Using XBox One And PS4 Controllers With Everything

The controllers from the last generation of consoles served their purpose well. They were there for us when we wanted to experiment with an I2C bus, and they stood by when we wanted to build a quadcopter out of parts just lying around. A new generation of consoles is now upon us, and with them come new controllers. Controllers for which Arduino libraries haven’t been written yet. The horror.

Until those libraries are developed, there’s ChronusMAX, a USB dongle that allows you to use XBox One controllers on a PS4, PS4 controllers on the XBox, mice and keyboards on both systems, and both types of controllers on your PC.

The folks behind ChronusMAX put up a video demoing the XBox One controller working on the 360, PS3, and PC, with another video showing the same for the PS4 controller. As far as what we can see from the PC demos, everything on these controllers can be read, right down to the accelerometer data on the DualShock 4.

Although this is a commercial product, we’re surprised we haven’t seen a more open version by now. From the looks of it, it’s a very small device with two USB ports and a firmware upload utility. Microcontrollers with two native USB ports are usually encased in large packages, so there might be some very clever engineering in this device. Let us know when someone does a teardown of one of these.

Thanks [Josh] for sending this one in.

22 thoughts on “Using XBox One And PS4 Controllers With Everything

  1. Interesting device but the PS4 already works on the 360 without modding over USB. Other way around for XBOne on PS4 would be a loss of functionality (touchpad and LED) and probably not a great idea.

    I do like the Wii pairing though!

      1. The project is not finished, it’s a preview, and the PS4 is not cooperating so further progress will be slow.

        But the project does have other purposes outside of gaming, so if you really want, post it.

        I am looking for other gamer hacker friends to tackle the PS4 with so a post might help.

          1. I own a cronus max, i started at the Og level, they have just been updatin / giving software for money , its a scam but ingenious idea, the marketing behind first owners was just to get cash and be out ..

            But I have been considering buying a newer gen one (this one works for ps4 and xbox one loads fine via USB, and etc) I’ve use a few open source software from GGC, before Cronus shut them down and bought them out .. But

            Bassicly you’re right the a nod controller and two ports that meet ona. Board (idk the specifics because I never got schooling in micro/ nano, )

            The consoles are where the problem is because there’s security on both that stops ANY OTHER BLUETOOTH OR IR (on xbox one or if you have ps4 camera)

            It’s to stop cheating and modding ,. I think personally..
            But there are mods installed on native remotes already /:

            #dislike,

            The Bluetooth dongles always disconnect, I’ve upgraded mine and it still disconnects , I’m on to the third dongle, and hopes it’ll work, I have gotten my mod packs (scripts and etc ) to load on xbox one >Ds4 and ps4>xbox1C but only via USB , the software on the consoles constantly searches for foriegn signals.. So personally .. If you’ve found or are finding away around xbox ones or ps4s software updates and I can help without voiding my warrentys on my consoles Lmk. I’d even toss my old cronus in if it helps the project get my xbox remote on my ps4, lol these new controllers are great,. But once you’re used to one it’s hard to swap xD

            Good luck to all,

            The cronus was a joke,. Now it’s a bit better and owned by a better company .

            You can find old ones and upgrade them without paying , don’t listen to the sites!!!!

            Srsly email me if you own one I’ll teach You how

  2. Think like a hacker! You don’t need a native USB port to do this though.
    There are firmware based USB for the Propeller for example..

    http://propeller.wikispaces.com/interface?responseToken=63a12f80735a634937cde509b07ce98e

    Under USB:
    “Using the Propeller as a USB Slave” from BradC – 3 cogs for a USB-Serial
    “Using the Propeller as a USB Host” from Elizabeth Scott – It uses 3 cogs.

    So there are at least 2 more cores “cogs” (out of 8) left to implement the translation code.

    I am sure there are other multicore chips (xCore?) out there that can do
    the same work. One can also use a FPGA with USB cores and a
    microcontroller core.

  3. That Video Is Proof Of concept Showing how Far we able to go in Weekend After the PS4 was release , Not to get Preorder , device is on the market Already, and any Finding will Give it Users More Options and Tools at no Cost Thru FW and Software Update For the Life of the device,

    Any Way By the time You guys Read this post , Xbox one is Already Done and warping up as we have the first Working Keyboard and Mouse , and able to Use PS3 and Xbox 360 controller , Wii , Wii u pro On xbox one Now.

      1. Come to think of it, I would not mind one of those things for xmas, has many uses and seems good to tinker with too. Many things for instance use android to control hardware devices like robot or quadcopters, and the design of the shield seems to nicely fit into such things.

        But I’m starting to sound like a nvidia advertiser, and I’m not, I had some unpleasant experiences with nvidia support when I had a nvidia video card, so although they make some advanced technology I know that company is not without its issues.

        Still, for xmas.. if only I knew a santa.

    1. Agreed. Especially when there are more reliable methods of adapting controllers into the Xbox One and PS4.
      Much more Hack-a-day worthy methods. It usually includes tearing apart a PS4 or XB1 game pad and wiring it to and existing controller or encoder.

Leave a Reply

Please be kind and respectful to help make the comments section excellent. (Comment Policy)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.