DS4Windows | DS5Windows
Trust us! This is a boon for all the gaming enthusiasts out there. Those who are wondering what all the fuss is about, let us tell them that DS4Windows enables you to play and experience a great number of PC games using your PS4, PS5, or Nintendo controllers.
Working as a gamepad input mapper and a virtual emulator for Xbox 360 Controller, DS4Windows allows you to connect your DualSense / PS5, Dual Shock 3/4 (PS3 / PS4), and Nintendo (Joycon/Switch Pro) controllers via USB or Bluetooth to your Windows 10/11 PC. In simple terms, you are connecting your Sony/Nintendo controller with a virtual Xbox Controller allowing you to play PC games.
Why Choose DS4Windows?
Some of your avid gamers out there might be sceptical about choosing DS4Windows over other alternatives. However, the below features will change your mind and clear all the skepticism.
Profile System
Probably one of the most talked about features of DS4Windows, using this trait, you can create different profiles, each with its controller settings. This way you do not have to change the controller settings to suit different genres of games. Just select the profile that you require.
Supports Dead Zones
Be it dead zone or anti-dead zone, DS4Windows supports both. You have access to both Axial and Radial dead zone types with their values set to default. You can change the values, as you prefer.
Remap Controller as you Wish
With your gamepad and keyboard/mouse control being virtual, you can play around with the functionality of your controller and keyboard + mouse buttons to suit your gaming style. DS4Windows allows you to remap the virtual controls as per your wish.
Enjoy the Rumble Wirelessly
There will not be a great gaming experience without that rumble. DS4Windows provides you wireless rumble support on your brand-new DualSense controllers.
Gyroscope Enabling
Enjoy a variety of Gyro modes like Mouse, Mouse Joystick, Passthru, Directional Swipe, and more. With each mode, you get various options like Smoothing, Invert X & Y, and more.
Preset Options
If you do not want to explore the controller settings at an individual level, you can always choose from different preset options like Gamepad, KB + M Controls with Gyro Mouse, Gamepad with Mouse-like Joystick, Gamepad with Gyro Mouse, and more.
Light bar Settings
With Light Bar control, you can tweak the light bar colors like a professional gamer.
Trigger Effects
DS4 Windows comes with Dual Stage Trigger Effects viz Rigid, Pulse, Full-Click, and more. You can find these options under Axis Configuration > Sensitivity > Trigger Effect. Both L2 and R2 buttons support trigger effects.
Helpful Community
DS4Windows has given a tremendous support to it's community over the years with it's regular updates.
If you are here then you are aware about the purpose and functionality of DS4Windows. However, for the newcomers here, just to summarize it generally, with DS4Windows you can utilize your Nintendo and PlayStation controllers to play PC games on Windows 10/11 through an emulated virtual controller. In this guide, we are going to provide you essential information regarding this wonderful emulator like installation directions, driver setup, controller setup, and fixing known issues.
In this section, you will learn about every tiny detail that you require knowing to setup and use DS4Windows correctly, without any issues, on your PC. Please note download links, wherever applicable, are present. Therefore, without further ado, let us begin. For your convenience, we have a dedicated subsection for each knowledge nugget.
DS4Windows Download | Ryochan7 DS4 Latest Versions (2024)
Installation Requirements for DS4Windows
The below table helps you to understand the system requirements for installing DS4Windows.
Compatible OS | Windows 10/11/8.1/7 |
.NET | |
Visual C++ | Visual C++ 2015-2019 for x64/x86 based systems |
Drivers |
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Supported Controllers |
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- To get the best performance, we recommend having a PC running on Windows 10 or 11. The software does not work/function properly on Windows 8.1. The same is true for the lower version of Windows as well.
- Preferred way to establish connection with the PC.
- USB Cable
- Sony Wireless Adapter
- Bluetooth 4.0 or higher. You can utilize an external Bluetooth dongle or in-built Bluetooth in your Windows 10/11 PC/Laptop.
- If you have Steam installed, disable Xbox Configuration Support / PlayStation Configuration Support.
DS4Windows – Install on Windows 10/11 PC/Laptop
The below steps, highlight the installation process of DS4Windows on PC after you have downloaded all the required tools and drivers.
- Download the latest DS4Windows ZIP File from the below link.
- Please extract the contents of the DS4Windows ZIP File.
- From the full list of extract files, tap on DS4Windows.exe. Please note this is a standalone software and does not require any kind of installation. However, if you do see a “Windows Protected your PC” screen, just tap on “Run anyway.”
- On the screen that comes up, you will see the Step 1 listed as to install the ViGEmBus Driver. Tap on the below link to know how to do it.
If you are utilizing Windows 7, you also require installing a 360 Driver.
- Now, you can connect your DS4/DS5 Controller to your PC using Bluetooth or USB.
- For connecting via USB, you require plugging in the Micro USB Cable to your PC and PS 3/4/5 Controller.
- For connecting via Bluetooth, please hold the PS Button and Share for 3 seconds. This will cause the light bar to start double flashing. You can see the controller now on the list of available Bluetooth devices on your PC. Select it and you are into a wild gaming ride.
Essential Drivers for DS4Windows
The next step is to make sure that all the drivers required for the smooth functionality of the emulator are present. The following table will help you.
| Name of the Driver | Required or Not? | Download Link | Functionality |
| ViGEmBus | Yes | Download | This driver enables the emulator to create the controllers on your Windows PC. |
| HidHide | Yes | Download | Hides your real controller to prevent double inputs. |
| FakerInput | Optional | Download | Though it is optional it has a variety of uses it allows you to use your controller as the keyboard and the mouse. |
Establish Connection of the Controller to PC & DS4Windows
As a next step, you will now establish the connection of your controller to the PC and the tool. For your convenience, we have given steps for both USB and Bluetooth.
Via USB
- Connect a USB cable to the supported controller of your choice. Make sure the USB cable that you are using; it supports data transfer.
- Connect the other end of the wire to your PC.
- Your PC will automatically detect and establish connection with the controller. You will see a message viz Device detected.
Via Bluetooth
- Toggle ON the Bluetooth on your Windows 10/11 Laptop. As mentioned in the beginning of this post, you can utilize a Bluetooth dongle too for the purpose.
- Next, you require making sure that the Controller you are using, is in Pairing Mode. For your convenience, we have covered the instructions for that below.
- DualShock 4 (DS4) > Press and Hold PS + Share buttons until the light bar starts blinking.
- DualSense (DS5) > Press and Hold PS + Share buttons until the light bar starts blinking.
- DualShock 3 > Press and Hold the PS Button on DS3 for 1-3 seconds and you will see a red light start to flash.
- Joy-Con/Switch Pro Controller > Tap and Hold the Sync button until the Controller LEDs start blinking forward and backward.
- Replicas > If you do possess an exact replica of a supported controller, use the same steps as the original controller to set it in Pairing Mode.
- Now, look for the available Bluetooth devices from your PC.
- You will see your Controller coming up in the list. If asked to enter PIN, enter 0000. Please note this PIN situation comes up only if you are trying for the first time to connect your controller to the PC.
- In case, you are not able to establish a connection, chances are you already have the device in the Bluetooth devices list. Just remove it from the known devices list and re-attempt.
How About using Sony Wireless Adapter: –
If you possess a DS4 controller, you have an alternative wireless way to establish the connection of your controller with your PC and DS4Windows. You can utilize the Sony DualShock 4 USB Wireless Adapter. Please note that you can connect only one controller at a time with this method.
- As a first step, plug in the DualShock 4 USB Wireless Adaptor to your PC.
- Press and hold the button of the adaptor for 1-3 seconds until the light starts to blink. It is in pairing mode now.
- Use the buttons on your DS4 Controller to enable the pairing mode on the controller.
- This will connect the DS4 controller to the adaptor and in turn, to the PC as well.
Initial Checklist to Make Sure DS4Windows is Working Properly
After you have completed the above steps and established a connection of the controller with your PC and the emulator, you can go through the below steps to make sure DS4Windows is working correctly.
- In addition, under the Selected Profile option, having the value as Default indicates that Xbox virtual controller emulation is active.In case DS4Windows did not start automatically upon launching the executable, please tap on the Start button.
- Upon establishing the connection of your controller with your PC via Bluetooth/USB, there could be a case that your PC detects it as well. If this is the case, then apart from the virtual controller emulated by DS4Windows, your real controller will also be in the works leading to the infamous Double Input issue.
- For those who have installed the HidHide driver, the Double Input issue will not exist. However, it is always better to cross-check.
- As seen in the below screenshot, if you see the Key icon then it means your real controller is hidden.
- However, if you happen to see the X mark, then it means your real controller is visible and you have to follow additional steps to hide it. In the next section, we will cover these steps.
- In addition, under the Selected Profile option, having the value as Default indicates that Xbox virtual controller emulation is active.In case DS4Windows did not start automatically upon launching the executable, please tap on the Start button.
Q – What is the Default Profile?
This default profile mode makes your PC games think that the connected controller is a real Xbox controller. In this setting, the touchpad on your controller will act like a mouse. However, if you wish to toggle OFF the mouse control, you can tap and hold the PS Button and hit the touchpad once.
Q – How to Emulate the DS4 Gamepad?
Please note that a majority of the games support the Xbox gamepad. However, if you are playing a game that does support the DS4 gamepad, you can create a new profile in DS4Windows or edit the existing profile to switch the settings to suit DS4 emulation. For creating a new profile, use Gamepad + DualShock 4 Preset.
Please note, that in DS4 Emulation, the Rumble effect will not work. The Rumble Effect will work with the DS4 Controller with the Default Xbox emulation.
Fix Double Controller/Double Input Issue
As mentioned in the section above, if you happen to see the X mark, it means the real controller is visible to the PC as well and you have to face the dreaded double input issue.
What Double Input Issue Does?
- The same command was detected two times.
- Multi-player mode is activated automatically.
- The game will give preference to the real controller.
- Sometimes, the game is unable to decide between the two controllers.
- In certain situations, the game will not detect any command.
How to Fix Double Input/Double Controller Issue?
Below, for your convenience, we have discussed two methods to deal with this issue.
HidHide
If you have not installed the HidHide driver in the beginning, then it is time to install it now. Upon successful installation of HidHide, you will not see the Real Controller in the Game Controller menu.
Tips to Use HidHide
- Make sure you reboot your system after installing HidHide.
- If the configuration is correct, you will see the option of Hide DS4 Controllers under Settings of DS4Windows. Make sure it is disabled.
Configuring Client in DS4Windows
- Make sure you exit the DS4Windows tool before configuring HidHide.
- As seen in the screenshot below, do not hide controllers with the name starting from Sony Computer or Controller (Xbox 360 for Windows), as they are the virtual DS4 Controllers.
- Make sure to close HidHide before launching DS4Windows.
Let’s also check out In-Built Hider for DS4Windows.
In-Built Hider for DS4Windows
If you have opted for the latest version of DS4Windows, it comes with an inbuilt hider. In the Settings tab of DS4Windows, the option is present. Upon enabling the same, you are required to give the software exclusive access to detecting the connected controllers. This means, DS4Windows will detect the real controllers but your Windows OS will detect only virtual gamepads. This way the tool itself will detect all the real controllers and hide them.
However, this method will not work if the provision of exclusive access does not happen and the request for exclusive access fails. This can happen in the following scenarios.
- A game is running which is using the real controller.
- Browsers like Chrome or Opera are open.
- You have Nvidia GeForce and it has access to the real controller.
In case you get exclusive access, there are chances that the connection repeatedly drops upon a controller disconnect due to one reason or the other. In this situation, you have to close the game, reconnect the controller, and start the game again. Hence, it is better to use HidHide instead of the inbuilt hider method.
DS4Windows Backups, Installations & User Data – How to Manage?
To give an initial idea, the following is the list of files and folders created by DS4Windows post-successful installation and configuration.
- Auto Profiles.xml
- LinkedProfiles.xml
- Actions.xml
- Profiles.xml
- ControllerConfigs.xml
- Profiles folder
- OutputSlots.xml
Section 1 > Backup, Restoration, & Deletion for User Data
Backup
As a first, you are required to make sure that the backup files are present and are safe on your Windows PC/Laptop. For this, please confirm that the user data is present in two folders viz the primary software folder and the user’s profile folder.
Follow the below steps to proceed with the backup.
- In the DS4Windows Settings tab, please click on the Profile folder and confirm whether the user data files exist there or not.
- If data is present in the Profile folder, make sure the same data is present in the primary DS4Windows folder as well.
- If you see data in both locations, it indicates that the software loads the user data in the location where the Profile.xml file is present. You can take the backup of this folder.
- However, if you wish to take the backup of the entire DS4Windows folder, all you need to do is copy/paste the whole DS4Windows folder. This will also do the job.
Let’s check to know how to restore from a Backup…
Restoring from Backup
If you know how to take the backup, you must know how to restore from the backup.
- First, please copy the data and paste it into the folder where the Profile.xml temp file is present. Make sure you delete the existing Profile.xml file and then paste the backup data.
- You can also choose to restore the user data to the primary folder of DS4Windows. Please note if you do restore the data to both folders, the software will automatically choose the right folder for the usage of the restored data and even delete the data from the folder where it is not necessary making your job easier.
Here you go to the section for the discussion…
Deleting the User’s Data
Deletion is simple. Just go to the folder where everything is present. Choose the data that you wish to delete and do a Delete (clear from Recycle Bin later) or Shift + Delete.
Section 2 > Uninstallation of DS4Windows
If you no longer require DS4Windows and wish to uninstall the emulator and the related drivers, follow the steps below.
Uninstall DS4Windows
- As we have mentioned before, DS4Windows is a standalone software. It launches directly from the executable file and does not require an actual installation. Hence, you do not need to head over to your PC’s control panel to uninstall it.
- All you need to do is select the entire folder that you extracted and do a Delete.
- For re-installation, extract the same folder from the ZIP file and launch the exe file to start the emulator.
Remove Settings + User Data
- Do a Windows + R on your PC and key in “%appdata%” (without the inverted commas) in the Run Command dialog box that comes up. Hit Enter.
- You will see appdata / roaming folder opening up.
- Here you will see the DS4Windows folder. Select and do a Delete for it.
Remove ViGEmBus Driver
- Please note that you have to uninstall this driver only if you are using it exclusively with DS4Windows and no other known application is using it.
- Go to Start Menu > Control Panel > Uninstall a Program (option available under Programs)
- From the list of apps that come up, choose ViGEmBus Driver. Do a double-click to initiate the uninstallation process.
- Follow the simple on-screen instructions and exit the screen once the process is complete.
Remove HidHide Driver
- In the Start Menu of your Windows, tap on Settings.
- In the Settings menu, go to Apps and tap on Apps & Features.
- Use the search bar to look for HidHide.
- Tap on Uninstall.
- Make sure you reboot your Windows PC for the uninstallation process to complete.
Remove FakerInput
Just like you searched for HidHide in the above section, look for FakerInput and uninstall it from your PC. Make sure you reboot.
Remove Legacy Drivers
If you are using the latest version of DS4Windows, then you do not have Legacy Drivers installed on your PC. However, if you are using the older version, follow the below steps.
- Navigate to Control Panel > Programs > Uninstall a Program.
- Choose the HidGuardian Driver and uninstall it.
- Next, choose the ScpVBus Driver and uninstall it.
- Make sure you reboot your PC afterward.
Steam and DS4Windows – Will Conflicts Arise?
If you are using Steam as well on your Windows PC for its controller remapping functionality, there are chances that DS4Windows and Steam can come up in a conflict making it hard for you to play any game. To avoid such conflicts, check the section below.
Steps to Avoid Conflict between Steam & DS4Windows
- Start Steam on your PC and go to Settings > Controller.
- Click on General Controller Settings.
- Disable the option of PlayStation Configuration Support and Xbox Configuration Support.
- Make your way back to the Settings page of Steam. Click on Guide Button Chord Configuration.
- Here you require unbinding all the settings manually.
- Please note you are required to carry out the same process twice once when you are emulating the Xbox Controller and the other when you are emulating the DS4 Controller.
- Make sure you reboot your PC after wrapping up the above steps.
Running DS4Windows under a Custom “.exe” Name
The following applications will not work or will not respond correctly when you have DS4Windows up and running on your Windows PC.
- Shovel Knight > will ignore DS4 Controllers.
- Yuzu/Cemu Emulators > will ignore PlayStation Controllers.
- Steam Big Picture > No interaction is possible with Steam’s big picture interface when using PlayStation Controllers.
- Steam Input > Inputs from PlayStation Controllers ignored.
To make the above work, you can run DS4Windows under a custom .exe name. Below are the steps to do the same. Please note you can choose any name you want. However, for keeping it simple we are choosing DSForW.
Section 1 > Running with a Custom .exe Name
- Launch DS4Windows and make your way to the Settings tab.
- Disable the option of Run at Startup.
- On the right-hand side, you will see an option of Custom Exe Name.
- Enter any name. We have entered DSForW.
- Tap on the Stop button now present on the bottom right corner of the window. Then tap on Start again.
- Exit the software and re-launch it to apply the changes.
- Next, please close the DS4Windows app completely. You have to make sure it is not running from the system tray as well.
- Go to the software folder and you will see the new DSForW.exe file. Launch the exe.
- Make sure you check in the Task Manager to see whether DSForW is running without any hiccups.
- From this point onwards, make sure you do not utilize the older executable DS4Windows. You have to use the new executable DSForW to do any configuration or setup.
- However, if an update for the software arrives, then you have to create a new custom executable by following the above steps again.
Section 2 > Stop Using a Custom .exe Name
- As a first step, exit the software and make sure it is not running in the app tray as well.
- This time, start the original DS4Windows.exe on your PC.
- Again, disable the option of Run at Start Up in case it is ON.
- Now, this time you will remove the name DSForW that you entered in the custom exe name textbox.
- Tap on the Stop button and then tap on Start again.
- Now, the final step is to re-enable the option of Run at Start-Up.
DS4 Screenshots
DS4Windows – How Does it Work?
Let us put the functionality/working of DS4Windows below in simple words.
- Post-installation, you can easily connect your DS4/DS5 controller to the emulator. DS4Windows will emulate the working of a real gamepad by setting up a virtual/emulated pad on your Windows 10/11 PC.
- After establishing the connection of your controller with the emulator, you can customize the controls as per your liking.
- With this amazing emulator, you can use your PlayStation or Nintendo controllers to play any PC game. Furthermore, you can utilize DS4/DS5 controllers in those games as well where Xbox controllers only fit the acceptance criteria.
- Your PC cannot recognize your DS4/DS5 as a PlayStation controller. DS4Windows, with the help of Bluetooth connectivity, tricks your PC to believe that you are using an Xbox controller thereby allowing you to enjoy Xbox games on your Windows 10/11 PC with a Sony DS4/DS5 or a Nintendo gaming controller.
Frequently Asked Questions [FAQs]
Yes! The emulator requires no special permissions on your PC.
Out of all the alternatives, DS4 Windows comes as the smoothest emulator with no lags. This is evident from its ratings and reviews.
No! The emulator works across all the different versions of PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo controllers.
8 is the maximum number of controllers supported by the emulator.
With DS4 Windows, you can emulate your PS2 / PS3 / PS4 / PS5 Controller on PC to play PC Games.
Yes! The emulator works with Windows 10/11 and even Windows 7/8.1/XP.
Final Words
Well! This pretty much covers all that you need to know to interact with and experience DS4Windows on PC in the smoothest manner possible without any glitches or issues. If you feel that something is not present in this guide, feel free to alert us via the comments section provided below.
Thank You.
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hi!