Controller(s) not connecting

I have one of the gen1 ps4 I am trying to fix for my wife, I finally got it to a point where it will boot and stay booted, but the controllers I have won’t connect at all. I know both controllers work, I know my keyboard works, but the controllers flash white when they are plugged in via usb, the usb will charge the remotes and the keyboard will turn on but it seems I’m not getting any commands to transfer from remotes to the PlayStation itself. Any suggestions?