Fix: DS4Windows Not Detecting Controller Windows

DS4 Windows is a tool that emulates Sony’s Dual Shock 4 Controller as an XBOX Controller letting you play PC Games on Windows OS. With the latest Windows 10 updates, a majority of users have experienced a problem with DS4 Windows as their DS4 controllers are unable to connect with their PCs/ laptops. It usually comes up with “No Controllers Connected (Max 4)” error and doesn’t disappear even after reconnecting the DS4 controller with PC/ laptop.

Why Won’t DS4 Windows Detect Controller in Windows 10?

There might be a number of reasons initiating this problem and these are depicted below.

Solution 1: Un-installing and Reconnecting DS4 Controller Device

This issue can be resolved by uninstalling and reconnecting the DS4 controller device. To proceed, follow the steps mentioned below.

1. Close DS4 Windows and disconnect your DS4 controller if you haven’t already done it.
2. Press Win + R keys to open ‘Run’ dialogue box and type ‘control panel’ followed by the Enter.

   

3. Inside the Control Panel, navigate to ‘Hardware and Sound’ settings by clicking over it. Now, click on ‘Devices and Printers’ listed at the top in order to access all the devices connected to your PC.

   

4. Now, reconnect your DS4 controller to your PC. It would popup an icon of a game controller as depicted in the image below. Right-click on the icon and select ‘Properties’.

   

5. Inside your DS4 controller properties, click on the ‘Hardware’ tab at the top and double click ‘HID-compliant game controller’ to open its properties.

   

6. Now, navigate to the ‘Driver’ tab and click ‘Uninstall Device’. This process would uninstall the game controller. Make sure to disconnect it from your PC after performing the aforementioned steps.

   

7. Open DS4 Windows on your PC and reconnect your DS4 controller. Your game controller would popup inside the Controllers section.

Solution 2: Re-enabling DS4 Controller

Some users have also experienced this issue even during the gameplay i.e. DS4 controller stops working and gets disabled automatically. This might be a bug in DS4 Windows software but it can be rectified by re-enabling controller device from the device manager.

1. Open the ‘Run’ dialogue box by pressing Win + R shortcut key. Type devmgmt.msc and hit Enter key on your keyboard.

   

2. Expand the list by clicking over the arrow with ‘Human Interface Devices’ and double click on ‘HID-compliant game controller’.
3. Enable it to get it detected by DS4 Windows.

Solution 3: Uninstalling Windows Update

Update to the latest build of Windows can obstruct the functionality of some devices connected to your PC. In case, the above solutions don’t work for you, un-installing Windows update might be a lender of last resort.

1. Press Windows + I keys on your keyboard to launch Settings.
2. Inside Settings, click on ‘Update and security’.
3. Navigate to ‘Windows Update’ from the list on the left pane and click on ‘View installed update history’.

   

4. On the next window, click on ‘Uninstall updates’. Wait for the list to populate all of the installed updates on your computer.

   

5. You can organize the list based on the latest installed updates at the top. Select the update after which you started experiencing the problem and click ‘Uninstall’. Go through the un-installation wizard till the end. Restart your computer after the process is done.

Solution 4: Uninstalling Driver and Setting DS4 Windows Up

In some cases, the controller doesn’t work even after going through all of the methods above. Therefore, in this step, we will be doing a lot of configuration because it has fixed this issue for a lot of users.

1. Navigate to this link to download the “Remote Play App” for your PC.

2. Check to see if the controller works. If it doesn’t, press “Windows” + “R” to open Run prompt and type in “Devmgmt.msc” and press “Enter”.

   

3. Look around for a “Lib32 Wireless Driver” in the device manager.
4. Once found, right-click on it and select “Uninstall Device”.

   

5. Now, connect the controller to the PC with a USB and let Windows install the drivers.
6. Check if the Remote Play App works now. It should work but its functionality might be limited.

7. Disconnect your controller and download DS4 for Windows.

   

8. Get it set up using the instructions in the setup,

9. Connect the Controller and check if it gets recognized.

10. Check the “Hide DS4” checkmark.

11. Uncheck the “Swipe touchpad to change profile” option and check to see if the issue persists.

Solution 5: Scanning for Hardware Changes

If you have recently uninstalled any driver or any other application on your computer removed a driver, you should scan for hardware changes since it can sometimes get the controller working again. For that:

1. Press “Windows” + “R” to open the Run prompt.
2. Type in “devmgmt.msc” and press “Enter”.

   

3. Click on the “Scan for hardware Changes” symbol.

   

4. Check to see if the issue persists.