Read on November 6, 2026 in the official pages of Microsoft, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo and the Bluetooth SIG, and in the pages of two exact headset models. Console support changes with system updates, so check the version your console runs.

A headset can fit a connector and still not do what you expect. Sound output and microphone input are separate paths, and a platform can accept one without the other. This guide sorts headset connections by platform, using only what each maker documents. It is based on those pages, not on hands-on tests, and it does not tell you which headset to buy.

To choose a headset, see our gaming headset buyer guide. For the wider picture of gaming gear, see our gaming gear guide.

Illustration. No headset was tested for this guide, and the graphs are not Gimaxo measurements or results.

Four things to keep apart

• Output and microphone. A headset can play sound on a console and still have no working microphone there.
• Direct or through something else. Some platforms take a headset directly, while others use the controller, a dock or an adapter.
• Bluetooth, a maker’s own link or a USB dongle. These are three different connections, and each has its own support list.
• A plug that fits and a headset that is documented. A matching connector shows only that the plug fits. Compatibility is what the makers of the headset and of the platform say.

What the sources say about each connection

3.5 mm jack

Check the contacts on the plug, not only its size. Nintendo describes the Switch headphone and microphone jack as 3.5 mm, 4-pole stereo, in the CTIA standard. Sony says its PULSE Elite headset needs a 4-conductor audio cable for the microphone, while a 3-conductor cable carries sound only. Both statements concern those products, but they show where a plug that fits can still leave you without a microphone.

On a PC, Microsoft notes that some systems use a green jack for output and a pink jack for microphone input. Others label them headphone and microphone.

USB and dongles

A USB dongle belongs to its maker’s link, so support is listed product by product. Sony says the PULSE Elite comes with a PlayStation Link USB adapter that is already paired to it. An adapter that did not come with the headset is not paired, and you have to pair it first. Sony lists the adapter for a PS5 console and for Windows PCs and Macs that have USB audio output.

Logitech’s page for the G435 says its LIGHTSPEED wireless link works on PC, Mac, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. The same page carries a banner listing Xbox, PS5, PC and Nintendo Switch / Switch 2 as compatible. The text read for this guide does not tie each platform to a connection, so ask which one applies before you assume.

Nintendo adds that on Switch 2 a headset can connect through the USB-C connector on the console. The dock is documented separately, with a USB port.

Bluetooth

In Bluetooth’s own specifications, stereo audio and hands-free voice are separate profiles. The Bluetooth SIG describes A2DP as the profile for high-quality audio distribution. It describes HFP as the profile for voice connections between a phone and a hands-free device such as a headset. Whether a platform supports each one is for that platform’s maker to say.

• Nintendo Switch: Nintendo supports Bluetooth audio from system version 13.0.0, with the A2DP profile and the SBC codec only. It says Bluetooth microphone input is not supported, and it gives no guarantee for specific devices.
• Nintendo Switch 2: Nintendo says microphone input over Bluetooth is not supported. With a Bluetooth headset in GameChat you can hear other players, but you cannot use the headset’s microphone.
• PS5: Sony’s launch FAQ of November 9, 2020 says third-party wireless headsets that use Bluetooth are not supported on PS5, while most USB and analog headsets are. That page is old, and this guide did not find a current Sony page that restates it.
• Xbox: the Xbox Wireless Headset page lists Bluetooth for PC and mobile devices, and says you can pair a phone and a console at the same time. The Xbox pages read for this guide do not say whether the console accepts a standard Bluetooth headset, so this guide does not say either.

PC (Windows)

Microsoft treats output and input as separate choices. Its microphone page says to open Settings, System, Sound, and to choose a device for speaking or recording under Input. Its sound page covers the output side on its own. The steps differ in Windows 10.

If others cannot hear you, Microsoft lists these checks:

• Make sure a mute button on the headset is not active.
• Make sure the headset is connected correctly, and that a Bluetooth headset is paired and connected.
• Make sure the headset is the system default recording device.
• Make sure microphone access is turned on under Privacy and security. Desktop apps do not appear in that list.

Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One

Xbox’s pages group Series X|S and Xbox One together, and this guide does not separate them beyond what those pages say.

• Xbox Stereo Headset: Microsoft says it connects directly to the Xbox Wireless Controller through the controller’s 3.5 mm audio jack. The page lists Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Windows 10/11 devices with a 3.5 mm jack. It has a bendable boom microphone.
• Xbox Wireless Controller: Microsoft says you can plug in any compatible headset with a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack. A footnote on that page says compatibility depends on the device and the operating system version.
• Xbox Wireless Headset: Microsoft lists Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PCs and mobile devices with Bluetooth.
• Voice chat: Xbox says some voice chat features on supported consoles may require a Game Pass subscription.

PlayStation 5 and PlayStation Portal

• PS5, USB and 3.5 mm: Sony’s blog of October 6, 2020 says headphones can give you PS5 3D Audio through a USB connection to the console, or through the 3.5 mm jack of the DualSense controller. The launch FAQ adds that headsets connecting through a 3.5 mm jack, USB-A or USB-C work for 3D Audio. Both pages date from the launch, and the current system software may differ.
• PULSE Elite: Sony documents the PlayStation Link USB adapter for a PS5 console and for a PC or Mac, and Bluetooth for mobile devices. A wired cable needs four conductors for the microphone, and a wired headset does not work with its wireless connections at the same time.
• PlayStation Portal: Sony says you can use any headset or earbuds that support PlayStation Link or have a 3.5 mm plug. A wired one goes into the headset jack on the bottom of the Portal. The Portal has a built-in microphone for voice chat.

Nintendo Switch and Switch 2

The two consoles are documented on separate pages, and what holds for one is not stated for the other.

• Nintendo Switch consoles: Nintendo’s specification page lists a 3.5 mm, 4-pole stereo jack in the CTIA standard. Bluetooth audio needs system version 13.0.0 or higher and has no microphone input. This guide did not read a Nintendo page on USB audio for the original Switch, so it says nothing about it.

• Nintendo Switch 2: Nintendo’s GameChat page names three places to connect a separate microphone or headset, and it keeps the console and the dock apart:

  • Console: the USB-C connector, or the audio jack.
  • Dock: a USB port. The page names no audio jack on the dock.
  • Switch 2 Pro Controller: the audio jack.

  Under System Settings, Audio, you choose the microphone, can test it, and can turn off noise suppression.

A documented headset and a plug that fits

A maker’s compatibility line is a claim about its own product, so read it that way.

• SteelSeries says the 3.5 mm jack of the Arctis Nova 1 works on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, Chromebook and Mac. That is SteelSeries speaking for that model. Each console maker’s page still sets its own conditions, such as the Xbox footnote above and Nintendo’s 4-pole jack.
• Sony’s own PULSE Elite page warns, in its section on cable connections, that not all devices work with the headset. Even a first-party headset does not work everywhere.

Do not carry one headset’s documented support over to another.

Questions to put to a product page

• Which platforms does it list, and over which connection: 3.5 mm, USB, dongle or Bluetooth?
• Is the microphone listed for that connection on that platform?
• For a 3.5 mm cable, does the plug carry the microphone, and does the platform’s jack accept it?
• For a dongle, is one included, and which devices can use it?
• For Bluetooth, does the platform’s own maker document Bluetooth audio and microphone support?
• Does the platform’s voice chat need a subscription?
• Which system version does the headset or the platform require?

When to skip it

Skip a headset whose page lists platforms but not the connection or the microphone for each one. Skip Bluetooth as your only route if you need the microphone on a Nintendo Switch or Switch 2, since Nintendo says it is not supported there. Skip this guide if you already know your headset and platform and the maker’s page lists both.

What this guide does not cover

• Choosing a headset, sound quality, latency, battery life and comfort.
• Xbox’s support page on compatible headsets, which could not be read, and current PlayStation system-software pages.
• USB audio on the original Nintendo Switch, and Bluetooth audio output on Switch 2.
• Models and system versions other than those named, and any change after November 6, 2026.