macOS Monterey 12.3 causing game controller issues

Xbox Core Controller Hero
Xbox Core Controller Hero (Image credit: Microsoft)

What you need to know

  • macOS Monterey 12.3 was released recently.
  • Lots of users are having trouble with their game controllers on the new update.
  • Controllers can de discovered and connected, but don't actually do anything.

Multiple users are reporting that the most recent macOS Monterey update is causing issues using game controllers.

As noted by MacRumors, users on Apple's Developer Forums and Reddit have been reporting this issue over the last week or so. One Redditor stated:

Controller support is completely broken with macOS update 12.3.My DualSense controller does nothing when paired over bluetooth after updating. Tried with multiple different games:Apple Arcade games like Tetris BeatNon-App Store games: Hollow Knight, Disco Elysium, Hades — Seem to work okay (basically any app that doesn't use the native GameController framework but uses their own custom framework works fine)

The post has multiple upvotes and some reports of similar issues, although not everyone seems to be having trouble. A similar thread on the developer forumrs reads:

I tried to connect my xbox controller to my MacBook, even though the controller is registered in bluetooth setting, but it doesn't function at all. Have anyone met the same problem and if there's a fix for this problem

Again, multiple comments indicate others are having the same issue. Plenty of people seem to suggest that their devices can detect and even connect to these controllers, but that they don't function once paired. The news is another unwelcome quirk of macOS Monterey, earlier this week it emerged that the latest 12.3 update was bricking the Macs of users who had previously had their logic boards replaced by Apple.

Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design.

Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9