Seeing a friend playing with the PS4 controller on his smartphone, you got intrigued and asked him how he managed to achieve such a result. He replied by telling you that he simply took advantage of the phone’s Bluetooth connectivity to connect the PlayStation 4 pad and use it to play all supported titles.
As soon as you became aware of this possibility, you threw yourself on the web looking for a guide that would teach you how to activate the Bluetooth on the PS4 joystick to be able to connect it to your smartphone, your tablet and your computer, and so you ended up here, on this tutorial of mine. That’s the way it is, am I right? Then know that you are in the right place!
In fact, below you will find explained how to activate Bluetooth on the PS4 controller, or rather, how to put the pad in pairing mode and connect it successfully to all supported devices. Also, I will mention the headphones talk, but there, I tell you right away, things get less simple. But now enough chatter and let’s get to work!
Index
- How to activate Bluetooth on PS4 controller
- PC connection
- Mac connection
- Connection to Android
- Connection to iPhone and iPad
- Connection to PS4
- How to turn on Bluetooth on the PS4 Headphone Controller
How to activate Bluetooth on PS4 controller
Activating the Bluetooth on the PS4 joystick is disarming ease: just hold down the SHARE keys (the one above the left analog) and PS (the central one with the PlayStation logo) until the LED light on the top of the pad begins to light up and turn off intermittently.
For the rest, just follow a few simple steps and the controller can be paired almost instantly with all compatible devices. Find all the details below.
PC connection
If you want to connect the DualShock 4 (this is the official name of the PS4 controller) to a PC with Windows 10 , you have to click on the Start button (the flag icon located in the lower left corner of the screen) and access the panel Windows Settings , by selecting the gear icon on the left in the newly opened menu.
On the next screen, go to Devices , then to Bluetooth and other devices and, if necessary, turn on the Bluetooth lever . Clearly, to enable Bluetooth, your computer must have support for this wireless communication technology. If this is not the case, you can solve it by purchasing a simple Bluetooth USB adapter to connect to one of the PC ports: I point out some cheap but good quality ones below.
TP-Link UB400 Bluetooth Adapter USB 2.0 Dongle Bluetooth 4.0 Wirele …
See offer on Amazon
Maxesla Bluetooth Adapter USB Bluetooth 4.0 Plug And Pla …
See offer on Amazon
To complete the pairing between the PS4 pad and the computer, make sure the controller is in pairing mode (the upper LED must flash) and click first on the Add Bluetooth or other device item and then on Bluetooth . Wait, then, for the name of the Wireless Controller to appear on the screen and click on it to confirm the pairing.
Then, if you change your mind, you can remove the association between computer and controller back in the menu Devices> Bluetooth and other devices of Windows settings and clicking first on the name of the wireless controller and then on the button Remove .
If any steps are not clear to you and / or you want more information on how to use the PS4 controller on PC , read my tutorial dedicated to the subject, in which I also explained how to use Remote Play to play streaming from your console.
Mac connection
Even MacOS supports DualShock 4. To proceed with the combination of the PS4 controller to your Mac, then open System Preferences (the ‘ gear icon located on the bar Dock ) and go to Bluetooth .
At this point, if necessary, press the button to activate Bluetooth (in the left sidebar), make sure that the pad is in pairing mode (the upper LED must flash), scroll through the list of detected devices and click on the Connect button relative to the DUALSHOCK 4 Wireless Controller , to associate controller and computer.
In case of second thoughts, to dissociate the PS4 pad from the Mac, all you have to do is go back to the System Preferences> Bluetooth menu of macOS, select the name DUALSHOCK 4 Wireless Controller , then the (x) placed in its correspondence and confirm .
More details can be found in my tutorial on how to use the PS4 controller on a computer , where I also told you about the PS4 remote control function from macOS and Windows.
Connection to Android
If you have a smartphone or tablet Android , you can connect the PS4 controller to it going in the menu settings (the ‘ gear icon located in the Home screen or in the app drawer), and by moving on Bluetooth if not see this specific item, search for it using the appropriate search bar at the top.
In the next screen, if necessary, move the option relating to Bluetooth activation to ON , make sure that the DualShock 4 is in pairing mode (the upper LED must flash), wait for the Wireless Controller to appear in the list of paired devices and press it above, to establish the connection.
When the operation is complete, in case of second thoughts, you can disassociate the PS4 controller by returning to the Settings> Bluetooth Android menu , selecting the Wireless Controller , pressing the Forget button and confirming .
For more information, I invite you to read my tutorial on how to connect the PS4 pad to your phone . I point out that you can also take advantage of the remote play app to stream PS4 on Android via your console.
Connection to iPhone and iPad
If you have an iPhone or iPad updated to iOS / iPadOS 13 or later, you can pair the PS4 controller with the latter in a very simple way: to start, open the Settings menu (the gear icon located in Home screen), go to Bluetooth and, if necessary, activate the lever for the Bluetooth item .
Make sure, therefore, that the PlayStation 4 controller is in pairing mode (the upper LED should flash) and select DUALSHOCK 4 Wireless Controller from the list of available devices. The game is done!
Subsequently, in case you have second thoughts, you can dissociate the DS4 from the iPhone or iPad by returning to the Settings> Bluetooth menu , selecting the (i) placed in correspondence with the DUALSHOCK 4 Wireless Controller and tapping the items Forget this device and Forget device .
For more information on how to connect the PS4 pad to your phone and use it to play supported titles or the PS4 remote play app , read my guide dedicated to the topic.
Connection to PS4
If you want to pair the DualShock 4 to a PS4 , you don’t have to use Bluetooth directly – you have to physically connect the controller to the console. This will allow you to establish the connection between the two devices and then take advantage of the Bluetooth technology to use the pad wirelessly with the PlayStation.
To proceed, therefore, turn on the PS4 using the appropriate button on the same, connect the controller to one of the USB ports available on the console (you can use any microUSB / USB cable) and press the PS button .
Mission accomplished! You can now unplug the cable and use the controller wirelessly with the PlayStation you connected it to. You will need to repeat this operation each time you connect the pad to a device other than the console.
How to turn on Bluetooth on the PS4 Headphone Controller
Were you looking for a way to activate Bluetooth on the PS4 pad so that you can connect a pair of wireless headphones or earphones to it? Then I’m afraid I have no good news.
The PS4, in fact, does not allow you to use the classic Bluetooth headphones. There are wireless headphones for PS4 , but they are designed specifically for the Sony console and work through a receiver that connects to the USB port of the PlayStation.
There are many headphones of this type on the market, including some official models produced by Sony: I told you about them in a super-detailed way in my buying guide dedicated to PS4 headphones .
Sony PlayStation 4: Platinum Wireless Headset – Platinum
See offer on Amazon
In reality there would also be a way to connect common headphones and common Bluetooth headsets to the PS4, but the results are not always guaranteed: I am referring to the possibility of buying a USB Bluetooth adapter and connecting it to the console and then connecting the headphones to this. last.
In general, the procedure to follow is this: connect the Bluetooth adapter to one of the USB ports of the PS4 (the device, at that point, should appear in the Settings> Devices> Audio devices menu of the console), activate the mode pairing on both the adapter and the headphones and that’s it.
But be careful: I repeat that not all adapters are of the same quality and there may be problems with delay, microphone operation, etc. If you want to learn more, you can take a look at this Reddit discussion (in English) which talks about how to connect AirPods to PS4 .
Personally, however, I recommend that you turn to a good pair of wireless headphones designed specifically for the Sony console and always read the comments of other users before buying any type of adapter or headphones. Then don’t tell me I didn’t warn you!
