this post was submitted on 30 Apr 2026
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Someone built the PlayStation controller PC dongle that Sony refuses to make (www.xda-developers.com)
submitted 1 week ago by OldQWERTYbastard@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/foss@beehaw.org
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[–] cerebralhawks@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 1 week ago (2 children)

What does it do?

Steam games tell me they’re compatible with my Xbox controller, and also PlayStation controllers.

I have a Mac, and whenever Apple talks gaming, they always show PlayStation controllers (but they silently note that Xbox controllers do, too).

What does the dongle do? Or are you saying Macs are the only computers that are compatible with PlayStation controllers? Make that make sense.

[–] KryptonNerd@slrpnk.net 0 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It adds the haptics and adaptive triggers functionality, I don't know how well that works on other systems without a dongle though.

[–] cerebralhawks@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Adaptive triggers, if it is what I think it is, sounds like a game changer. Introduced with the DualShock 4 (PS4) IIRC, it means that if you only apply half pressure to the triggers (L2, R2), the game can see how much pressure you are applying and translate that in the game. The best example would be a racing game where you might not want to "put the pedal to the metal" all the time and only push halfway down. When you're coming into a tight bend, you're expected to drift — to pull the handbrake (I think? I suck at these games and especially at drifting) and pull the wheel the other way so you slide. But a normal driver would just ease up on the gas.

Haptics is vibration and I get vibration in my Xbox controllers on my Mac when playing games on Steam. Weird that you wouldn't get it on a PlayStation.

I have a PS3, but I don't think the DS3 is PC/Mac compatible. I think it was either the DS4 or DS5 onward. I know the DS5 is because that's what they show, but I feel like, since the Xbox One controller is PC/Mac compatible, the DS4 should be as well (same gen).

[–] LeTak@feddit.org 0 points 1 week ago (1 children)

PS5 HapticTriggers do only work on supported games like DeathStranding on MacOS. Don’t know if it also works on Windows and Linux

[–] undu@discuss.tchncs.de 0 points 1 week ago

Works on Linux wirelessly, at least on the steam deck.

[–] phailhaus@piefed.social 0 points 1 week ago

You are thinking of analog triggers, which work fine over Bluetooth. Adaptive triggers is game-controlled resistance and feedback within the trigger. A rifle trigger, for example, is light at first, then when you get close to the firing point it gets heavy for a moment and then 'breaks', suddenly going all the way.

This works on PC if you plug in via USB, but very few games support it on PC and Stam Input breaks it.

Haptics are high-quality rumble. Rumble is basically just turning a motor on and off, often in a high and a low mode. Modern controllers drive vibration motors at varying levels using a sound signal, giving far more nuanced control. They often also have more motors that are independently controlled. This also works when plugged in via USB.

[–] locuester@lemmy.zip 0 points 1 week ago

What does it do?

Seriously? That's what the article is about. You just have to click the link and skim it.

[–] jay2@beehaw.org 0 points 1 week ago (1 children)

There was a company that offered them for $12.00 back in the late 90's. Sony shut them down before anyone I knew could even get one.

[–] thingsiplay@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I had a Playstation 1 dongle. It was my first PC gamepad that I used (mainly for emulation) and it served me good for years. It was the only controller I could accept for playing games, because PC Gamepads at that time were terrible. Didn't know Sony shut them down. Always wondered why not more people used it.

[–] jay2@beehaw.org 0 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yeah, that was the one, and I couldn't agree more about it being the best joypad. Logitech was the best for PC, but fell far short of a PS joystick quality.

The company did have to stop selling them at the request of Sony. A friend, the one who told us all about it, tried to order one too late. The order stalled for a week before getting cancelled if I remember right.

You were probably one of a lucky few that got theirs in that slim window of availability. Congrats.

[–] thingsiplay@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 week ago

It was cheap too, less than 10 Euros or the like and it didn't have any input latency (at least none I could feel). I remember friends ordering other adapters and some had builtin latency.

[–] black_flag@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 1 week ago (1 children)

The article mentions windows... Can we do this on Linux without the dongle?

[–] Walk_blesseD@piefed.blahaj.zone 0 points 1 week ago

Just tested in CP2077, yeah, it works just fine over bluetooth as well as USB.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 0 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I fail to see why one is needed. They work via Bluetooth. They also work via a regular USB-C cable if the features you want are not supported wirelessly. There is no reason for it to need a special dongle.

What is needed more than hardware is the developers of games to utilize whatever tools Sony has provided to add the support for things like haptics and triggers to their game. It's not impossible to have adaptive triggers with the wireless connection; almost every major game releaeed in 2025 and 2026 has native support for it. Many games released prior have also updated to include native DualSense support over BT.

Steam could also help here, adding in a new translation layer thing so Steam Input can provide the same functionality as a wired connection and not report it as an Xbox controller. You can already do this with DS4Windows.