How to pair your PS5 or Xbox controller with a PC, laptop, phone, or tablet

When you buy a new Playstation 5 or Xbox Series X / Series S console, you get a great game controller with it. They’re designed to complement their respective consoles perfectly, but the PS5 DualSense Controller and Xbox Wireless Controller can have life beyond them.

If you want a controller for playing games on your desktop or laptop, or if you’re tired of touch controls on your phone or tablet, try using the best controller you already have. Before delving into the instructions on how to pair these controllers with your other devices, keep in mind that some features of the controller, like voltage in triggers and vibration, may not work properly. You’ll also need to configure your controllers, and they won’t work with all games.

Special offer for Gear readers: get a One year subscription to WIRED for $ 5 ($ 25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com and our print magazine (if you wish). Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.

If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. It helps support our journalism. Learn more.

How to pair a PS5 controller with Windows 10

The easiest way to use your PS5 DualSense controller with a Windows 10 desktop or laptop is to plug it in with a cable. All you need is a spare USB-A port on your computer, and you can use the USB-C to USB-A cable that came with your PS5.

But a wireless connection is probably preferable, and you can use Bluetooth to make one, provided your computer has a Bluetooth receiver (click the speech bubble icon in the lower right corner of the toolbar. tasks to open Windows Action Center and search for Bluetooth). If your computer doesn’t have bluetooth, you can take bluetooth dongle like this TP-Link USB Bluetooth Adapter for about $ 10.

Here is how to connect the PS5 controller:

1. Boot up on your Windows 10 computer and type “Bluetooth” into your Windows search box at the bottom left of the taskbar.
2. To select Bluetooth settings and other devices, make sure Bluetooth is turned on Sure. Click on Add bluetooth or another device, then click Bluetooth.
3. Take your controller and simultaneously hold down the Create button in the top left and the center button of the PlayStation logo for about three seconds.
4. The light bar on the controller should start flashing quickly, which means it is in pairing mode.
5. On your computer, you should see Wireless controller pop up in the Add device list, and you can click it to pair it.