How to use a PS3 controller with Windows 10 [Quick Guide]
- Many users would rather play games on their Windows 10 devices using their joystick without investing in another expensive gamepad.
- You can now easily connect your PS3 controller to your PC and in this article, we will show you the specific steps.
- Head over to our How to Hub for more exciting guides and information.
- Make sure you don't forget to check out our dedicated Gaming section for more useful content.
Windows 10 is closely connected with Microsoft’s own Xbox One console, but there are some exceptions that could be made.
For example, you can use Xbox‘s bitterest rival’s joystick as your regular computer joystick, with the little trick I’m going to show you in this article.
If you own a PlayStation console and don’t want to spend money on expensive gamepads for their computers there is a workaround that will allow you to use the joystick you already have.
In this article, we will explore how you can use a PlayStation 3 controller with Windows 10, so keep reading.
How can I use PlayStation 3 controller on Windows PC?
1. Use a third-party software
For an error-free gaming experience is always a good idea to use dedicated software that will make sure all your drivers will be up to date. One tool that does exactly this, is DriverFix.
This software will keep your controller connected to the PC and will keep you away from connection/recognizing errors while playing games.
DriverFix is reliable, fast, efficient and your drivers will be updated in no time.
Once you download it, make sure to select Surface Pro, and from there on the software will proceed to update and fix any old, missing, or damaged drivers.
DriverFix
Get an error-free game playing experience with the best driver update. Try the best software now!2. Use Motioninjoy
So, to be able to get your PS3 gamepad working on Windows 10, you have to do a couple of things first. The very first thing you need to do is to download the proper driver for your PlayStation 3 joystick.
There are a lot of drivers of this kind, but we recommend you download Motioninjoy.
Okay, so you downloaded and installed the driver, but your PS3 joystick still doesn’t work on your Windows 10 machine? Well, that’s normal, because Microsoft won’t let you use PS3 hardware by default.
So you have to do a little trick, called disabling driver signature enforcement, in order to be able to the PlayStation 3 gamepad on Windows 10 computer.
To disable driver signature enforcement, follow these steps:
- Go to Start Menu and open Settings.
- Go to Update and Security.
- Choose Recovery from the left panel.
- Under Recovery section, choose Advanced Startup.
- Your computer will restart and you’ll get advanced startup options on the next boot.
- In these options, choose Troubleshoot.
- Now head to Advanced options and select Startup Settings.
- The computer will restart again and it will give you the list of startup settings you can change.
- You should look for Disable driver signature enforcement, to turn off this option, press F7.
- Restart your computer and boot normally.
After disabling driver signature enforcement, your Motionjoy drivers should work just fine.
After you set up your drivers, follow the instructions from Motionjoy, and you’ll be able to use PlayStation 3 controller on your Windows 10 computer.
3. Use Bluetooth dongle
- Make sure you have the latest Xbox 360 drivers installed on your computer.
- Plug in your PS3 controller with your USB.
- Now, download the XInput Wrapper drivers.
- Unpack the file using WinRAR (or any other compression software) and run the ScpDriver.exe file from the ScpServerbin folder.
- Finish the installation process.
- Restart your computer.
That’s it. After performing this, you should be able to use your PS3 controller with official Xbox 360 drivers.
You can also check out the best controllers on the market right here. If you have any more questions, feel free to drop them in the comments section below.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in August 2015 and has been since revamped and updated in September 2020 for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.
Hello,
A wrong driver version can always be a problem. Try to find the right one and install it.
Cheers!
This article is out of date. You can still download Motion In Joy but the program is web based and the Motion in Joy website has expired.
Will the Bluetooth way work with internal Bluetooth on my PC? I’d rather use it wirelessly as the USB cable comes free too easily
What the heck this literally did nothing and now what good did it do? What is disabled now because of this? Can I fix it?
got windows 10 pro, did all the steps, not working
The driver software is called “MotioninJoy”; there’s an extra “in” in the name.
Forget motionjoy, its useless, I use DS4Windows or SCPserver
Is DS4Windows not only for PS4 controllers?
I’m using it on a ps4 pad and a ps3 pad 🙂
Scp server is the best to use, 100% reliable.
100% true?
Following these steps worked for my PS3 controller. Unfortunately it killed my Bluetooth drivers. Can’t see my BT dongle anymore. 🙁
can you reneable the driver signature enforcement after you download the motionjoy
The answer to this question is pertinent to my curiosity as well. I expect the answer to be “No” since the driver would be blocked from running if driver signature enforcement is back on, unless the driver signature is only checked during downloading which it could be. Does anybody know the answer to this technical inquiry?
No. To use the driver, the signature enforcement needs to stay turned off.
Well that doesn’t sound safe at all. Especially since a sizable portion of people who use this guide are probably the kind of people who should keep that kind of stuff enabled.
I’d encourage people find a solution that doesn’t involve crippling valuable security settings their OS has built in to protect them. I’m not implying that doing this imposes any sort of immediate risk, but these are precisely the kind of things day one viruses attempt to exploit so it’s probably better to be safe and leave this stuff alone.
It’s primarily there for development and troubleshooting purposes, afterwhich it’s re-enabled. Not for mainstream usage.
here is a video guide that shows u guys how to use the ps3 controller on windows 10 and it works 100% let me know how it vent for ya
i have successfully connected my ps3 via usb to my pc in m.j bluetooth tab its says, have paired to this but its doesn’t work wireless via bluetooth .need help with it. dnt wana use a wireless controller as wired one.
PS3 controller works straight away in 3 sec on mac os and linux (fuck the windows 10), and windows games too.
But gaming is way better in windows and Mac os are by many reasons the wrost choice
So your solution is to either get a Mac or install Linux?
Wow, that’s really helpful.
I did everything it asked and when I plug it in all it does is light up for a few seconds.
Lol, against Microsoft’s “rules.”
Since when does an OS vendor get to decide what peripherals you use with your system?
I think they forget, Linux is actually pretty comparable competition.
It’s not at all against MS’s rules.
1) You need the correct driver
2) Windows Vista and up uses driver signing to help protect your system from malicious drivers such as rootkits. If the driver had been signed with a proper certificate issued by a verified certificate provider (e.g. Verisign) then all you would need to do is install the driver.
also i went back an update windows curropted but the drivers started working proply after i did this but unforchnatly i had to reinstall win 10 so i lost that goodness and have hated microsoft with an even stronger passion scince then
it isn’t microsoft’s fault… exactly. this wouldn’t be needed if sony deved their own driver, but whql support isn’t free. so quite blatantly it is sony’s fault for refusing to add the support, all other peripheral manufactureres of course have to pay this fee and submit drivers for certification while using their whql license to distribute beta drivers with their own signature. sony already has a whql license all they have to do is dev a driver and submit it, no extra cost to speak up, maybe 10-20 grand.
Or instead of all that reinforment thing, just change the date of your computer back to 2013 or so then go back to DS3 then install with no problem ????
Wiil the process work both for wired and wireless?
Just wired.
Should it restart automatically when I hit f7?:-)
Yes, that’s supposed to happen.
I followed all of the instructions and all that happens when I plug in the control is it charges…
I hate stupid xbox controllers, playstation all the way.
don’t use motionjoy….see on the web it’s spyware
Yea, spyware… Just like 99% of internet’s content. Don’t believe your browser nor your malware detector. It deceted a virus in Steam.exe once.
Worked!
How?!
yay! i cant stand xbox controllers because of the dumb analog stick layout. it causes serious pain in my left wrist and they do not have any alternative setups available, but for those who like the analog stick setup you can get 3rd party ps3 controllers that do have the crooked analog sticks, another reason why playstation is a superior console
i did all the steps in this but it didnt work help?
Although this is a very useful article for those who just insist on using a PS3 gamepad (used to or prefer the layout, feel, whatever), I feel the need to point out that an Xbox 360 controller isn’t terribly expensive, and will work immediately out-of-the-box without any complicated modifications like above. You can get one rather cheaply (by comparison) from Wal*Mart, for example…just avoid the expensive name-brands. I don’t even own a 360 anymore (Red Ring of Death), but I still purchased some 360 controllers for computer use so I can play classic multiplayer games with family & friends on my PC. (Mario Kart 64, w00t!)
But like I said, for those who just prefer the feel & layout of a PS3 controller, and are willing to go through the steps necessary to make it work, this article is still very helpful.
That may be true. I have one, myself. thing is, XBox controller analog sticks suck. I have to buy a new controller every 2 months because the stick coasts to a direction on every one. usually left or right on the right analog so I am constantly correcting line of sight.
I have 2 PS2 controllers mainly because I gotta have a red one. Have the same one for 4 years.