PS4 Controller Not working via Bluetooth

I can't figure out why my DS4 isnt working via bluetooth on my PC. Im using a bluetooth dongle and everything connects fine. My fiance uses an Xbox controller and the game responds to that, and i even got a nintendo switch pro controller to work. But for some reason the DS4 wont work unless it's plugged in via cable. Outside of the game I can see my comp responding to the inputs, but inside the game, nada. I set the device as Wireless Controller which is what my DS4 is under and everything I did with the Xbox controller.

Ive been trying to find an answer for this online, but everything is from years ago or the person fixed it and had no clue how or doesn't clarify. There was one post here this year by a user named 16bit, but the thread closed before any answers were given.

Given that 16bit's situation is almost identical to mine, I'll answers the questions that were asked on their post.

Good afternoon and thank you for posting on the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums.

To clarify the issue, you are unable to use the PS4 controller while using Bluetooth, correct? However, it will work if you connect via USB?

YES

When connecting via Bluetooth, do you use a Bluetooth adapter, or is it integrated into your PC/laptop?

ADAPTER, THERE IS NO BLUETOOTH INTEGRATED INTO THIS COMPUTER

Do you use any other programs to connect the PS4 controller to the PC? Do you play the game through Steam or use any of the controller options through Steam?

I DO NOT. I DO NOT USE STEAM

We hope we can be of assistance in helping you enjoy the exciting world of Final Fantasy XIV!

Do you have DS4Windows installed? I had the same problem until someone pointed DS4Windows to me. You don't need it for wired connection, but you do for wireless.

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Originally Posted by Vilhem

Do you have DS4Windows installed? I had the same problem until someone pointed DS4Windows to me. You don't need it for wired connection, but you do for wireless.

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Do I need a third party program like DS4Windows to use the PS4 controller via bluetooth but not switch/xbox?

you don't need to use DS4
the game already has ps4 compatibility
DS4 for some reason ignores FF14 entirely and makes the controller not work

my pc also has no blue tooth and i used one of these
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/-iwAA...ki~/s-l400.jpg

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Originally Posted by Duskane

you don't need to use DS4
the game already has ps4 compatibility
DS4 for some reason ignores FF14 entirely and makes the controller not work

my pc also has no blue tooth and i used one of these
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/-iwAA...ki~/s-l400.jpg

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I'm also using a USB bluetooth for my controller and it pairs just fine. It even responds to my controller input outside of the game. The problem is it EXCLUSIVELY wont respond in game and I've found no actual fixes on this. Like I mentioned before I've gotten the Xbox One controller and Switch Pro controller working fine. I follow the same exact steps when trying to use my PS4 controller but it still wont respond.

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Originally Posted by ZellStygian

I'm also using a USB bluetooth for my controller and it pairs just fine. It even responds to my controller input outside of the game. The problem is it EXCLUSIVELY wont respond in game and I've found no actual fixes on this. Like I mentioned before I've gotten the Xbox One controller and Switch Pro controller working fine. I follow the same exact steps when trying to use my PS4 controller but it still wont respond.

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for when i had this issue i just removed DS4 from my PC and it worked just fine

I recommend you to use Steam's gamepad drivers. Don't use other external programs like DS4windows and such, it's quite buggy and doesn't work on all games, and also it has a lot of problems and it may stop working suddenly.

Open Steam, go big picture, config and then gamepad config. There you have full support for DS4 controllers. You can even remap some buttons, change the color of the light etc...

It just works and you don't need to run specific buggy programs.

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Originally Posted by ChocoFeru

I recommend you to use Steam's gamepad drivers. Don't use other external programs like DS4windows and such, it's quite buggy and doesn't work on all games, and also it has a lot of problems and it may stop working suddenly.

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I've never had these problems. Not to say I've had zero problems, namely exclusive mode. Sometimes I have to pull my usb dongle out and reinsert before activating it but I feel like that's more a Windows 10 update problem that borked it. Was fine before the last major update.

Also I use the updated forked DS4Windows, not the old original.

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Originally Posted by ChocoFeru

I recommend you to use Steam's gamepad drivers. Don't use other external programs like DS4windows and such, it's quite buggy and doesn't work on all games, and also it has a lot of problems and it may stop working suddenly.

Open Steam, go big picture, config and then gamepad config. There you have full support for DS4 controllers. You can even remap some buttons, change the color of the light etc...

It just works and you don't need to run specific buggy programs.

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Do you need to run in big picture mode for this to work or just to set up the controllers.

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Originally Posted by LaylaTsarra

Do you need to run in big picture mode for this to work or just to set up the controllers.

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Just setup once, then you don't have to do anything ever, just make sure Steam is open and that's it.
You can make different profiles and stuff as well!

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Originally Posted by Mesarthim

I've never had these problems. Not to say I've had zero problems, namely exclusive mode. Sometimes I have to pull my usb dongle out and reinsert before activating it but I feel like that's more a Windows 10 update problem that borked it. Was fine before the last major update.

Also I use the updated forked DS4Windows, not the old original.

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The problem comes when you want to play other games :/ it doesn't work on some games. With Steam it will work on any game since it has better drivers (it will work on non-steam games as well)

I use PS4 controller on PC myself. My favourite way to connect is to use the Sony DS4 Bluetooth Adapter (as pictured in an above post) as it lets me use the headphone jack on the controller itself if I want to. I pair it with InputMapper v1.6 to get rumble functionality and/or make use of the touchpad if I need these but not required to use the controller. I don't use 1.7, it has a memory leak and will cause some pretty bad lag in FF14 after a few hours of being on until you close InputMapper. That and I hate how 1.7 causes PS4 controllers to be unusable until you open InputMapper because of the HID Guardian program that is part of the program. The Sony DS4 Bluetooth adapter is quite expensive at $60-$90 new as Sony has stopped manufacturing these (a shame really).

I've also tried using 8bitdo bluetooth adapter and that makes the computer see the PS4 controller as an Xbox 360 controller. You lose headphone and touchpad with this but rumble works so you just use it as a Xbox 360 controller. This works pretty well and is easy to pair and only costs about $25 on amazon. Works with a lot of other Wireless controllers too.

I've also used a couple different highly rated regular bluetooth adapters from amazon where reviews says it worked for their PS4 controller and have also used a couple integrated bluetooth adapters with couple laptops. This one is the most troublesome. Problem is Sony uses their own custom bluetooth driver in the controller itself which causes it to not want to always connect with regular bluetooth. I looked it up previously but I've since forgotten specifics but generally the DS4 controller discovery and pairing mode has to short of a timer/timeout and doesn't give Windows enough time to establish a connections a lot of the time. DS4Windows is a program that is supposed to replace the Windows bluetooth driver to remedy this but I had no luck using this method, that was 3 or 4 year ago though.

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Originally Posted by ZellStygian

I can't figure out why my DS4 isnt working via bluetooth on my PC. Im using a bluetooth dongle and everything connects fine. My fiance uses an Xbox controller and the game responds to that, and i even got a nintendo switch pro controller to work. But for some reason the DS4 wont work unless it's plugged in via cable. Outside of the game I can see my comp responding to the inputs, but inside the game, nada. I set the device as Wireless Controller which is what my DS4 is under and everything I did with the Xbox controller.

Ive been trying to find an answer for this online, but everything is from years ago or the person fixed it and had no clue how or doesn't clarify. There was one post here this year by a user named 16bit, but the thread closed before any answers were given.

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Can you let us know which bluetooth adapter you're using? While just about anything you get on the market should work, the bluetooth stack it uses could provide more information. (Typically, it's going to have an intel or broadcom chip in it, but there are multiple stacks which are part of the driver and supported protocols, which does matter).

Sony's drivers with the DS4 have always been a little weird. Like in order to use PS4 Remote Play, you must use USB or use one of their pricey discontinued adapters. Neither of these use xinput, however, as the DS4 only shows up as a dinput device. (Generic vs xbox support). If you want features like vibration or the ability to change the lightbar's color, or even just to check battery life, you will absolutely need to use an xinput wrapper program, whether that's InputMapper, one of the many forks of DS4Windows, or Steam. Personally, I prefer the ryochan7 fork of DS4Windows as InputMapper has had multiple issues with my windows 10 machines and the newer versions aren't ready for production yet. Steam's controller support also leaves me wanting because it tries to overcompensate for "desktop mode" and other things which just gets in the way of letting the controller just be a controller.

TLDR: Use DS4Windows because the stock DS4 wireless drivers are basically nonexistent. Yes, xbox controllers get special treatment because they're first-party supported devices.

So I've ended up using DS4Windows because it just happens to work. I dont use Steam but I'll leave that as an option just in case. I don't run FF14 through steam so i dunno if thatll be an issue. I am just a bit bummed that I have to use other means to use the PS4 controller at all in-game compared to the simple bluetooth connection the Xbox and Switch Pro controllers do

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Originally Posted by Thamorian

I use PS4 controller on PC myself. My favourite way to connect is to use the Sony DS4 Bluetooth Adapter (as pictured in an above post) as it lets me use the headphone jack on the controller itself if I want to. I pair it with InputMapper v1.6 to get rumble functionality and/or make use of the touchpad if I need these but not required to use the controller. I don't use 1.7, it has a memory leak and will cause some pretty bad lag in FF14 after a few hours of being on until you close InputMapper. That and I hate how 1.7 causes PS4 controllers to be unusable until you open InputMapper because of the HID Guardian program that is part of the program. The Sony DS4 Bluetooth adapter is quite expensive at $60-$90 new as Sony has stopped manufacturing these (a shame really).

I've also tried using 8bitdo bluetooth adapter and that makes the computer see the PS4 controller as an Xbox 360 controller. You lose headphone and touchpad with this but rumble works so you just use it as a Xbox 360 controller. This works pretty well and is easy to pair and only costs about $25 on amazon. Works with a lot of other Wireless controllers too.

I've also used a couple different highly rated regular bluetooth adapters from amazon where reviews says it worked for their PS4 controller and have also used a couple integrated bluetooth adapters with couple laptops. This one is the most troublesome. Problem is Sony uses their own custom bluetooth driver in the controller itself which causes it to not want to always connect with regular bluetooth. I looked it up previously but I've since forgotten specifics but generally the DS4 controller discovery and pairing mode has to short of a timer/timeout and doesn't give Windows enough time to establish a connections a lot of the time. DS4Windows is a program that is supposed to replace the Windows bluetooth driver to remedy this but I had no luck using this method, that was 3 or 4 year ago though.

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I actually got an ASUS bluetooth adapter from MicroCenter a couple days ago for like 20 bucks cuz my fiance's xbox controller and my PS4 controller's usb jack started to break (only works when pushed to certain angles) so instead of getting new controllers we saved some cash by just buying the adapters. I still don't know why mine wont work as simply as hers but the problem is more or less settled with a 3rd party program which i kinda wanted to avoid but what can ya do xP

I'm glad I just run my PS4 controller wired... I never need to worry about charging, just have to worry about tripping over the cord. ;)

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Originally Posted by Thamorian

Problem is Sony uses their own custom bluetooth driver in the controller itself which causes it to not want to always connect with regular bluetooth. I looked it up previously but I've since forgotten specifics but generally the DS4 controller discovery and pairing mode has to short of a timer/timeout and doesn't give Windows enough time to establish a connections a lot of the time. DS4Windows is a program that is supposed to replace the Windows bluetooth driver to remedy this but I had no luck using this method, that was 3 or 4 year ago though.

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That was the case for the Dualshock 3. Dualshock 4 controllers can be paired with a normal bluetooth stack.

The problem with most games is that they aren't coded for dinput (generic controller), only xinput (360/xbone controllers).

In FFXIV's case, it does support those, but it varies and is generally lackluster. That's why people use xinput wrappers like DS4Windows. Internally, DS4Windows previously used SCP Toolkit, but this has since been moved to ViGem. If you run into "exclusive device" issues, then you need to make sure you have a specifically supported bluetooth adapter, but this doesn't matter much for FFXIV when you can select which device from a drop down.

I know this is an old thread, but I had a similar issue. Go into Device Manager, and uninstall the bluetooth dongle. Afterwards, plug the dongle back in and retry. Should work.