Home/Answers/Controller vibration on a Mac
When can a controller vibrate on a Mac?
A controller vibrates on a Mac when a game asks for it, and macOS has no setting that makes it buzz on a press you choose. InputConfig, a free app from Rockstar Health, adds that: any row in a preset can vibrate a PS5, PS4 or Xbox controller when it fires, at a strength and length you set.
We compare every source of vibration on a Mac and list which controllers can vibrate at all.
Three sources of vibration
| Source | When it buzzes | You choose when |
|---|---|---|
| A game | When the game's own code asks, through Apple's Game Controller framework | No |
| System Settings, Game Controllers, Identify | Once, as a test pattern | No |
| InputConfig | Whenever a row you picked fires, at a strength and length you set | Yes |
Which controllers vibrate
| Controller | Vibrates in InputConfig |
|---|---|
| PS5 DualSense, DualSense Edge | Yes, over Bluetooth and USB |
| PS4 DualShock 4 | Yes |
| Xbox Wireless, Xbox Elite | Yes, through macOS haptics |
| Steam Controller (2026) | Yes, experimental, while Steam is closed |
| Switch 2 Pro, GameCube and Joy-Con 2 | No |
| Generic USB pads, arcade sticks, wheels | No |
Why a buzz you choose is useful
Feedback you can feel confirms an action without looking. That helps anyone, and it helps most when your eyes are busy or the screen is hard to read. In InputConfig the buzz can go on the edge of a stick, so you feel when it is all the way over, on a region of the DualSense touchpad, on a trigger click, or on a macro that gives no sign on screen that it ran.
Strength and length
Strength. From 10 to 100 percent in steps of five. The default is 60.
Duration. From a short Tap up to two seconds.
On a DualSense. Its actuators take about a fifth of a second to reach full strength, so InputConfig plays anything shorter as a 220 ms buzz. If a buzz feels weak, make it longer before you make it stronger.
On repeating rows. A turbo row buzzes once when it starts, not on every repeat.
What no Mac app does here
Textured haptics. This is rumble from both motors, not the textured haptics PS5 games use.
Game rumble. InputConfig does not pass a game's rumble through or add rumble to a game that has none.
Notifications. It vibrates on what you press or move, so it cannot buzz when a message arrives.
Trigger resistance. That is a separate setting: since version 1.8, a DualSense or DualSense Edge trigger can be given Light, Medium or Firm resistance for a preset.
The full guide
The step by step setup lives on the InputConfig site: setting up vibration, step by step. InputConfig is free on the Mac App Store, open source under the MIT license, and runs on macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon and Intel Macs.
Questions people ask
Can I make my PS5 controller vibrate on a Mac without a game?
Can an Xbox controller rumble on a Mac?
How do I test whether my controller's motors work on a Mac?
Does controller vibration work over Bluetooth on a Mac?
More answers
About these comparisons
Rockstar Health is a nonprofit that makes adaptive mobility hardware and free accessibility software, including InputConfig. Facts about other apps come from their own listings and repositories on the dates given, and we have not tested the community tools named here. If something is out of date, tell us and we will fix it.