Connect the Playstation 3 wireless controller to the Mac using the mini-USB cable.

Turn Bluetooth ON in OS X (either through the Bluetooth preference panel or the menu bar item) if it’s not enabled yet.

On the Mac, go to the  Apple menu and choose “System Preferences” then go to “Bluetooth”.

Optional but recommended, disconnect any nearby Playstation 3 power supplies so that you don’t inadvertently power on the PS3 during the gamepad setup with the Mac.

The process of connecting and using a PS3 controller with a Mac is the same with basically every version of OS X beyond Lion, including MacOS Catalina 10.15, MacOS Mojave 10.14, High Sierra 10.13, MacOS Sierra 10.12, OS X 10.11 El Capitan, 10.8 Mountain Lion, 10.9 Mavericks, 10.10 Yosemite, etc. Connect a Playstation 3 Controller to a Mac in MacOS Mojave, Catalina, Sierra, OS X El Capitan, Yosemite, & Mavericks Assuming you meet those requirements, let’s get the controller connected to the Mac and start using it with Mac OS X. You’ll also need a game or app that supports controllers, most of which do.

Note the USB cable is only needed to set up the PS3 controller initially, and for charging it when necessary, the setup will be for the wireless usage of the Playstation controller through Bluetooth. To get started, you’ll need a Mac with any modern version of Mac OS X, Bluetooth support, a standard Sony Playstation 3 wireless controller that has a charge, and the Mini-USB cable that connects the Playstation 3 controller to a console or USB port to charge it.

Ps3 remote for mac