Menu: How to Use Your Wii Remote as a Mouse on a Mac

This updated guide examines Menu: How to Use Your Wii Remote as a Mouse on a Mac and organizes the essential facts, background, and practical takeaways in clear American English.

Method 1of 2:

Using DarwiinRemote

1. Open the Apple menu and select 'About this Mac'. This menu is in the upper left corner of the menu bar. 'About this Mac' will open a window with system information that displays your operating system version. Your OS must be between 10.4 and 10.8 to use DarwiinRemote.
2. Open the Apple menu and select 'System Preferences'. This will open a list of system settings.
3. Press 'Bluetooth' and turn bluetooth ON. Bluetooth is required for detecting the wiimote.
4. Download and openDarwiinRemote. Double click to extract the program from the zip file and copy the files into your Applications folder. Double click the icon to launch.
   • Before starting, make sure your Wii console is powered OFF or else it might interfere with the bluetooth detection.
5. Press 'Find Wiimote'. This button is located in the lower right of the program and will initiate the scan for a Wii remote.
6. Press and hold the '1' and '2' buttons on the Wii Remote. After 1-3 seconds the lights on the wiimote will flash and the graph in DarwiinRemote will begin to scroll information.
   • If the lights do not begin to flash on your wiimote, check the batteries.
   • If the graph does not display any information, check the text area below the buttons for error messages.
7. Test the wiimote buttons. Once the graph is active you can test the button inputs on your wiimote. If it registers, the corresponding button will highlight on the picture of the wiimote in the DarwiinRemote.
8. Select 'Mouse Mode (Motion)' from the dropdown menu. This menu is located to the left of the 'Find Wiimote' button and will enable your wiimote movements to be translated as mouse movement on the screen.
   • This feature is relatively inaccurate using bluetooth. For improved accuracy you can setup an infrared sensor bar.^[1]
9. Setup an infrared sensor bar (optional). If you have an infrared bar, click IR Sensor button located on the right above the scan button. Select Mouse Mode On (IR) from the Mouse Mode dropdown menu.
   • Note: the Wii's sensor bar has a proprietary connection and will not connect to your Mac. You can purchase a USB or wireless infrared sensor for your computer if you want to use this feature. Try searching for 'Infrared sensor bar for computer' and expect to pay between 10 and 20 dollars^[2]
10. Open the DarwiinRemote menu and Select 'Preferences'. This menu appears in the top menu bar. The preferences menu has a list of controls and keybinds for the wiimote. A key binding is the function that is set to the wiimote button (for example, a keyboard key, mouse button, or some combination of keys).
11. Press 'Add' to create a new keybind preset. You will be prompted to enter a name for your preset before proceeding to settings the key bindings.
    • You can switch between saved bindings from the dropdown menu to the left of the 'Add' button.
12. Set your custom key bindings. Select the action or key you wish to use next to the corresponding wiimote button.
13. When you are finished, press 'OK'. This will save your changes and exit the preferences menu. You can now utilize the wiimote with the selected actions and key bindings on your Mac.
    • For example, you can set keybinds to use the wiimote as a makeshift Apple remote to control your media player, or a custom gamepad so you don't have to use keyboard controls while playing a game.

Method 2of 2:

Using Wiiji

1. Open the Apple menu and select 'About this Mac'. This menu is in the upper left corner of the menu bar. 'About this Mac' will open a window with system information that displays your operating system version. Your OS must be between 10.4 and 10.5 to use Wiiji.
2. Open the Apple menu and select 'System Preferences'. This will open a list of system settings.
3. Press 'Bluetooth' and turn bluetooth ON. Bluetooth is required for detecting the wiimote.
4. Download and openWiiji. Double click the installer, then double click the icon in Applications to launch. Once launched, Wiiji will automatically begin scanning for wiimote devices.
   • Before starting, make sure your Wii console is powered OFF or else it might interfere with the bluetooth detection.
   • Wiiji runs in the background and is accessed from a menu in the menu bar.
   • The initial scan window lasts ~15 seconds, if you miss the scan window you can select 'Rescan for Wiimotes' from the Wiiji menu in the menu bar.^[3]
5. Press and hold the '1' and '2' buttons on the Wii Remote. After 1-3 seconds, the lights on the wiimote will flash and then the wiimote will appear listed in the Wiiji menu bar.
6. Enable joystick/gamepad controls in your game. Launch your game and select joystick or gamepad from the options menu. Your wiimote will function like a normal bluetooth game controller with the directional arrows and A/B buttons working as game inputs.
   • Games will usually allow you to customize what each gamepad button will do from the settings menu.
7. Select the wiimote listing from the Wiiji menu bar to disconnect the wiimote.