Controller not reconnecting - udev does nothing

Dinsdale

Hey guys

Ugh, I’ve hit a roadblock. I bought a 1TB micro SD card and the plan is to load it with loads of games.

So I’m doing a fresh install. I’ve loaded up the latest version of RetroPie, and yesterday’s I started by adding controllers. Mostly 8BitDo but once is custom modded (original 3 button Mega Drive). They all worked fine on my 64Gb setup.

Thing is, none of them would reconnect automatically. I tried creating udev rules, nothing. Tried changing the connect mode, nothing. Only researching and repairing would work.

So, today I wiped and started again - and repeated the process. This time; they all reconnected without issue - all but one - the custom controller.

So I set up a udev rule, and this is what the rule says.

SUBSYSTEM=="input", ATTRS{name}=="SegaMD1", MODE="0666", ENV{ID_INPUT_JOYSTICK}="1"

Yet, it still will no reconnect. It was working fine previously. Is there anything else I can do?

mitu

You didn't specify what system are you using - a Raspberry PI/PC - and how is the custom modded MD controller connected - straight via Bluetooth or does it have an USB dongle ?
If you start the controller after RetroPie starts, does it reconnect automatically ?

Dinsdale

Sorry. It’s a Raspberry Pi 3B+, and yes it’s a HID Bluetooth device (no dongle). Works fine upon first connect but won’t reconnect either after switching controller off and then back on again, or rebooting the Pi.

EDIT: Actually there is a dongle to clarify, but that’s a generic dongle for all Bluetooth devices and not specific to this one controller. I can take this out but I find the onboard Bluetooth isn’t as responsive on the controllers.

mitu

The USB dongle is ok, I don't think that's the cause of the modded controller not re-connecting. The udev rule is un-necessary I think, it was added back in the day when 8BitDo controllers' firmware was not making clear the device is a gamepad - I don't think that's the case anymore.

I see that the modKit has similar mode-switching capabilities (X-Input/D-Input/MacOS), can you make sure you're power it on with the same mode you used for pairing ? Also, check the battery level - does it have enough charge ?

BuZz

1 tb micro SD? How much was that? You sure it's genuine as they cost a lot.

Dinsdale

Yeah it’s fully charged.

How do I do change the mode? It only has these features.

Power On: Press Start
Power Off: A+C and Up
Pairing Mode: A+C and Down

It’s worked fine in the past. It’s weird - I had the same issue with the 8BitDo modkit controllers - and wiping and restarting fixed it - but it’s still an issue for this controller.

Dinsdale

@BuZz Yeah, I got a good deal. It was £470 reduced to £230 or something on Black Friday. Genuine Sandisk.

BuZz

@Dinsdale wow. a lot to spend on storage for a cheap SBC.

mitu

@Dinsdale said in Controller not reconnecting - udev does nothing:

How do I do change the mode? It only has these features.

See https://download.8bitdo.com/Manual/Mod-Kit/Mod-Kit-for-MD-Original-controller.pdf for switching modes. Try to use different modes to connect, remember you'll have to re-pair each time you change the connection mode.

Dinsdale

This controller isn’t an 8BitDo though... the 8BitDo nodded controllers work fine. Sorry if that wasn’t clear.

It’s a custom mod that isn’t working fine; though was previously.

mitu

@Dinsdale said in Controller not reconnecting - udev does nothing:

It’s a custom mod that isn’t working fine; though was previously.

I thought the 8BitDo mod kit controller wasn't working - what's does this 'custom mod' consist of ?

Dinsdale

I sent it away to someone to do the modification. It’s a HC-06 HID device. That’s all I know.

It works perfectly, it was before, and is now if you reconnect it. I just don’t get why it won’t reconnect. I’m tempted to wipe and start again.

mitu

@Dinsdale said in Controller not reconnecting - udev does nothing:

I’m tempted to wipe and start again.

If you're already starting from scratch, I don't see how this would solve it. Did you try removing the device and then re-pairing it ? Is there a way to 'reset' (forget pairing) for the device ?

Dinsdale

No way to reset from the device, and yes I’ve tried removing and repairing, which works fine - until I switch the controller off and back on again. It doesn’t pick it back up.

The reason I suggest starting from scratch is because I had the same issue yesterday with the 8BitDo mod controllers and when I started again from scratch, the issue disappeared and only stayed for this HC-06.

Dinsdale

I’m going to try once more with a fresh install on retropie 4.5... then, if no joy, I’m gonna reinstall 4.4 and see if that works.

Dinsdale

No joy on 4.5, so went to 4.4 and it works fine. It reconnects.

Oddly I noticed on 4.5 an error about bluez that isn’t a factor for the 8BitDo modkits as they reconnect, but is for my other controller.

That error isn’t present in 4.4.

mitu

@Dinsdale Your screenshot shows an error that happens during pairing in the Bluetooth setup - possibly a timeout during the process. Re-connection is handled by the OS, there's no RetroPie script involved afterwards - so I don't think that's the problem.

EDIT: you can try and pair the controller manually - see https://approxeng.github.io/approxeng.input/bluetooth.html, the Pairing with Bluetoothctl section).