Controller:DualSense

DualSense

XInput support
Connection method
USB-C, Bluetooth 5.1
Predecessor
DualShock 4
Successor
DualSense Edge PlayStation Access Controller

The DualSense is a game controller developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment and manufactured by Sony, released on November 12, 2020. It was released alongside the PlayStation 5.

In addition to features carried over from its predecessor, the DualShock 4, the DualSense has introduced two new features: the resistance-based adaptive triggers and the voice-coil-actuator-based haptic feedback. On PC, selected games have native support for either feature or both.

In addition to the standard white color model, the DualSense also comes in midnight black, cosmic red, nova pink, starlight blue, galactic purple, grey camouflage, volcanic red, cobalt blue, sterling silver, chroma teal, chroma pearl, and chroma indigo. It also has limited edition models for games like God of War Ragnarök, Helldivers 2, Hogwarts Legacy, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and Astro Bot, as well as the PlayStation's 30th anniversary model.

It has a pro-oriented version in the form of DualSense Edge, which was released on January 26, 2023.

The DualSense is a generic DirectInput controller, so it is not supported by games that use the XInput API unless either the game provides native support to the controller or XInput wrappers like Steam Input are used. Some wrappers can expose additional features such as gyroscope, touchpad control including the ability to change lightbar color, and built-in speaker. In selected games, features like adaptive triggers and audio-based haptic feedback are natively supported (see support in games), though the latter is only supported with a wired connection. Audio passthrough to the 3.5mm audio jack also only works when wired. Multi-device pairing over Bluetooth was added in firmware 0630, released on September 17, 2025.

General information

DualSense wireless controller | The innovative new controller for PS5 | PlayStation

Technical Documentation

Inputs

• 2 × clickable analog sticks: L3, R3
• 2 × analog triggers: L2, R2
• 2 × digital shoulder buttons: L1, R1
• 4 × digital directional buttons (d-pad): ↑, ↓, ←, →
• 4 × digital face buttons: △ ᴛʀɪᴀɴɢʟᴇ, ○ ᴄɪʀᴄʟᴇ, × ᴄʀᴏss, □ sᴏ̨ᴜᴀʀᴇ
• 4 × digital functional buttons: ᴄʀᴇᴀᴛᴇ, ᴏᴘᴛɪᴏɴs, PlayStation, ᴍɪᴄʀᴏᴘʜᴏɴᴇ
• 1 × clickable 2 point capacitive touchpad: ᴛᴏᴜᴄʜᴘᴀᴅ
• Motion sensing: 6 axis motion sensing (3 axis accelerometer, 3 axis gyroscope)
• 2 × microphones (dual-microphone array)
• 1 × mono microphone via TRRS jack

Use with PC platforms

The DualSense is notable for having its device name changed between the controller's firmware updates. Older batches of the controller have their device name listed as "Wireless Controller", while later batches of the controller and controllers updated with the latest firmware update have their device name listed as "DualSense Wireless Controller". The device name change will only apply when un-pair and then re-pair the controller to the PC after the firmware update.

Connection

USB Type-C

USB connection is required for Sony PlayStation services such as PS Remote Play.

Connect the controller
Use either a USB Type-C to USB Type-A cable or a USB Type-C to USB Type-C cable (if the host device has USB Type-C port) to connect the controller to a USB port on the computer. The controller will automatically be recognized by the supported OS and install generic driver for it.

Bluetooth

While the controller has Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity, any Bluetooth 4.0 dongles will work.

Haptic feedback, audio passthrough to the 3.5mm audio jack and the built-in speaker are not supported over Bluetooth connection. Furthermore, support of adaptive triggers over Bluetooth connection varies depending on the games.

The methods below are for the controller with firmware 0630 and later, due to the introduction of the multi-device pairing capability.

Pair the controller

Make sure the Bluetooth functionality is enabled in your OS. If the controller is turned on, turn it off by holding PlayStation for ten seconds. Put the controller in pairing mode by holding down both PlayStation and any of the right face buttons (△ ᴛʀɪᴀɴɢʟᴇ, ○ ᴄɪʀᴄʟᴇ, × ᴄʀᴏss, □ sᴏ̨ᴜᴀʀᴇ) at the same time for five seconds until the lightbar and the player indicator LEDs start flashing two times repeatedly, with the number of player indicator LEDs indicating which device slot is chosen. Navigate to the Bluetooth settings of the host device's operating system, select "Wireless Controller" (with out-of-the-box firmware)/"DualSense Wireless Controller" (with up-to-date firmware) and pair it. If asked for a pair code, use 0000. Notes The number of player indicator LEDs lit up varies depending on which device slot was selected. If the controller is put into the pairing mode by holding down both PlayStation and ᴄʀᴇᴀᴛᴇ, the host device will be assigned to the unused device slot instead.

Switching device slots

Press and hold down both PlayStation and any of the right face buttons (△ ᴛʀɪᴀɴɢʟᴇ, ○ ᴄɪʀᴄʟᴇ, × ᴄʀᴏss, □ sᴏ̨ᴜᴀʀᴇ) at the same time for three seconds and release them once the lightbar and player indicator LEDs start blinking, with the number of player indicator LEDs indicating which device slot is chosen. Notes Turning on the controller by simply pressing the PlayStation button will automatically switch to the last used device slot by default.

Windows

Connecting the controller should automatically download and install the latest drivers for the controller.

Supported features	reWASD	DS4Windows	Steam	DSX	JoyShockMapper	DSAdvance	Gamepad Phoenix	DualSenseY
Virtual Xbox controller emulation	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Virtual DualShock emulation	✓	✓	✗	✓	✓	✗	✗	✓
Virtual DualSense emulation	?	✗	?	✓	?	?	?	?
Haptic Feedback	~	~	~	✓	✗	~	✗	✓
Adaptive Triggers	✓	✗	✗	✓	✗	✓	✗	✓
External Speaker	✗	✗	✗	✓	✗	✗	✗	✓
Headphone Jack	✗	✓	✗	✓	✗	✗	✗	✓
Microphone control	✗	✓	✗	✓	✗	✗	✗	✓
Motion Control	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗	✓
Touchpad	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗	✓	✗	✓
Light Bar	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗	✓	✗	✓
Dead-zone adjustment	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Multiple controllers	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Virtual Nintendo controller emulation	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
Keyboard & Mouse input emulation	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗	~
Retro DInput/WinMM compatibility	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓	✗
Flick Stick	✓	✓	✓	✗	✓	✗	✗	✗
Touchpad as mouse	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗	✗	✗	✓
Cemuhook's UDP protocol	✓	✓	✗	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗
Free or OpenSource	✗	✓	✓	✗	✓	✓	✓	✓
Game accessibility (remap buttons, left-handed or etc)	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓	✓	✗	X

XInput wrapping

As a native DirectInput controller, it's possible to use any of the generic wrappers under the Controller article.

DSAdvance

Xbox controller emulation support.

A gyroscope and various modes of its operation are supported - mouse emulation, joystick-mouse, driving, piloting (enabled in config) by default.

Easy to use, minimum settings

Supports auto-press and invert of the stick (useful in some games for automatic running)

Displays battery charge on indicator light

It has hot keys that allow to take a screenshot (PlayStation+× ᴄʀᴏss), record video (hold PlayStation+× ᴄʀᴏss), change the volume level, change operating modes, stick modes, sensitivity, etc.

Allows to control the desktop (Press PlayStation+← to switch the mode.)

Allows to turn off all light indication

Support two controller (need activate in config).

Supports Sony DualSense adaptive triggers in various modes: rumble transmission, pistol, machine gun, rifle, bow, car pedal.

Support for remapping Xbox buttons, profiles.

Support for keyboard and mouse emulation, profiles for retro games, without support for gamepad.

Support motion wheel buttons with up to 9 tilt actions;

Support steering wheel with button emulation;

Supports button inversion for left-handed users;

DualSenseY

Support for wired and wireless modes (USB recommended for best experience)

Xbox controller emulation support.

DualShock 4 emulation support (gyro, touchpad, LED included)

Easy to use

Option to use LEDs as audio volume meter

Option to use adaptive triggers in any game via "Rumble to Adaptive Triggers"

Option to test Haptic Feedback

Option to use system audio as Haptic Feedback

Option to use touchpad as mouse

Option to control LEDs

Option to use gyro as mouse

Option to use gyro as right analog stick

All adaptive trigger options

Works with DSX mods

Multiple hotkeys for the microphone button

Xbox controller emulation does not translate Impulse Trigger Vibration to DualSense's Adaptive Triggers vibrations.

DS4Windows

Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR or higher required for wireless connection.

The headphone jack and microphone can only be used when used via USB.

Most controller features are supported.

Adaptive triggers are supported but can only be used in limited forms.

Advanced rumble effects are not used. Rumble acts as common one.

Application is not emulating Xbox One controller, so is unable to emulate their Impulse Trigger Vibration.

Ryochan7's build not longer being maintained since January 1, 2024.

DS4Windows (schmaldeo fork)

Adds button debouncing.

Has Lightbar Macro Creator which allows to schedule LED sequences after pressing/releasing buttons.

Still being maintained by developer.

DSX

Can emulate as a virtual Xbox 360 controller for using it on XInput-supported games.

Can emulate as a virtual DualShock 4 for using it on games that have yet to support the controller natively.

Can use the DualSense Emulation Mode for using it on games that don't support the adaptive triggers feature over Bluetooth, though said feature requires an optional paid DLC.

reWASD

Can emulate as a virtual Xbox 360 controller for using it on XInput-supported games.

Can emulate as a virtual DualShock 4 for using it on games that have yet to support the controller natively.

Supports gyro and accelerometer control when set to emulate as a virtual DualShock 4 or a virtual Switch Pro Controller.

Adaptive triggers are partially implemented.

PC application can be used remotely from smartphone via reWASD Junior app.

Haptic feedback unimplemented. Xbox One Controller emulation does not translate Impulse Trigger Vibration to DualSense's Adaptive Triggers vibrations.

Custom configs for the DualSense can be found in the Community Configs Library.

macOS

Custom application application unlocks full support for DualSense on macOS devices.

DualSenseM

Requires macOS 11.3 or later.

Works with both Bluetooth Connection and USB

User have to purchase the features in the app for testing.

Features:

• Menu Bar Icon with Connection Status and Battery Level Information
• View Battery level percentage
• 20 different Trigger Effects can be set for both L2 and R2
• Set the Touchpad into 2 different modes Static Color or Rainbow
• Enable any of the Player LED's below the Touchpad
• Test both Left and Right motors to make sure they're working
• Adjust strength of the motors
• Set the Mic LED into 3 different Modes: ON/OFF/Pulse
• Enable the Speaker/Headset/Mic (USB Only)
• Adjust Speaker/Headset and Mic volume (USB Only)
• Enable Audio Haptics (USB Only)

Linux

Controller is natively supported since kernel 5.12.

Adaptive Triggers are supported over Proton in wired mode.

Limited Haptic Feedback. (Patches to Wine adding native support are underway)

Steam

Steam Input

Capable of making full use of Steam Input due to many overlapping features with the Steam Controller.

Has rumble, trackpad and gyro support. Can also be used wirelessly.

Supports Adaptive Triggers (Native mode only).

Steam Link compatibility

Wired or wireless works. Press PlayStation+ᴄʀᴇᴀᴛᴇ to power up and be detected by Steam Link. All buttons are mapped correctly.

Works without any drivers on any operating system that supports Steam.

Can be used just to send input from a controller to a PC. Go into Streaming options, hit △ and disable video and audio streaming.

Won't work great unless the streaming device is connected to LAN or a low latency Wi-Fi.

Touchpad and gyro will not be pass through to steam when using Steam Link on android.

Customized models

See here for a list of controllers that were customized from the DualSense.

Support in games

List of games that support DualSense

Games with generic DirectInput support are supported by the controller, however button placements may be out of place and need to be rebound. Refer to game-specific articles for rebinding support.

Games with controller's speaker support

Every game which allows to select separate playback audio device for specific sounds is supporting controller's built-in speaker, eg. Death Stranding's BB voice audio can be assigned to controller's speaker when other sounds are played from other audio device.

Third-party applications like DSX and DualSenseY allows the controller's built-in speaker to be used as Windows audio output device.

Cemu emulator allows to assign Wii Remote speaker's audio to DualSense's speaker. In general settings/audio in gamepad audio tab is an option for selecting secondary audio device.

Requires a wired connection.

Games with microphone support

For a list of games, see List of games that support microphone control.

Microphone support is enabled by default after connecting controller to PC. Do not require any special configuration.

Games with implemented voice chat are able to use controller's microphone.

VoiceBot and VoiceAttack allows to control games and applications by voice commands.

ᴍɪᴄʀᴏᴘʜᴏɴᴇ button requires additional software like reWASD or DSX to be able to mute and unmute microphone. Button works as expected on Linux with no additional software.

Games with motion control support

For a list of games, see List of games that support PlayStation motion sensors.

Thanks to JoyShockMapper, Steam Input, reWASD application, gyro control can be remapped to mouse or right stick in any game.

Number of games which natively support motion controls is limited and gyro support is still not a PC standard.

Games with touchpad support

For a list of games, see List of games that support touchpad.

Touchpad is placed on the front of the controller, the capacitive type touchpad is a clickable 2-point touchpad. The functionality of the touchpad can differ from between games. Recognized gestures: zoom, swipe, pinch and scroll.

Thanks to Steam Input, reWASD or DS4Windows application, touchpad can be remapped to mouse or right stick in any game.

Number of games which natively support touchpad controls is limited and touchpad support is still not a PC standard.

Games with adaptive trigger support

For a list of games, see List of games that support PlayStation adaptive triggers.

Adaptive trigger support over Bluetooth vary between games.

DualSenseSupport and DualSenseX Game Demo demonstrates how the Adaptive Triggers can be used on PC. DualSenseX Game Demo additionally requires DSX to work.

DualSenseAT is a third party, open source solution for handling adaptive trigger vibrations which is extending list of supported games. List can be found in project's Github page.

Special K application in "Xbox Controller emulation" mode can translate Impulse Trigger Vibration signals into adaptive triggers vibration.

Games with haptic feedback support

For a list of games, see List of games that support Dualsense haptic feedback.

Since haptic feedback is audio-based (utilizing channel 3 and 4 of the quad-channel audio device on the controller), it is possible to create the faux-haptic feedback using application like Voicemeeter and Simhub, as long as the UseRumbleNotHaptics flag is set to 0xFC (native).

Emulator Yuzu can emulate Nintendo Switch's haptic feedback known as HD Rumble on DualSense controllers.

Because haptic feedback is audio-based and requires the controller's audio device to be exposed to the connected PC, it is not supported over Bluetooth. Some games will fall back to regular rumble instead of having no rumble when the controller is connected via Bluetooth.

Games and apps with explicit haptic feedback support may need the DualSense's audio device being set to "allow exclusive mode" in Windows audio settings (which should be on by default), which can cause the headphone port to not output any sound if haptic feedback is being used while the controller is set as the default audio device. Disabling exclusive mode can lead to haptic feedback being nonfunctional, and apps with surround sound support would playback channel 3 and 4 as haptic feedback instead. Also, the audio haptic signals from the game can be picked up by the application audio capture of some streaming applications such as OBS Studio regardless the latter's audio channel setting, causing audio issue with streams/recordings.

Games with Light Bar support

For a list of games, see List of games that support PlayStation light bar.

Games with DualSense button prompts

List of games with PlayStation button prompts

Issues fixed

Triggers incorrectly mapped in Wine

Since Wine 8.0, hidraw is used by default which can cause issuse with games, especially older games, which don't know how to handle their advanced features.

This commonly manifests with the controller's analog triggers being mapped as a joystick axis.

Disable Hidraw in Wine

If the user know the location of the Wine prefix for the game and have access to the wine command, use the following command to update the value in the Wine registry. Substitute /path/to/prefix with the path to game's Wine prefix. WINEPREFIX="/path/to/prefix" wine reg add 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\winebus' /v DisableHidraw /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f. Alteratively, use the menu-based Wine registry editor to modify this registry value. Open the Wine registry editor for the game. Most game launchers on Linux have an option available to open this for a game. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\winebus. Select DisableHidraw. Set it to a value of 1. Close the Wine registry editor.

Issues unresolved

Controller won't vibrate in games with audio-based haptic feedback support

When a game with standard rumble support is launched, it sends the signal to the controller to set the UseRumbleNotHaptics flag from 0xFC (native) to 0xFF (standard rumble), causing the audio-based haptic feedback to stop working. While some games do sends the signal to reset the flag to native state upon closing (i.e. Warframe and Fortnite), some games may not reset it. The games also doesn't send the signal if they are closed improperly or crashed.

It only occurs with the controller connected to the PC via USB.

Affected games (which doesn't take control of the controller from other games) includes, but not limited to, EA Sports WRC.

Steam Input doesn't exhibits the same behavior as it uses a different method of providing standard rumble.

Flag reset with the PlayStation Accessories app
Install the PlayStation Accessories app. With the controller connected, launch the PlayStation Accessories app, and then close it. It should reset the flag to its native state.

The controller turns off when switching device slots while Steam is running

This happen because by default, Steam assigned the PlayStation+△ ᴛʀɪᴀɴɢʟᴇ for switching off the controller the moment they are pressed.

Change the press type within the Guide Button Chord Layout on Steam
Open Settings in Steam and locate the Guide Button Chord Layout within the Controller tab. Editing the layout by pressing the Edit button next to Guide Button Chord Layout. This will open the Controller Settings menu for the layout. Press Edit Layout and locate the △ ᴛʀɪᴀɴɢʟᴇ button. Click on the gear icon next to it and change the press type to Release Press.

Other information

Technical information

Device name: Wireless controller (out-of-the-box firmware)/ DualSense Wireless Controller (after firmware update), HWID: 054C:0CE6

As of the end of 2024, the DualSense has 5 known hardware revisions divided into 2 variants. The A variant covers revisions 1, 2 and 3 and the B variant covers revisions 4 and 5.

The variant can be identified by the small letter (or lack of, in the cause of the launch model) next to the model number, while the revision can be identified by the second character of the serial number.

Label	Input
Left Stick	X Axis, Y Axis
Right Stick	Z Axis, Z Rotation
D-Pad	Point of View Hat
Square	Button 1
Cross	Button 2
Circle	Button 3
Triangle	Button 4
L1	Button 5
R1	Button 6
L2	Button 7, X Rotation
R2	Button 8, Y Rotation
Create	Button 9
Options	Button 10
L3	Button 11
R3	Button 12
PS	Button 13
Touchpad	Button 14
Mute	Button 15

Input lag

Wired connection input lag: 7.81 ms for button press and 16.08 ms for joystick move at the default 250 Hz polling rate.

Bluetooth connection input lag: 5.58 ms for button press and 13.65 ms for joystick move.

Connection	Input lag
USB (button press)	7.2 ms (± 1.2 ms)
USB (joystick move)	8.8 ms (± 2.0 ms)
Bluetooth (button press)	5.1 ms (± 2.0 ms)
Bluetooth (joystick move)	4.8 ms (± 1.9 ms)
USB OC 1000Hz (joystick move)	2.5 ms (± 0.5 ms)
USB OC 8000Hz (joystick move)	2.0 ms (± 0.5 ms)

Firmware updates

Controller firmware can be updated from Windows devices using PlayStation Accessories app.

Starting with firmware 0x0520, the A and B DualSense variants receive separate firmware update files.