DS4Windows not working? How to Fix and Troubleshoot

This page is dedicated on fixing your DS4Windows and resolving any issues as quickly as possible.

We have compiled a list of categories and sections on how to fix DS4Windows.

Simply click on the issue you are experiencing and follow the troubleshooting instructions for DS4 Windows to work correctly.

DS4Windows Common Issues

DS4Windows silently does not open, crashes, does not start or fails to save settings

DS4Windows silently does not work, crashes or open as normal but then fail to Start every time the “start” button is pressed followed by a error message on the Log.

DS4Windows not detecting my controller

Issues with getting your controller connected via USB or Bluetooth to the computer or to get them recognized by DS4Windows

Games not recognizing the virtual controller

DS4Windows detects your controller and appear to function as normal, but games do not detect the controller

Controller detected but not behaving correctly in-game

Games detect the controller but it does not behave as expected when playing

Keyboard and mouse remapping related issues

Check the Keyboard & Mouse (KB+M) remapping issues page for the usual issues faced by users and how to solve them.

For help configuring and fine-tuning a profile to have the best possible keyboard and mouse control then you are out of luck as no such guide exists on this site at the moment.

Double Input Related Issues

If the game detects both the real and the virtual gamepad at the same time then it will receive commands from 2 different devices at every button press and stick movement, which can lead to the infamous double-input issue that can make games unplayable.

Double Input issue may:

  • Detect every command twice, making it unplayable
  • Start 2 player mode randomly
  • Ignore the virtual controller because it picked the real controller first
  • Respond incorrectly to the controller’s inputs
    • Usually happens because, even though the game is correctly reading the virtual controller, it is also incorrectly reading the real controller’s inputs at the same time
  • Do not respond to any controller command
    • Usually happens because the game detected the real controller first while being simultaneously unable to read its inputs
  • Other non-obvious issues

To prevent or fix this issue it’s necessary to hide the real controller in order to make only DS4Windows’ virtual controller visible to games.

See HidHide guide here

Steam and DS4Windows relationship

  • Steam and DS4Windows both have what is called “controller remapping” functions. To avoid conflicts, it’s recommended that every Steam controller related option is disabled so only DS4Windows is being used as a remapper
    • Your controller will work as normal in the vast majority of games regardless of Steam’s controller related options being disabled
    • A really small amount of Steam games require the usage of Steam’s controller options to have working or full DS4 controller support (e.g.: Horizon Zero Dawn). For more information on this, check the Steam related information page.
  • Steam ignores DS4 or DualSense controllers (real or virtual) if it detects DS4Windows is running on the user system, which makes no difference for most users as games will still detect the controllers as normal. The downsides to this Steam behavior are:
    • Real or virtual Playstation controllers won’t be able to control the Big Picture interface (emulated Xbox controllers work as normal)
    • There are a few games that require usage of Steam’s controller options to have working or full DS4 controller support (e.g.: Horizon Zero Dawn). Because DS4 controllers are ignored, it’s not usually possible to use the controller through the required Steam’s Playstation Configuration Support in those cases
  • It’s possible to prevent Steam from detecting that DS4Windows is running to workaround the points given above, but doing so can cause remapping conflicts depending on how both of them are configured, specially if the Playstation configuration support option is enabled. As such, this should only be done if absolutely necessary! For more information on this, check the Running DS4Windows under a custom “.exe” name guide.

Headphone/mic issues when controller is connected

Check the dedicated Headphone or mic related issues troubleshooting page.

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