How to reconnect your PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5 controller - The Verge
If your DualShock 4 or DualSense controller isn’t connecting to your PS4 or PS5 console, there’s a very simple solution to get it paired.
Sony’s PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 both use wireless controllers that rely on a singular method for connecting and resyncing with the consoles: a cable. While Microsoft and Nintendo have used wireless pairing on their respective systems for several generations, Sony sticks by the old ways it established back with the PlayStation 3. The PS4 DualShock 4 and PS5 DualSense controllers are capable of wirelessly pairing to other devices via Bluetooth, but when it comes to your PlayStation, you have to bust out their respective Micro USB and USB-C cables.
Here’s what to do if you’re having connection woes or your controller won’t turn on.
Pretty much all of your PlayStation controller connectivity headaches can be solved by remembering an annoying air freshener jingle from the ‘90s: plug it in! Did you press the PlayStation button in the middle of the controller and not see any flashing LED lights or any responsiveness? Plug it in to charge it. Did you turn it on and see the LEDs endlessly flashing as it fails to connect? Plug it into your console via its corresponding USB cable and press the PlayStation button again. Did you turn on the controller and notice the LEDs go solid to indicate a connection to something but your console is not responding? Again, plug it into your console via USB and press that PS button. Perhaps you last connected to a different device, like another PlayStation, a PC, or a phone or tablet — it’s okay, we’d never judge you if you forgot — and it’s just time to sync it with your console again.
The DualSense uses a USB-C port for charging and pairing to the PS5, just like most new devices these days.
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
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This clunky reliance on a wire to connect or reconnect a wireless controller to the very console it’s designed for is a little archaic, but at least it’s simple. Just plug it into the PS4 or PS5, hit the PS button, and it sorts itself out. Keep in mind that if you or someone in your household was using that controller wirelessly on another device, that connection gets overridden.
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