Can I connect a mechanical keyboard to my PlayStation 4?

So you’ve bought a mechanical keyboard for your computer. Congratulations to your fingers! With how much it cost, you might be wondering if you could also use it on your other devices as your preferred controls.

You might have also thought: “Oh, even my PlayStation 4 has USB ports nowadays, can I use it there?” While it’s true that you’ll be able to plug it into anything with a USB port, that doesn’t necessarily mean that that device will recognize your keyboard or let you control things with it. Will your PlayStation 4?

So, can I connect my mechanical keyboard to my PS4?

Short answer: Yes

The PlayStation 4 supports keyboards and mice via both USB and Bluetooth. That means all you really need to do to use your mechanical keyboard is to plug it into one of the front USB ports, choose which Profile to pair it to, and you’re able to use it to navigate through menus, input text, browse the web and more. You can also use it to game, but not every game will let you use it.

There’s a couple of big caveats here if you do try to use your mechanical keyboard in-game. Most important is that not every game will let you use a keyboard as the input device, as they’re created to use the DualShock controller. Some games, and Call of Duty is known for this, will ban anyone trying to play multiplayer if the game detects a keyboard being plugged in. That said, Warzone does allow mouse and keyboard on console.

READ MORE: Which mechanical keyboard switch is best for gaming?

The other minor issue is that if your mechanical keyboard uses software to control things like lighting or macros, you won’t be able to use those functions on your PlayStation 4.

What do you think? Would you use a mouse and keyboard with PlayStation 4? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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