PS3 Controller with USB and Bluetooth

[CIR-Engineering]

This is my first post and I only started playing with emulation and RetroPie like ten days ago so go easy on me please. I am using a Pi 4 B.

I picked up four (have two in hand already) genuine PS3 controllers. As stated in the RP documentation they worked perfectly out of the box with USB.

I read the PS3 Controller Documentation:
https://retropie.org.uk/docs/PS3-Controller/

I then configured them with Bluetooth. For whatever reason I had immense difficulty getting them to pair using the sixaxis driver. I got one to pair once, but when I restarted RP it would not reconnect and I could never get either of the two controllers to pair again after that.

So I uninstalled sixaxis and installed the ps3controller driver. This works brilliantly and I got the two controllers paired quickly with Bluetooth. I went and mapped the buttons just to be sure.

Finally my question. I read in the documentation that:

ps3controller: ...requiring a different button mapping to be defined compared to the USB connection.

This is where I am having trouble and I think it is a noob thing. I can't figure out how to get them to work with both USB and BT. I'd really like to be able to play in the event that the batteries in the controllers are dead so I want USB to work too.

I originally mapped the BT PS3 controller in RetroArch with Input Port 1 Binds. I tried mapping USB to Port 2 Binds, but that didn't work. I think I am trying to do this all wrong?!? Could somebody please hold my hand and explain how to make USB and BT both work? I did read this:
https://retropie.org.uk/docs/RetroArch-Configuration/

But it didn't really help me. Maybe someone here can.

Thanks so much and kind regards,
craigr

[lostless]

@cir-engineering ps3 controller support is finicky on retropie. Every time I need to pair another controller, it always seems to be an issue. But once it works, it just does. PS4 controllers are so much easier to sync. But that’s not what here to talk about.
So anyway, have you tried to see if the buttons are the same via usb and Bluetooth? Try a controller and see if A stays A when you switch from usb to Bluetooth. If its different, there is no way to remap a different configuration for usb or bluetooth as the controller shares the same name in usb and Bluetooth. retropie only makes configs based off controller name. But, I never seem to have that issue, from the times I switched over to usb, I didn’t notice a button remapping issue, but I rarely use usb on my ps3 controller.

[CIR-Engineering]

@lostless Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately the buttons are totally different between BT and USB. I figured that's what they meant by:

"ps3controller: this driver is well-tested... disadvantage of crippling the Bluetooth stack, as well as requiring a different button mapping to be defined compared to the USB connection"

But to me that would imply that there is a way to define a different USB mapping?

Frustrating.

With the sixaxis driver, that is not an issue according to the documentation I have read. Which driver are you using?

I may grab another micro SSD and try a fresh install.

Best,
craigr

[lostless]

@cir-engineering I’m using six axis and custom hid Sony. Not sure if I need both, but it’s working. I don’t have the ps3 driver installed. Anyway, I started my pi and synced my ps3 controller via Bluetooth as usual, no issue. Turned the controller off by holding down the ps button (important because it will stay as blutooth with charging only) and plugged the usb cable in and the buttons were all messed up. Reconfigured with the usb cable and it was now working fine with usb. Unplugged and Resynced to Bluetooth, and still had no issue.
Try configuring it with the usb cable, make sure the controller is off when you plug it in to be sure your in usb mode.