Xbox One S controller connected via Bluetooth in macOS 10.15.4 has mismatched controls

As another update, it appears as though this controls mapping problem (when using Bluetooth + macOS) can be worked around.

I still don’t know what the “trick” is, but I’ve found that if you just keep doing this:

1. Pair the controller to your Mac via Bluetooth
2. Test the controller via https://html5gamepad.com
3. If all of the controls work properly, you’re done...as long as you don't unpair the controller later
4. If the controls are messed up (verify with the right trigger), unpair the controller, and return to step 1

...you’ll eventually get the controls to work properly. And as long as you don’t unpair the controller, it will continue to function normally, across Bluetooth being disabled/enabled, and across reboots.

So it seems that this problem often occurs during Bluetooth pairing, and will likely be more frequent for people who use the same controller with several devices, and unpair it from the Mac frequently. You just need to get a good, “functional pairing” and then things should continue to work, as long as you don’t unpair.

Hopefully this makes sense!

Thank you Jeremy,

Indeed there have been no issues with pairing, which is working properly - and I've gone through that cycle many times. It should also be noted, that the controller is the only Bluetooth device being connected and used.

My wife has an identical MBP running the same OS version. I also have a 2nd XBO wireless controller with the same firmware version. Her MBP has never been used for any gaming whatsoever. I paired that 2nd controller to her Mac, and it has the exact same problems.

Other people have reported success with older firmware versions (on the controller). However, it is not possible to downgrade the firmware. There is definitely some combination of this version of XBO wireless controller and macOS not inter-operating properly.

I don't know how one would go about reporting this to Apple software engineers to verify it independently, but I think that's what needs to happen.

Cheers!

Hello Chris,

Thank you for that suggestion. For whatever reason, I cannot get my MBP to boot into safe mode. Safe mode does work on my wife's, however. Weirdness. Anyway, the controller problem is indeed present in safe mode. I had to use Chrome on that http://html5gamepad.com site; under Safari, the controller couldn't be detected.

These MBP laptops are old (mid 2014) - is Apple Support going to give me the time of day? Secondarily, perhaps the age of the hardware plays a role in this issue. I wish I had access to newer hardware. Perhaps I could take the controller to an Apple Store and try it on a new one :-).

Thanks again!

I continue to encounter people on the Shadow forums having this same problem. What's weird, is the mapping problem isn't always present...the controls sometimes do work properly after a Bluetooth pairing, but it seems to be rare.

This problem doesn't exist under Windows, Android, nor Linux (at least Ubuntu 20.04). It really seems like something Apple needs to address, since the problem only occurs on their operating system.

Actually, Apple allegedly supports the Xbox One S controller under macOS Catalina, as was previously announced https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-tv-adds-support-for-ps4-and-xbox-controllers-wwdc-2019-sony-microsoft/

Also, this controller is made by Microsoft, not Sony.

Asking Apple to fix this, is not unreasonable.

Understood, thank you for that!