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I can't even get something to pop up. I've tried just pressing the PS button, USB cable, tap 3 times, etc etc... NOTHING shows up on my Mac. How are you guys getting stuff to show up? Bluetooth is enabled and discoverable, OSX 10.7.3.
 
did your mac came with lion?

I can't even get something to pop up. I've tried just pressing the PS button, USB cable, tap 3 times, etc etc... NOTHING shows up on my Mac. How are you guys getting stuff to show up? Bluetooth is enabled and discoverable, OSX 10.7.3.

As i said in the title, did your mac came with lion preinstalled, or did it had snow-leopard in the past?

i'm asking this question because my mac (a mbp late 2011, had lion preinstalled) and i have the same issue as you. i also read other stories similar to mine on the web (about mac with lion preinstalled that have troubles with the dualshock 3)

i didn't found a solution yet :(
i hope someone can help
 
As i said in the title, did your mac came with lion preinstalled, or did it had snow-leopard in the past?

i'm asking this question because my mac (a mbp late 2011, had lion preinstalled) and i have the same issue as you. i also read other stories similar to mine on the web (about mac with lion preinstalled that have troubles with the dualshock 3)

i didn't found a solution yet :(
i hope someone can help

Lion preinstalled. :(
 
I can't even get something to pop up. I've tried just pressing the PS button, USB cable, tap 3 times, etc etc... NOTHING shows up on my Mac. How are you guys getting stuff to show up? Bluetooth is enabled and discoverable, OSX 10.7.3.

These instructions and video are from Snow Leopard but should show you the steps required.

First thing to do is make sure you have the following items and software ready before you begin.

10.6 or better
No PS3 Gamepad driver software installed (UNINSTALL ALL DRIVERS THEY BREAK THE SUPPORT)
PS3 Gamepad
USB charging cable for PS3 gamepad
Bluetooth enabled on your Mac
Once you are ready please download and watch the video below it will take you thorugh all the steps you need to take to connect your PS3 Gamepad to your Macintosh computer.

Walkthrough Video
 
These instructions and video are from Snow Leopard but should show you the steps required.

First thing to do is make sure you have the following items and software ready before you begin.

10.6 or better
No PS3 Gamepad driver software installed (UNINSTALL ALL DRIVERS THEY BREAK THE SUPPORT)
PS3 Gamepad
USB charging cable for PS3 gamepad
Bluetooth enabled on your Mac
Once you are ready please download and watch the video below it will take you thorugh all the steps you need to take to connect your PS3 Gamepad to your Macintosh computer.

Walkthrough Video

it does not work for me... :(
 
i do not have any drivers installed...
how can i know if the pad is fully charge?

You can check when it is synced to your PS3.

When you are trying to connect it to your Mac you do have your PS3 turned off?

Are the red lights flashing or is one of them solid red and the others turned off?

Edwin
 
You can check when it is synced to your PS3.

When you are trying to connect it to your Mac you do have your PS3 turned off?

Are the red lights flashing or is one of them solid red and the others turned off?

Edwin

I don't have a ps3 xD I know it can sound weird but I juste have the dualshock 3 and the usb cable

all the red lights are flashing when I press the ps button
 
I don't have a ps3 xD I know it can sound weird but I juste have the dualshock 3 and the usb cable

all the red lights are flashing when I press the ps button

Sorry I have ran out of ideas, usually the bluetooth on your Mac will find the gamepad. Are you sure the bluetooth is working?

Edwin
 
Sorry I have ran out of ideas, usually the bluetooth on your Mac will find the gamepad. Are you sure the bluetooth is working?

Edwin

i suspect that new macs (ones with lion preinstalled) don't recognize the dualshock 3, i'm thinking about going into an Apple Store just to check with their macs they have in demo to test my theory :)

thank you for all your time :D i very appreciate it
 
i suspect that new macs (ones with lion preinstalled) don't recognize the dualshock 3, i'm thinking about going into an Apple Store just to check with their macs they have in demo to test my theory :)

thank you for all your time :D i very appreciate it

It's not the new Macs we have a big pile of Mac's here new and old and we have used the PS3 pad on most of them. I am posting from a current model 15" MacBookPro which I have just been playing Borderlands with a PS3 gamepad.

Good Luck!

Edwin
 
Almost there?

Hi everyone,

I followed most advices I found all around, with no luck. Here's my situation, with an iMac (late 2009) running Lion (10.7.3) and a DualShock 3. I do not have a PS3.

The PS3 controller does appear in my bluetooth devices list, but as a keyboard, so in order to pair with it the mac says "ending pairing" and asks for a 8 digit code to be entered from said keyboard. But since the controller ain't a keyboard, I can't do much.

From the bluetooth menu, I have tried to add the controller to favorites, then update services, to turn bluetooth on/off after/before un/plugging the cable, with no success. The controller just disappears from the list after a few seconds.

Thanks in advance for any help!
 
Will not Pair and stay connected

I have tried all the stuff everyone has posted and nothing works. My controller comes up first time everytime when pressing the Central button on the PS3 Controller after I did the USB connection but every 15 seconds it asks for the pairing code and nothing seems to fix it. Have tried reconnecting to the USB but it just doesnt appear in bluetooth when connected, Have tried 000, 111, 1234 and all seem to connect it but it still asks for the pairing code every 15 seconds until the controller auto turns off. Wont stay as a favourite and wont stay in the bluetooth list when controller is not turned on.
I have 4 lights flashing everytime.
Running it on a 2011 Mac Book Pro with Lion pre installed after having my MBP replaced once entirely and HD failures and USB failures. Pretty over the whole Mac thing. Give me back a Windows machine. They dont corner you and force you to use their products. By the time we hit 2015 we wont be able to run anything 3rd party on these machines.
 
I have tried all the stuff everyone has posted and nothing works. My controller comes up first time everytime when pressing the Central button on the PS3 Controller after I did the USB connection but every 15 seconds it asks for the pairing code and nothing seems to fix it. Have tried reconnecting to the USB but it just doesnt appear in bluetooth when connected, Have tried 000, 111, 1234 and all seem to connect it but it still asks for the pairing code every 15 seconds until the controller auto turns off. Wont stay as a favourite and wont stay in the bluetooth list when controller is not turned on.
I have 4 lights flashing everytime.
Running it on a 2011 Mac Book Pro with Lion pre installed after having my MBP replaced once entirely and HD failures and USB failures. Pretty over the whole Mac thing. Give me back a Windows machine. They dont corner you and force you to use their products. By the time we hit 2015 we wont be able to run anything 3rd party on these machines.

The reason for the syncing issue is the pad is not being paired with your Mac correctly. The pairing code for a PS3 (if it asks) is always 4 characters long in my experience. So 0000 or 1234 should work.

p.s. Don't worry about 2015 I am pretty sure third party applications will stay around it's hard to use a computer without software :)
 
Edit

I wrote that incorrectly. I entered 0000, 1111, and 1234. Obviously 000, and 111 wouldnt be accepted as a pairing number now would they. Also I meant 3rd party as in not Apple programmed...
Anyway I have got it to pair with some crazy system of usb and favouriting and everything in the perfect order from this youtube video. Hope this works for the rest of you. Im finally no longer being asked for pairing codes and my controller stays on with the 4 led's flashing.Have not tried it in a game yet as I still cant get PCSX2 to operate properly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tEiiveuhRA
 
Hi everyone,

I followed most advices I found all around, with no luck. Here's my situation, with an iMac (late 2009) running Lion (10.7.3) and a DualShock 3. I do not have a PS3.

The PS3 controller does appear in my bluetooth devices list, but as a keyboard, so in order to pair with it the mac says "ending pairing" and asks for a 8 digit code to be entered from said keyboard. But since the controller ain't a keyboard, I can't do much.

From the bluetooth menu, I have tried to add the controller to favorites, then update services, to turn bluetooth on/off after/before un/plugging the cable, with no success. The controller just disappears from the list after a few seconds.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Just so you know, if you have the same problem as mine, then you have a counterfeit controller. Those can be bought everywhere, even amazon or legit retailers, and there's no way to tell they're fakes (until you try to pair them with your mac, for instance...).
 
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