How to play games on Samsung DeX with a controller

Turn your Galaxy phone and your TV into a game console.

Samsung DeX puts your phone's apps on a TV or monitor, which makes it a great way to play Android and emulator games on a big screen. Out of the box, though, DeX is built for a mouse and keyboard: games open in small windows, and a controller can't take you back to your games. Here's how to set it up so it feels like a console.

What you need

• A Samsung Galaxy phone or tablet with DeX
• A TV or monitor: with a USB-C to HDMI cable, or wirelessly to a smart TV that supports screen mirroring
• A Bluetooth controller (Xbox, PlayStation and most Bluetooth controllers work)
• SofaBox (free) to turn DeX into a console screen

1. Connect the controller

On the phone, open Settings → Connections → Bluetooth, put the controller in pairing mode (on an Xbox controller, hold the small pair button on the top until the Xbox button flashes fast) and select it. It stays paired, so next time just turn it on.

2. Start DeX on the TV

• With a cable: plug the USB-C to HDMI adapter into the phone and the TV. DeX starts by itself (or tap the DeX notification).
• Wirelessly: swipe down twice on the phone, tap DeX and choose your TV.

3. Open SofaBox on the TV

Install SofaBox from Google Play and open it in DeX. The first time, SofaBox asks whether to turn on its Home button service, an Android accessibility service. It explains what it does before you agree. With it on:

• SofaBox opens full screen on the TV, and opens by itself when DeX starts.
• Games you start from SofaBox open on the TV and switch to full screen by themselves, instead of in a small window.
• The controller's Home button brings you back to SofaBox from inside any game.
• If a game is still open on the phone screen, SofaBox closes it there and opens it on the TV.

4. Add your games

Press Y (Add) in SofaBox to add Android games, set up emulators and scan your ROM folders, or add web games. Cover art downloads automatically. Then drive everything with the controller: the D-pad or stick to move, A to play, LB / RB to switch tabs.

Tips

• One game at a time: starting a new game closes the previous one, so emulators don't stay in memory.
• Mouse mode (SofaBox Pro): hold Home for one second and the left stick becomes a pointer for the rest of DeX, so you can open any app without a mouse.
• Wireless DeX lag: for fast games, a cable is much smoother than wireless DeX.
• Only one Home button service (SofaBox or another launcher's) should be on at a time.

More setup help is on the Help page, and you can try SofaBox's interface right now in the live demo.