Switch joy-cons connect but don't work on Macbook Air

Question

Switch joy-cons connect but don't work on Macbook Air

Hello, first-time Mac user here 👋

I have the newest MacBook Air with M5 chip.

I have read it is possible to use Switch joy-cons on a macbook, mainly to use Apple Arcade.

I have managed to connect both joy-cons to my laptop (they both appear as 'connected' in the Bluetooth settings, but when I open an Apple Arcade game my mcbook doesn't seem to detect them at all (pressing any buttons doesn't do anything).

Am I missing something?

If that's any relevance the joycons battery show 0% charge on laptop settings (they work fine connected to my Switch, and I have recently updated them)

Any help would be great thank you!

Posted on Mar 19, 2026 1:58 PM

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Answer 1

John Galt

Level 10

158,106 points

Mar 20, 2026 9:04 AM in response to broomleking26

I admit I have no idea what a joy-con is but from the lack of replies I suspect nobody else does either.

I have managed to connect both joy-cons to my laptop (they both appear as 'connected' in the Bluetooth settings,

At least that part sounds correct. Pairing a BT device to a Mac is simple enough but it does not mean that connection will actually do anything. Now that it's connected though, I think you will need to investigate the joy-con's settings or whatever documentation it may have to determine how to make it work.

If that's any relevance the joycons battery show 0% charge on laptop settings ...

It probably is relevant. Some communication aspect is missing.

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