What to Do When DS4 Windows Is Not Detecting Controller?

Have you ever wanted to use your Windows operating system to play your games? Well, with the DS4 Windows tool, you now can! This is an exceptional resource that allows you to play PC games on Windows using Sony’s Dual Shock 4 Controller as your XBOX Controller.

If you are already familiar with this technology, you will also be aware that with the new Windows 10 updates, more and more users are experiencing issues with their DS4 Windows controllers. The issue arises where the controller is not detected and users find out that they are unable to connect with their computers or laptops.

The ds4windows not detecting controller error will usually come along with the “No Controllers Connected (Max 4)” issue. Unfortunately for our users, this issue won’t disappear even after you attempt to reconnect the DS4 controller with your device.

Today, we will be listing out the potential fixes for when the DS4 not detecting controller error occurs by your Windows. However, before we get into solutions, let’s try and understand why the issue arises in the first place!

Why does the DS4 not detecting controller error appear?

• As we have mentioned before, one of the most common reasons behind it not being able to detect the controllers is your Windows 10 Update. Users have reported that the latest update of Windows 10 is one of the main reasons behind this problem.
• Another potential reason behind this issue happens to be when the controller is disabled by DS4 Windows. In this case, the DS4 Windows can disable the controller from being used in Windows 10 by accident.
• Another reason for this ds4windows error might be that your device’s drivers are faulty. The DS4 controller device drivers malfunctioning can also lead to this issue. It can be solved if you attempt to reinstall the drivers.

Now that we have a better understanding of why this ds4windows error arises, let’s get down to the solutions!

What to do when DS4windows is not detecting the controller?

Method #1 : Enable DualShock 4 Controller in Device Manager

Sometimes, your DS4 windows don’t detect the controller because it might be appearing disabled due to certain Windows updates. To fix this, you can manually ensure that Windows 10 enables the device.

Here are the steps to follow:

• For the first step, you will open DS4 Windows and ensure that the DualShock 4 controller is plugged onto your device.
• Then, you can right-click on the Windows Start menu and select Device Manager from this list.

• Once you are in the Device Manager window, open the “Human Interface Devices” option.

• You can then click on the option that reads “HID-compliant game controller” among the listed options and click on “Enable Device”.

• You will then exit the Device Manager.
• Finally, go back to DS4 Windows and your DualShock 4 controller will appear in the “Controllers”

Method #2 : Try to uninstall and then connect DS4 Controller Device

To fix ds4 not detecting controller issue, you can try uninstalling and reconnecting the DS4 controllers.

To go through with this, follow the steps below:

• First, you will exit the DS4 Windows and disconnect your DS4 controller.

• Then you will press and hold Windows and R keys to open ‘Run command box. You can then type in ‘control panel’ and press Enter.

• In Control Panel, go to ‘Hardware and Sound’ settings and then click on ‘Devices and Printers. This will grant you complete access to all the devices connected to your computer.

• Reconnect your DS4 controller and right-click on the icon to select ‘Properties’.

• Next, select the ‘Hardware’ option at the top and double click ‘HID-compliant game controller’.

• Then you will go to the ‘Driver’ option and click ‘Uninstall Device’.

• Finally, you will launch the DS4 Windows on your PC and reconnect your DS4 controller.

In case the previous solution to fix the ds4windows controller cannot not detect controller didn’t work for you, you can proceed to the next one:

Method #3 : Scan the device for hardware changes

In case you have applications or drivers that you recently uninstalled via your computer, this might be your issue! In case this applies to you, your first step should be to scan the device for hardware changes as this can help fix the controllers to detect.

Here are the steps you will need to follow:

• Your first step will be to hold and press the “Windows” and “R” keys together. This will launch the Run Command prompt.

• You can then type in “devmgmt.msc” and click on “Enter”

• Next, you will select the option for “Scan for hardware Changes”.

• This process will surely detect the controller.

Finally, if none of the solutions above was successful, we recommend that you try this last one!

Method #4 :Update the ds4windows

When you try to extract the DS4 Windows download file, you will see not one but two executable app files. These will be the DS4Windows and DS4Updater. While the first is used as a tool to launch the ds4windows application, the second is its update tool.

This is the tool that we will be making use of to fix potential issues that a faulty update might have caused. An error such as this might be hindering the DS4 Windows to detect controller. So, to fix the issue, you can easily install the latest update.

Here’s what you need to do:

• First, you will go to the DS4 Windows file directory.
• Your next step will be to launch the extracted file.
• Then you can select the option for “DS4Updater”.
• After this, your application will scan for the latest version and if there is one available, it will download it.
• When this process is complete, you will see the “DS4 Windows is up to date” message on your computer screen.
• Once you see this message, you can close the DS4Updater window and then reopen the DS4 Windows app.
• Finally, go to the “Controllers” tab, and here you will be able to check if the device is detected and visible.

At the end of today’s review, we have now reviewed what to do when DS4windows is not detecting a controller. This might appear to be a bit complicated but once you follow through with the steps we have outlined, this is not that difficult.

We hope that the information we have added is more than enough to help our readers handle the situation on their own!