How do I get a 8BitDo SN30 Pro+ controller to work?

[Pundan]

@backstander Yeah, something's not right with the one build I'm using because after I did that none of my controllers work anymore and I need to constantly reconfigure all of them. I did not really look forward to rebuild the entire Retropie installation with thousands of ROMs (pretty much had every system there is scraped and sorted) just for this, but seeing that there's no other option now I'm just going to do that and fill in the information of what steps need to be done for future users with 8bitdo SN30 Pro+ controllers and how to solve it.

Thanks for your help @backstander, I think you pointed me in the right direction all along.

[Pundan]

Ok, so this is just to confirm for future users who has the same problem I was experiencing to get the 8bitdo SN30 Pro+ to work with RetroPie: Holding B+Start to set the controller in pairing mode works flawlessly.

All my issues with EmulationStation and so on not saving the configuration must either be due to a corrupt microSD card or related to the fact that my old installation was upgraded from a much older version of RetroPie.

Case closed this thread can now be closed. Thanks to everyone who came with suggestions, and special thanks to @backstander who pointed me in the right direction all along!

[backstander]

@Pundan

I did not really look forward to rebuild the entire Retropie installation with thousands of ROMs (pretty much had every system there is scraped and sorted) just for this

I feel your pain. After having to go through that I started storing a big chunk of ROMs on an USB flash drive. It makes rebuilding so much easier! I've also tried storing them on an external USB hard drive (non solid state) and they usually work great with smaller ROMs but with like the larger PSX games, if you're playing a game and the hard drive spins down and then the emulator needs to read the game disc image again, most times it will crash because it times out before the hard drive can spin back up, so in other words, use a solid state drive!

Running ROMs from a USB drive:
https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Running-ROMs-from-a-USB-drive/

Loading roms from USB harddrive:
https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/7780/loading-roms-from-usb-harddrive

[retrogamer21]

Hey guys. I'm having this same issue, and for whatever reason I can't get my SN30 Pro to work in games. I'm running a Raspberry Pi 4 with the latest version of Retropie (just set it up last week, upgraded from a RP3).

I've paired with the Holding B + Start method, and the controller pairs and works perfectly in menus, but nothing in games. Well, it does work inside the MegaDrive/Genesis Emulator, but I can't get it to work in any other Emulator. Playstation is where I really hoped this controller would work. I have a iNNEXT Wireless controller that works fine in everything else, but it doesn't have the thumb sticks.

Any thoughts on what might be the issue?

@Pundan did you do anything else to get yours working?

[ssilence]

@retrogamer21 I am having this same issue on a RPI4.

[SolidHyunkel]

@backstander This fixed a similar problem like the one on this thread. Funny thing though is that for me, my SN30 Pro (1.35) works under windows and android modes but on neither mode the trigger buttons work so I can't map them... Everything else works fine....

[backstander]

@solidhyunkel

on neither mode the trigger buttons work so I can't map them

Seamed like I had that issue but finally got it working after I paired with Android mode and "Set up udev rule for Joypad".

Just make sure the 8bitdo mapping hack is off.

[Naiscoot]

@retrogamer21

Did you ever resolve this at all? I’m running a pi 4 and finding the same thing

[truglodite]

I necroed this to update/clarify things...

I have some 8bitdo SN30 pro (also the plus versions) controllers working 100% in ES, with pi4 running the latest retropie release. First I downloaded the 8bitdo firmware updater, and updated my new controllers to the latest firmware version (they came with 1.35, I updated to 1.37). I binded to my pi4 using Andoid mode (start+B), and clicked "Set up udev rule for Joypad" (8bitdo hack disabled!). Everything works as expected, both triggers function and it all survives a reboot. Note if your sn30 pro falls asleep (15min no activity while turned on), hit "start" and the SN30 pro will rebind and start working again after a few seconds.

On a side note, they're new but so far I am really liking the feel of the sn30 pros. They are definitely higher quality than one-off retro controllers... the buttons feel OEM! I did some skim reading on the gyro built-in to the sn30 pro... seems the feature just cost me extra but I won't get anything out of it for now (except when my daughter uses it with her switch). At least it is there... and maybe someday I can use it for like wii emu or something.

[nollerd2]

@backstander

I noticed the same thing, in the switch mode I had ghost movements and it all went away when I put the gamepad in windows mode.