Fail to pair (Shanwan) PS3 Controller

darkblaster77

Pi Model: RPi 3B+
RetroPie Version: 4.6
Controller used: (Shanwan) PS3 Controller

Hi.
I have used the guide at https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/PS3-Controller
Installed "ps3controller" driver from RetroPie Setup GUI

Tried pairing the controller by connecting and disconnecting the USB cable.
This should trigger the "99-sixad.rules".

However the pairing failed, showing this error message

Current Bluetooth master: 00:1a:7d:da:71:13
Unable to retrieve local bd_addr from `hcitool dev`.
Please enable Bluetooth or specify an address manually.

On another hand, if I run "sudo sixpair" from the terminal manually, it would work.

Current Bluetooth master: 00:1a:7d:da:71:13
Setting master bd_addr to b8:27:eb:52:c0:44

Any idea on how to make the "99-sixad.rules" method work?

Rondoooo

Try installing 'customhidsony' driver instead. You must remove all other drivers first.

I find ps3controller driver to be extremely buggy for me and it crashes my pi a lot.

darkblaster77

Tried installing the "sixaxis" driver from RetroPie Setup GUI on a clean setup.
Did not work for me.

darkblaster77

Took a closer look at sixpair.c, and narrowed down to this line.

FILE *f = popen("hcitool dev", "r");

Found that sixpair is unable to retrieve the bluetooth MAC address. Thus failing the pairing process.

In addition, did further testing with a simple bash script.

#!/bin/bash

hcitool dev  >>  /home/pi/test.txt

Interesting and strange observations.
If I run the script manually, it will capture the bluetooth MAC address perfectly.
However, if this script is executed by the "99-sixad.rules", it will not work.

Is this blocked by the kernel?

hawkes_84

@darkblaster77 this happened to me too. Not the exact same issue but just couldn't pair a ps3 controller. Such a convoluted process. Ended up just using my spare ps4 controller since the connection process is much simpler. Good luck

darkblaster77

@hawkes_84 I actually have a PS4 controller too. Feel that it is a pity to give up on my PS3 controller. =)

The current workaround is to manually pair the controller in the terminal.
Just hoping to fix the pairing issue, to work in an "elegant" way via the udev rule.

psyke83

@darkblaster77 said in Fail to pair (Shanwan) PS3 Controller:

Tried installing the "sixaxis" driver from RetroPie Setup GUI on a clean setup.
Did not work for me.

There was a bug with the sixaxis module which caused controllers not to pair correctly, which is fixed if you update the script and re-install the sixaxis module (and in your case, also enable the third-party driver). I would recommend avoiding ps3controller unless it's absolutely necessary.

darkblaster77

@psyke83
Updated to version 4.6.1, and sixaxis is working like a charm!!!
Thank you. =)