It didn’t take you long to realize playing a Call of Duty Mobile with your phone’s touch screen is a nightmare.
In this article I’ll show you how to play Call of Duty Mobile with a controller. It’s a lot easier than you think, and soon you’ll be racking up kills with no problems.
Let’s dive in.
Can You Play Call of Duty Mobile with a Controller?
Yes. Since launch, you can play Call of Duty Mobile with either a Playstation 4 or Xbox One controller. Other controllers might work, but only these two are officially supported.
That’s good news. But wait a second. How do you even connect a controller to your phone?
Connecting a Controller to Your Phone:
The easiest way to connect the above controllers to your phone is via Bluetooth. However, there are some situations where a PS4 controller will refuse to work. Xbox One controllers, at the moment, seem to be more compatible with phones.
Note: It seems like devices running on Android 10 work better with controllers. If Bluetooth doesn’t work, or you prefer not to use it, another way to connect a controller to your phone is with a USB-C to USB-A adapter and simply use the controller’s included cable.
In my case, I was only able to get my PS4 controller working with my phone through a wired connection, it refused to connect over Bluetooth. With a wired connection, the controller’s input delay is also much lower.
Playing Call of Duty Mobile with a Controller: Does It Work?
For the most part, it works as expected. I did run into some issues (and I’m not alone) which we’ll talk about later on.
The experience will also vary depending on your device. The latest phones should not only be able to connect to controllers but also run the game with no problems at all (S10, S20, etc)
Here’s what you need to know:
What you need to know is the menu layout in Call of Duty Mobile will be the same, and you’ll only be able to navigate it with your touchscreen. Once in game, the controller should work as expected.
I fell for this too, I thought the controller was not working because I couldn’t navigate the menu, but that’s actually how it works. If the game detects your controller, you’ll be able to move and look around with it once in a match.
In the in-game settings, you should see a tab for “Controller” and, in that section, you can also check if a controller is connected. You can also change the sensitivity of various scopes and whatnot. Make sure the switch for controller support is on too!
My Experience: Meh.
My experience using a playing Call of Duty mobile was plagued with bugs. I believe that’s because I’m playing on a S8+ which doesn’t have great controller support.
If I ever buy a new phone, I’ll make sure to update this article. As I mentioned earlier, devices running Android 10 seem to work much better with controllers.
First of all, I connected my PS4 controller to my phone over Bluetooth, they managed to pair after a few attempts. When I opened Call of Duty mobile, the controller did work, but every slight movement was exaggerated.
For example, tap to look to the right a bit, and your character rotates a whole 360. Aiming with the touchpad controls was easier!
After that, I tried with a wired connection, using a USB-C to USB-A adapter. I was happy to say it worked quite well, for a time… and then completely closed the connection.
Even though the game detected the controller, it wasn’t responsive. Eventually, I gave up and kept playing with the touch controls.
I admit I haven’t had the chance to test an Xbox One controller, maybe it will be more compatible with my phone.
Have a laptop lying around? Try playing COD mobile on a laptop!
The Conclusion:
While you can play Call of Duty Mobile with a controller, the experience will vary depending on your phone.
For me, it wasn’t good, but for people with newer phones, everything should work with no problems. In other words, it’s worth trying out at least, but I wouldn’t drop money on a Bluetooth controller for this purpose yet. Make sure it works with your phone first.
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