Sony launches the best controllers with every iteration of PlayStation releases. But, you can’t directly use these controllers with Windows machines without using an emulator called DS4Windows. Sometimes, DS4Windows may fail to detect your controller. It even throws up this error message “No Controllers Connected (Max 4)“. So, if that happens what should you do? Follow these solutions to troubleshoot the issue so that you can enjoy your PC games with your Dual Shock controller in no time.
Workarounds –
1. The first thing you should check is whether the controller battery is low or it is completely dead. In that case, turn off and disconnect the controller first, then, charge it separately. Then, you can reconnect and enjoy via DS4Windows.
2. Close Steam while connecting for the first time. Steam has the ability to configure and load up the controller configuration which often causes interference with emulators.
Fix 1 – Restart the DS4Windows
Try to stop starting the DS4Windows so that it connects to the controller.
1. Make sure the Dual Shock controller is powered On.
2. Lauch, DS4Windows on your computer.
3. Then, go to the “Controllers” tab.
4. Here, tap “Stop” to stop running the DS4Windows.
5. Wait for a while. Then, go back to the same page and this time, click “Start” to start the emulator.
Now, try to check whether DS4Windows has identified the controller or not.
Fix 2 – Uninstall the controller and driver
Usually, when the controller driver is already installed on your device, DS4Windows may not detect it properly.
Before you proceed, close DS4Windows and don’t forget to disconnect/ detach the controller.
1. You can’t directly open Devices and Printers in Windows 11. So, open Settings.
2. There, on the left-hand pane, select “Bluetooth & devices“.
3. Now, on the right-hand pane, click “Devices“.
4. You will see a comprehensive view of all the devices that you have connected. Even which are disconnected will show up here.
5. Go down and click the “More devices and printer settings” option to open that.
6. This will take you to the Devices and Printers page.
7. There, look for the gamepad. Once you have found that, right-tap it and click “Properties” to open that.
8. In the Properties page, go to the “Hardware” tab.
9. There, look for the “HID-compliant game controller” device. Just, double-tap it to open that.
10. On the HID-compliant game controller Properties page, you have to go to the “General“.
11. Then, tap “Change settings” to open it.
12. After this, you can change the settings. So, head on to the “Driver” section.
13. Then, tap “Uninstall device” to uninstall it from your computer.
14. A warning prompt will appear. So, tap “Uninstall” to do that.
After that, launch DS4Windows and start it. It will immediately recognize the Dual Shock controller.
Fix 3 – Re-enable the device
There is a chance that HID-Compliant device functionality is disabled on your computer. Enable it to use that in DS4Windows.
1. At first, press the Win key and type “devices” in the search bar.
2. Then, click “Bluetooth and other devices settings” to open that.
3. Then, just scroll down and tap the “More devices and printer settings” option to open that.
4. You can reach the Devices and Printers page.
5. Here, you can see the gamepad. Once you have found that, right-tap it and click “Properties” to open that.
6. In the Properties page, go to the “Hardware” tab.
7. There, look for the “HID-compliant game controller” device. Just, double-tap it to open that.
8. You can directly make changes here. So, you have to go to the “General” tab
9. Then, tap “Change settings” to get access to alter the settings.
10. Now, you can change the settings. So, go to the “Driver” section.
11. Here, tap “Enable device” to enable the device
After this, close the Device Manager.
Open DS4Windows and connect the gamepad to it and test. It will be connected easily.
Fix 4 – Reset the DS4
These steps have fixed the problem for many users. So, follow these steps minutely.
1. Download the Remote Play installer from here. Use the Remote Play installer to install it on your system.
2. Then, press the Win key and X keys together.
3. Next, tap “Device Manager” to open that.
4. When the Device Manager opens, expand all the groups and try to find the “Lib32 Wireless Driver“.
5. Then, right-tap it and tap “Uninstall device“.
Close the Device Manager. Then, connect the Dual Sense controller using a USB cable to your system. Windows will automatically install the driver.
6. You can launch Remote Play and test if that is working.
7. Just disconnect the controller and download DS4Windows.
8. Tap “Download” to download the app.
9. Launch DS4Windows and connect the controller. Check if it is appearing in DS4Windows.
10. Now, go to the “Settings” tab.
11. There, you have to check the “Hide DS4” box.
12. Then, uncheck the “Swipe touchpad to change profile“.
Check if this helps. It will
Fix 5 – Use the hardware changes scanner
If you have recently connected/updated the gamepad driver, just scan your device for hardware changes.
1. You can directly open the Device Manager. Press the Win key and the X keys together.
2. So, tap “Device Manager” to open that.
3. When the Device Manager page opens up, click on “Action“.
4. Then, tap “Scan for hardware changes“.
Once you have scanned all your devices, open Ds4Windows and test.
Fix 6 – Use the latest DS4Windows
There is a chance that you are still using an older version of Ds4Windows. The older version we are talking about is the ays2Kings’ DS4Windows 1.4.52. This is actually pretty old and outdated and you can distinguish it from the black DS4Windows icon.
1. Download the latest DS4Windows.
2. This will download the zip file. Now, extract the “DS4Windows_3.1.11_x64” file.
3. This is a portable version so it doesn’t require any installation to work.
4. After extracting the file, open the extracted folder.
5. There, double-tap the “DS4Window” to open it.
6. According to your preferences, you may select the Appdata or Program Folder option.
Now, you can easily use the DS4Windows to emulate the Dual Shock controller.
Hope this solves the problem.