Yes, you can use a PS4 controller on a PS5, but only for PS4 games running through backward compatibility. Sony’s PlayStation support site confirms the DualShock 4 wireless controller pairs with a PS5 console and works in supported PS4 titles; it does not function as an input device for any game built natively for PS5, including PS5 upgrades of PS4 titles. If a game’s PS5 build is running, you need a DualSense or DualSense Edge controller to play it on the console itself.
Which games accept a PS4 controller on PS5
The rule follows the game build, not the disc or download source. A PS4 game played through backward compatibility on a PS5, whether from disc, a PS Store purchase, or PS Plus, runs the same PS4 code and reads input the same way a PS4 does, so a DualShock 4 works exactly as it did on PS4, touchpad and light bar included. A PS5 version of the same title, reached through a free or paid PS5 upgrade, is a separate build that expects DualSense, and a DualShock 4 is either rejected at the controller pairing screen or produces no input once that build loads. According to Sony’s PlayStation Blog, this is intentional: PS5 games are built to use DualSense’s adaptive triggers and haptic feedback, so PS4 controller support was left out of the PS5 software for native titles.
Most PS5 game libraries show which build is installed. The library tile and the pause-menu settings panel name the platform version, and cross-generation titles that offer a free PS5 upgrade switch both the icon and the controller requirement the moment you install that upgrade. If you want to keep using a DualShock 4 for a specific title, install and launch its PS4 version rather than the PS5 upgrade.
How to connect a DualShock 4 to a PS5
Sony’s support page describes one method, and it matches how a DualShock 4 pairs to a PS4: connect the controller to the PS5 with its own USB cable, Micro-USB on the original DualShock 4 or USB-C on later color variants, while the console is on. The PS5 recognizes it right away and lets you use it in the pairing menu and in any supported PS4 game. Once the controller has enough charge, unplug the cable and it keeps working wirelessly over Bluetooth. A controller pairs to only one console at a time, so a DualShock 4 already linked to a PS4 needs a fresh USB connection to switch it over to a PS5.
What stops working: haptics, adaptive triggers, and motion
Even inside a supported PS4 game, a DualShock 4 stays a DualShock 4. You lose DualSense’s adaptive triggers, the variable resistance built into L2 and R2, and its finer haptic feedback, because that hardware simply is not in the older controller, not because Sony disabled it in software. The DualShock 4’s own features carry over normally: touchpad, light bar, built-in speaker, six-axis motion sensing, and standard rumble all work in PS4 games on PS5 the same way they did on PS4. None of this applies to PS5-native games, since a DualShock 4 cannot open them at all.
Officially licensed third-party PS4 controllers
The same split covers licensed third-party PS4 pads from brands like Scuf, Razer, Nacon, and Hori. Sony’s guidance on PS4 peripherals states that licensed PS4 gamepads work with supported PS4 games on PS5 and are not guaranteed to work with PS5 games, mirroring the DualShock 4 rule. Unlicensed or off-brand PS4-style pads are inconsistent, since they were never certified against PS5’s controller drivers; Sony’s own advice is to check with the manufacturer before assuming a third-party PS4 accessory will work at all. PS4 racing wheels, arcade sticks, and flight sticks run the other way: officially licensed versions are built to work with both PS4 and PS5 games, unlike gamepads.
The two exceptions: Remote Play and PC
Two situations let a DualShock 4 end up controlling a PS5 game after all. The first is PS Remote Play: when you stream a PS5 game to a phone, tablet, PC, or Mac through the Remote Play app, the app talks to the controller over Bluetooth and forwards button presses to the PS5, so the console’s own controller-pairing restriction never applies. A DualShock 4 paired to an iOS 14 or later device, or an Android 10 or later device, works for a Remote Play session the same way a DualSense would, minus adaptive triggers and haptics. The second is PC: a DualShock 4 connects to Windows over USB or Bluetooth and works through Steam Input, or through the free DS4Windows tool outside Steam, so it will control a PC port of a Sony game such as Horizon Forbidden West or Ghost of Tsushima without restriction, because that port is a PC build rather than the PS5 version.
The table below lines up each method against what it can and cannot do, checked against Sony’s published guidance in September 2026.
| Controller and method | PS4 games on PS5 | PS5 games |
|---|---|---|
| DualShock 4, wired or paired to the PS5 console | Works | Does not work |
| Licensed third-party PS4 gamepad on the PS5 console | Works | Does not work |
| DualShock 4 via PS Remote Play (phone, tablet, PC, Mac) | Works | Works |
| DualShock 4 connected to a Windows PC (Steam Input or DS4Windows) | Not applicable, plays the PC version | Works, plays the PC port |
| DualSense on the PS5 console | Works | Works |
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a DualShock 3 (PS3 controller) on a PS5?
No. The DualShock 3 uses an older Bluetooth pairing method the PS5 does not recognize, and Sony does not list it as a supported PS5 accessory for any purpose, including PS Plus Premium’s PS3 cloud streaming, which expects a DualShock 4 or DualSense instead.
Will a DualShock 4 work with a PS5 game I own on disc?
Only if that disc still launches the PS4 version. Some cross-generation titles let you choose which build to install; once the PS5 build is installed or running, the game expects DualSense and a DualShock 4 will not control it, even though the disc is playing in a PS5’s drive.
Does the DualShock 4 touchpad and light bar work on PS5?
Yes, inside PS4 games. Both are DualShock 4 hardware features and work on PS5 exactly as they did on PS4; PS5-native games simply never call on them, because the controller cannot open those games in the first place.
Can I use a PS4 controller to navigate the PS5 menus?
Yes. A paired DualShock 4 can move through the PS5 home screen, settings, and store, and launch any app or game; it is only blocked once a PS5-native game actually starts.
Do I need a DualSense for cloud streaming or Remote Play?
No. PS Plus cloud streaming and Remote Play both accept a DualShock 4 over Bluetooth on supported phones, tablets, PCs, and Macs, because the streaming app forwards inputs rather than the PS5 console reading the controller directly.