SOLVED: I Got The Xbox One (Original) Controller Work With M1 MacBook Air On Steam!

[ejay]

I am so ecstatic to share this news! I finally found a solution to finding a controller that works with the m1 macs, but not just the mac but also steam! It's simple, I've only found one controller that works on mac. It's the Wireless* Xbox One ORIGINAL controller (original meaning it has a micro usb port).

Before you click away, please know I've literally researched almost every fix and bought almost every type of xbox controller to see what works. This controller is literally just plug and play and I had to do no settings tinkering. It worked with a good amount of games in my library but not all. I could've tinkered to see if I could fix it, but the fact that it worked with AAA games was big for me. I'll put a list of games that it works with and more info at the bottom of this post.

To emphasize a few things:
- It has to be the Wireless Xbox One Original Controller. You'll know because it only has two buttons under the xbox logo, and a micro usb port (NOT Usb-C) on it.
- Other controllers may work (if not with a lot of tinkering). This works straight to the point with the games it works with, or not at all. Better than the 0% success rate I've been getting with other controllers.
- I had Gamepad Config and all other settings on. No special downloads, drivers, etc. And of course, I couldn't download the gamepad driver from steam but weirdly enough it didn't ask me to.

FYI:
Popular known issues that I didn't have to fix:
- The gamepad input controller driver update from steam not working on m1 macs
- Bluetooth not working with mac/mac not detecting it
- Controller connects to mac just fine and works with mac games, but not with steam itself and steam games (i.e. steam doesn't detect controller, or does detect the controller but it doesn't work with games for some reason)
- Steam loads wrong gamepad configs for games and they don't work

How I set up the controller:
- Literally just bluetooth connection. Paired the controller with the mac, and it should pop up as Xbox Wireless Controller and steam should instantly pop up with a message about using your controller in a window and have a popup notification in the corner. (Note: You should see the battery percentage of the xbox controller in your menu bar. All other controllers I've tried doesn't show the battery when connected, so this is a good sign you've got the right controller).
- I just started up any old game and it normally would work without just fine, or not at all.

Games I've tried it out with so far:
- Batman Arkham City GOTY
- Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion
- Hitman
- (Didn't Work) Streets of Rogue, Bastion (I could probably get it to if I tried)
- Also works with MacBook and iOS games like Sky and Asphalt 9 which sucks because why can't I steer my own course smh


I've accidentally stumbled on this solution because I've tired using controllers a long time ago, about a year. I saw my bud at work using a controller on his iPhone and decided to give it a shot on my MacBook to play batman. It worked seamlessly, I didnt have to change any settings and was able to give him back the controller in 3 minutes and get back to work. Hope this helps!

If you find a fix to playing any other games that might not work immediately with the controller, please let me know!

[76561199131890832]

Send me a private message

[cherado de creatina᲼]

that's great!