official Microsoft 360 wireless receiver. Probably also the knockoffs. It works with tons of unofficial 360 controllers. Tons of Xbox One controllers. Even tons of original Xbox controllers, if you can figure out how to plug them in.
BUT! There is an issue with Xbox 360 wireless controller support on newer versions of OS X:
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 0.16.15 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.
Depending on how old your version of macOS is, this might work for you.
I talked to Xbox support, they told me that only Xbox One S models have Bluetooth.
Xbox 360 wireless models works wirelessly with Xboxes only, or PCs with a distinc USB adapter. I don't know if you can use that adapter for Mac as well.
However, Xbox One S works. I bought one, and I can confirm it works like a charm via Bluetooth. No additional hardware or software is needed.
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