How to Pair and Set Up Controllers on Steam

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Mouse and keyboard can work pretty well for most games on Steam, but sometimes nothing beats the controller feel for certain games. And for that, you will need to pair controllers with Steam. So today we’re going to look at how you can properly connect, set up, and configure a controller through Steam. Most modern controllers support the ability to connect to a PC, so this will be more of a general guide on how to do this. Also, these guides are made with Windows in mind as the operating system.

Wired Controllers/No Bluetooth

  1. Plug the controller into a USB port on the PC, this should automatically connect it
  2. Open up Steam
  3. At the top right of the window, enter Steam Big Picture mode
  4. Click on Settings
  5. Click on Controller Settings
  6. Enable support for your given controller

Wireless Controllers/Bluetooth

    1. Open the Settings app on your PC
    2. Click on “Devices”
    3. Click on “Add Bluetooth or Another Device”
    4. Click on Bluetooth
    5. Begin pairing your controller, (This varies from controller to controller)
      1. (Switch Pro Controller) Hold down the circular button on top of the controller for a few seconds
      2. (Playstation 4) Press in and hold down the Playstation and Share buttons at the same time for several seconds
      3. (Xbox) Hold down the “Pair” button for several seconds
    6. Select your controller on the menu when it pops up, this should finalize the connection
    7. Open up Steam
    8. At the top right of the window, enter Steam Big Picture mode
    9. Click on Settings
    10. Click on Controller Settings
    11. Enable support for your given controller
  • Something else to note is that sometimes Steam games may not show the proper button layout in their controls if the game was not designed with the controller in mind. Generally speaking there shouldn’t be any issues using the controller itself, but learning the controls might take a bit more time as a result. With this in mind though go ahead and pair up your controllers with Steam and have some fun.


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