A paired Xbox One controller can be used to play any game that supports controllers on the Mac, whether that’s popular titles like Fortnite, or Apple Arcade games, or many others. The Microsoft Xbox One S and Xbox One X controllers are great controllers to play with and very popular with gamers in general, and now it’s easier than ever to.
Whether you’re trying to no-scope that enemy on COD or score a last-minute slam-dunk on NBA, the touchpad just doesn’t do it.
How to Play Xbox One Games on Mac. Turn on streaming on your Xbox One. You need to turn on your Xbox One and go to Settings - Preferences - Game DVR & Streaming - Allow game. Then on Xbox app connections choose Allow connections from any device. Leave your Xbox turned on and signed in to the. Dec 03, 2020 You will now find Xbox 360 Controllers among the icons at the bottom. Click to open it. It will display ‘No devices Found’ if your controller is not connected. The next step will be connecting your controller. Connecting the Controller. Plug in the Xbox One controller in the Mac. For the latest MacBook/MacBook Pro, use the USB-C to USB-A.
So, we thought we’d share the best tips on how to connect an Xbox 360 controller to your Mac, to make them tense gaming moments a little easier.
Before you do: Clean up your Mac
BUT, before we get into all the juicy techy stuff, let’s remind you of how beneficial cleaning up your Mac can be.
Before installing any new hardware, it’s important to have an un-cluttered file space so the new software can run efficiently, and you can keep an eye on what’s where.
With CleanMyMac X, it’s easy. It’s one-click cleaning approach and powerful scanning means you can swiftly dispose of useless documents and apps which may be slowing your Mac down.
So, to get optimal controller connectivity, you should download CleanMyMac and tidy up your digital space – prior to any installations. Now, onto how to use an Xbox 360 controller on a Mac.
Play Xbox Games On Mac
How to use the Xbox 360 controller on Mac
Not many of us know it, but there could be a handy use for all those old Xbox 360 or Xbox One controllers lying around. But, before you get set up, you need to have the correct hardware installed on your Mac to enable connectivity.
Here’s how.
First of all, you will need either a wired or wireless Xbox controller. Both work fine, but for all those passionate gamers with a tendency to erupt, a wireless device would be best to save any damages to wires (or opponents). These wireless receivers can be bought for around $20 on Amazon, and can handle up to 4 Xbox 360 controllers.
Free Drivers
Obviously, Macs don’t have an in-built driver for Xbox controllers as Apple are in no way affiliated with Microsoft. Similarly, Microsoft doesn’t supply drivers for Mac users for their hardware, which leaves us wanting users having to find our own way.
So back in 2006, it was music to gamer’s ears to hear that Tattie Bogle had developed their own driver free of charge to users across the gaming globe. However, this driver hasn’t been updated since 2012, and is therefore sticky when it comes to compatibility with MacOS X.
For a more streamlined approach to this conundrum, download GitHub’s free driver – it’s maintained and updated frequently and is free to all Mac users.
1. Install the driver
How To Play Xbox Games On Macbook Air
After opening the GitHub link, double click on the DMG file visible under ‘Assets’. This will start the installing process, where you will have to follow the appropriate instructions.
Remember though, as with any new program installation, it will reboot your Mac, so don’t panic. After the restart, you should be able to find ‘Xbox 360 Controllers’ in the system preferences.
2. Connect the Xbox 360 Controller to your Mac
Now you’ve installed the driver, the next step is to connect the controller, which is simple and only needs to be done once.
Firstly, you need to plug the USB receiver into a free USB port on your Mac. Once plugged in, the USB receiver’s light should start blinking
Press the big Xbox logo button on the controller so it lights up green
Press the button on the USB receiver
Press the connect button on the controller, which can be found at the top - in-between the left and right toggles
The top left quarter of the circle around the Xbox button should now light up, indicating you are the first controller connected
Now the controller and Mac are linked - so in the future if you want to connect again, all you need do is press the big Xbox logo button to get going. Told you it was simple!
3. Test the Controller
As with all things techy, there’s always loopholes. So, it’s important to test the connections to ensure the controller works before we embark upon a mobile-gaming-gallivant.
Go to ‘System Preferences’, ‘Xbox 360 Controllers’ and you’ll see a screen like below.
This is a control pad, which indicates whether all the buttons on the controller are working properly. That’s about all you can do on this, as well as shutting the controller down by clicking ‘power off’.
4. Configuring for multiple games on your Mac
We all have different tastes in games - some of us like sports and some of us like military, there’s no right or wrong (asides from Half-Life, that’s just awesome and it’s not up for debate).
With these different games come different control configurations, which can get tedious when you only have one type of controller.
For full flexibility of use, there are many tools and apps available which allow you to play any game with any Mac compatible joystick or controller – even the ones that are not compatible with joysticks.
5. Use Joystick Mapper
Out of the many apps to choose from, Joystick Mapper is our pick. And at only $4.99 from the App Store, it’s real value for money – especially when considering the amount of effort it takes to develop such a complex tool.
Here’s how it works –
Once you download the Joystick Mapper app, you need to create a pre-set for your game preferences. To do this, open the app and click ‘Add new pre-set’.
Enter a name for future reference such as ‘My Game’, and for each joystick, click ‘Add a new joystick’.
Now that you’ve identified the joystick, you need to ‘bind’ joystick inputs to keyboard or mouse movements - which is easier than it sounds.
Click on ‘Add new bind’, and then ‘Scan’, and press the button of your game controller that you’d like to use. Next select a mouse or keyboard action, and that will ‘bind’ the chosen inputs.
Simply repeat this process until you’ve bound all the buttons you’d like to use.
If by chance you’re using a controller other than an Xbox 360 or Xbox One, you can replicate these actions and apply them to different controllers. To do this, simply click the ‘Clone’ icon in the top right corner. To put the pre-set into action, set a checkmark before the preferred pre-set/profile you’ve created for the game you’re about to play. Now, you’re good to go!
BUT – don’t close the Joystick Mapper app before starting the game, it needs to keep running to work. Simply select ‘cmd + H’ to hide the window.
Declutter your Mac to make more room for games
Remember, all of these processes won’t work as effectively if you have a messy Mac.
On average, there is a whopping 62GB of junk found on Macs, with jam-packed caches and folders full of useless documents cluttering the hard drive.
This considerably slows down the performance of your Mac, preventing quick and easy installations, and can even hinder the controller connectivity.
CleanMyMac X is an app dedicated to cleaning your Mac head-to-toe. It scans everything on the computer - even old folders that have been evading your wrath for years - identifying what needs to be removed.
The Mac is inspected rigorously, and with its smart one-click clean-up, CleanMyMac sweeps away the unwanted rubbish to organize folders and speed up performance.
Furthermore, CleanMyMac X is free to download. So, what are you waiting for? Download it for free here.
AirPlay has been developed to easily transmit videos, audios, photos, documents, and other files among Apple devices. It offers a simple and effective way to share contents from iPhone iPad iPod and Mac to Apple TV, speakers, and AirPlay 2-compatible smart TVs.
When you turn on AirPlay on Mac, you can broadcast the screen of your Mac to Apple TV or smart TV in real-time. However, many users faced the issue of AirPlay not showing up on Mac or no AirPlay icon on Mac issue. Are you one of them?
How To Use Xbox One Controller On Macbook Air
Do you know how to turn on AirPlay on Mac? In fact, many Apple users are still not familiar with AirPlay and its capability. Here in this post, we will tell you more information about the Apple AirPlay and right way to enables AirPlay feature and use it.
Part 1. How to Turn on AirPlay on Mac
Apple AirPlay allows you to stream video and mirror your display from Mac and iOS device to Apple TV with ease. To turn on and use AirPlay on Mac, you should make sure both your Mac and Apple TV are on the same Wi-Fi network.
When your Apple devices are under the same Wi-Fi network, AirPlay will simply connect and start the streaming. AirPlay will use a point-to-point Wi-Fi to stream if your devices are not on the same network connection.
An AirPlay icon will appear at the top of the screen in your Apple menu bar when a compatible AirPlay-enabled device is within the vicinity of your Mac. Just simply tap the AirPlay button and select a target device, you can easily AirPlay video from your Mac.
Step 1. To mirror your Mac display to Apple TV or AirPlay 2-compatible smart TV, you should first find the content you want to stream on Mac.
Step 2. If the AirPlay icon is missing on Mac when an Apple TV is around, you can go to System Preferences → Displays → Display and choose the Show mirroring options in the menu bar when available.
Step 3. Click the AirPlay button to turn on AirPlay on Mac. Then click in the video playback controls.
Step 4. Now you can select the target Apple TV or smart TV and start the AirPlay streaming. When you want to stop the Mac content streaming, you can click the in the video playback controls again and then choose Turn Off AirPlay.
How To Use Xbox Controller On Macbook Air
When you turn on AirPlay on Mac, you can see the icon appears blue when the feature is active. You should know that, on your MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, the Airplay icon only shows in the menu bar when the AirPlay mirroring is available.
For mirroring iPhone to PC, AirPlay is not enabled. You should refer to this post.
Best AirPlay Recorder you may like to know
- Record AirPlay music, video and iTunes streams and more with high quality
- Capture any online movies, music, video audio calls, gameplay, etc. on Mac/Windows
- Record sound from system audio card or microphone voice
- Save recorded AirPlay streaming content in any popular video or audio format
Get the details here to record screen on Mac.
Part 2. Why AirPlay Not Showing Up on Mac
As it mentioned above, many Apple users get the AirPlay not working issue like AirPlay not showing up on Mac, Apple devices are not connecting and AirPlay icon missing on Mac. There are many reasons will cause the AirPlay not working properly problem. The following are some common reasons why this may occur.
AirPlay not working issue is mainly caused by the Apple devices connected to different Wi-Fi networks.
Sometimes, when you are using an out-of-date firmware, you may also face the no AirPlay icon on Mac situation. So, you should update your Mac or iOS device to its latest version.
If you are on a bad network connection, when streaming media content from one device to another, you may easily get the AirPlay not working issue. In some cases, the bad network can’t afford streaming files to another device.
Part 3. FAQs of How to Turn On AirPlay on Mac
Question 1. How to use AirPlay?
To enable AirPlay feature and use it on your Apple devices, you should make sure all these Apple products are on the same Wi-Fi network. Then you can use AirPlay feature and stream content from iPhone, iPad or Mac to your Apple TV.
Question 2. How to use AirPlay on a smart TV?
To use AirPlay on a smart TV, you should first make sure this smart TV is an AirPlay 2-compatible smart TV. Then connect them to the same Wi-Fi network. When you want to use AirPlay to mirror content to your smart TV, you can turn on AirPlay feature on Apple device and then select your smart TV from the AirPlay device list.
Question 3. How to reset AirPlay on Apple device?
How To Play Xbox On My Macbook Air
When you want to reset the AirPlay feature, you can restart your Apple device and reboot your Wi-Fi router. By doing so, you can do a complete resetting of AirPlay.
Question 4. How does AirPlay work?
How To Play Xbox One On Macbook Air Hdmi
Apple AirPort Express can easily detect and connect all of your Apple devices if you are using it as your wireless router. At the same time, all the compatible devices will recognize each other when they are under the same Wi-Fi network. AirPlay will detect all these devices and make the connection with ease.
How To Play Xbox On Macbook Air For Free
Conclusion
Hope you can learn more information about AirPlay after reading this page. You can get a detailed guide to turn on AirPlay on Mac. Also, you will know some reasons why AirPlay not showing up on Mac. You can leave us a message if you still have any questions about the Apple AirPlay.