Bluetooth with ps3 sixaxis still not connecting

Prindle19

Here's what i did in 3.7 with a Pi 3 and 3rd party bluetooth dongle

Until the onboard pi 3 bluetooth is fixed, we have to use a 3rd party dongle. preferably one with the CSR chip.

I used this one from Amazon cause it was $10 and well reviewed.

First, install the PS3 / bluetooth drivers via the RetroPie setup menu. If you're using a clone, make sure you install the drivers with proper clone support for your clone.

Then, exit setup and edit the pi's config.txt because we need to diable onboard bluetooth

To disable onboard Pi3 Bluetooth
sudo nano /boot/config.txt (this opens the config file which you will need to modify with the command below)

Add to the end of the file
dtoverlay=pi3-disable-bt

Ctrl+o to write
Ctrl+x to exit.

sudo reboot now to reboot.

Then, when the pi boots back up, ssh in from another computer so you can monitor what is going on when you try to pair the controller(s).

ssh -X pi@xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx where xxx's are your pi's IP address.

in that SSH window, type:

tail -f /var/log/syslog

Plug in your controller via usb.

in your ssh window you'll probably see something like:

Apr 20 14:15:11 retropie kernel: [86258.689958] usb 1-1.2: New USB device found, idVendor=054c, idProduct=0268
Apr 20 14:15:11 retropie kernel: [86258.689976] usb 1-1.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
Apr 20 14:15:11 retropie kernel: [86258.689989] usb 1-1.2: Product: PS(R) Ga`epad
Apr 20 14:15:11 retropie kernel: [86258.690001] usb 1-1.2: Manufacturer: ShanWan

The controller might start rumbling and all 4 lights may be lit.

If not after around 30 seconds, hit the P3 / PS button. Otherwise, hit the P3 / PS button on the controller the lights should change to just 2 lights.

Remove the USB connection. You may or may not have to hit the P3 /PS button again.

The 4 lights should start blinking but slower and you should see something like:

Apr 20 14:17:26 retropie kernel: [86393.573406] input: PLAYSTATION(R)3 Controller as /devices/virtual/input/input10
Apr 20 14:17:26 retropie sixad-sixaxis[5518]: Connected 'PLAYSTATION(R)3 Controller (01:C3:59:68:63:25)' [Battery 05]

It should now be working via bluetooth now.

stumbows

So do we know if it is possible to use a PS3 controller with the onboard bluetooth adapter? I'd rather not have to purchase a dongle knowing that the Pi3 has the capability inbuilt.

Prindle19

@stumbows Not reliably without crashing your pi 3 until this bug is resolved:

https://github.com/raspberrypi/linux/issues/1360#issuecomment-212417876

Annoying, but, your choice is to wait for that to hopefully get fixed, or, spend $10 on a dongle like the one I linked to and enjoy a lot of gaming until this bug is fixed.

If aesthetics are a concern, I will note that the dongle I'm recommending sticks out quite a bit and also blinks bright blue LEDs constantly.

I'm looking forward to the day when everything is working with the on board Bluetooth, especially since I plan on building / replicating a couple RetroPie for some friends and would like to keep the price as low as possible and not need any dongles.

Drakaen391

You can use the on board Bluetooth, though it can be buggy...

Prindle19

@Drakaen391 hmm, i'd consider it much worse than buggy, it is pretty much guaranteed to freeze the entire pi requiring a hard reboot.

PodgePapin

When I do it i go through the RetroPi Setup menu to Install/Pair PS3 controller. it is plugged in until it tells me to disconnect it, i've tried disconnecting on that screen and attempting to pair, i've gone to the next screen, i've rebooted and tried to pair but none seem to work.

In version 3.4 at this point it would pair and stay paired and i wouldn't need to use a cable again until i needed to pair another controller.

mrpangaio

This is not a solution but I can tell you I've successfully paired a PS3 controller via the Pi3 Bluetooth with 3.7. I just followed the steps as mentioned (setup script>pair PS3>etc). Not much help but a confirmation it can be done.

PodgePapin

Fixed it. I had seen something about some micro sd cards not being fully supported. I remembered that I had recently changed from a 8gb class 4 to a 16gb class 10 (both Kingston).

I did a fresh install on the older 8gb card and the pad connects straight up.

Thanks for all the advice guys.

headwould

Hello,
I am very new to this so please bear with me.
i have the same problem with a fresh install of 3.7. on a rpi3. I have disabled onboard bluetooth and I am using a dongle.
I have also tried two different good quality sd cards. I can get the controller to work wired but not wirelessly. In the retropie menu I have uninstalled and reinstalled the ps3 drivers but still no joy.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Cheers :)

headwould

This is a quick update for anyone else who has the same problem as me and is trawling the net for a solution. I finally got the bluetooth sixaxis working using these steps (i'm not sure which one specifically worked so you might have to try a combination).

Turn off and unplug the Ps3 console.
Disable onboard bluetooth (rpi3) and use a bluetooth dongle - Prindle19 explains this in a post above.
Set up the controller configuration in emulationstation using a usb cable attatched to the controller. Then disconnect the usb cable. In my case the controller lights flashed in sequence and then the first light stayed lit but the controller would not function. Next using a usb keyboard I navigated to configure input in the emulation station menu, pressed the ps button on the controller and had to reconfigure the controller again but this time wirelessly :) The end of a couple of frustrating days trying to sort this out.

It has stayed connected when I have restarted the pi and has worked on a snes rom and a couple of mame ones too. Happy days:) Good luck

DxFx

I haven't tested this extensively yet but I did successfully set up an official PS3 controller as Player 2 on a Pi3 running 3.7. I followed a video by ETAPrime on YouTube and it was simple enough. As I mentioned though I didn't spend a whole lot of time messing around with it.

I plan on running 3.7 on a Pi3 using a generic PS3 (shanwan) controller once it arrives. I'm currently running 3.7 on a Pi2 with a wired Xbox 360 controller. I never invested in a bt dongle so this is my first foray into bt connectivity on the Pi. I would just use the PS3 controller I have on hand but my niece and nephew use it for the PSTV.

DxFx

Also from what I was told by @danbishop if you're using a Pi3, after reboot the controller fails to reconnect so you will have to do the following:

sudo nano /usr/bin/sixad

Then look for the following section:
else
echo "No bluetooth adapters found on the system!"
echo "sixad will now quit"
exit
fi

Place a # in front of the word exit, so it now looks like this:

else
echo "No bluetooth adapters found on the system!"
echo "sixad will now quit"
#exit
fi

Krayzie8

@Prindle19 Is there a way to tell which clone controller we have? No sure which drivers to install for my controller. I bought it from lightinthebox

DxFx

@jjpalau said in Bluetooth with ps3 sixaxis still not connecting:

@Prindle19 Is there a way to tell which clone controller we have? No sure which drivers to install for my controller. I bought it from lightinthebox

Use dmesg in the terminal with the controller connected.

Wolfman100

Does anyone know of a way to check if the PS3 controller is actually being 'seen' by the Pi/Sixad?

When I do a bluetooth scan using hciscan no Bluetooth controllers are found (neither my Wii or my PS3 controllers) only my Bluetooth Keyboard and my iMac.

Am I correct in thinking that if the scan doesn't see the controllers then there is no way that Sixad will?

Wolfman100

^^^?????^^^

pdmayton

I have several PS3 controllers (genuine Sony) and none of them will work. I get to this step of the tutorial and things go off the rails:

If not after around 30 seconds, hit the P3 / PS button. Otherwise, hit the P3 / PS button on the controller the lights should change to just 2 lights.

I plug up my PS3 controller via USB, things look good from the terminal, all four lights blink in unison, then I hit the PS button and I get a solid light indicating it is controller 1. Never 2 solid lights. Any help?

Wolfman100

@Wolfman100 said in Bluetooth with ps3 sixaxis still not connecting:

Does anyone know of a way to check if the PS3 controller is actually being 'seen' by the Pi/Sixad?

When I do a bluetooth scan using hciscan no Bluetooth controllers are found (neither my Wii or my PS3 controllers) only my Bluetooth Keyboard and my iMac.

Am I correct in thinking that if the scan doesn't see the controllers then there is no way that Sixad will?

I have now had my Pi3 RetroPie setup for nearly two months and STILL have had no success getting my Shanwan PS3 controller to work via Bluetooth.Currently my only option to use RetroPie is to use my PS3 controller plugged in via USB where it constantly vibrates...which really isn't an option.

mauruco

Look here. Kernel update.
Source: https://github.com/raspberrypi/linux/issues/1360#issuecomment-218519761
It may be that solves the problem.
Cheers

General_Toxic

Ok, so I've been doing some testing and found an interesting bug, I was going to create a new thread but this seems like a good place to mention it:

This is all on a fresh build of 3.7 RP3 Model B Internal BT tested on Sonic 3 Megadrive with 2 Players

I have 3 controllers for testing purposes, 1 GASIA, 1 SHANWAN and 1 Official Sixaxis

first plugging in via USB:

Sixaxis recognizes fine as (Playstation 3 Controller)
GASIA recognizes fine as (GASIA PS3 Controller)
Shanwan No recognition, solid rumbling from the pad

Installing Via BT:

Sixaxis recognizes fine as (Playstation 3 Controller) - Hot swap ready so you can plug and unplug as you please and keep playing inside an emulator (Tested on Sonic 3 with 2 Players)
GASIA has now changed to (Playstation 3 Controller) and will crash both RetroArch and Emulation Station if you attempt to hot swap or plug in any USB cables (I even tried configuring this setting and GASIA but that crashed even more)
RetroArch knows the controllers are being swapped as it says in the bottom corner (As opposed to the Sixaxis which stays constant)
Shanwan connects fine as (Playstation 3 Controller) but hot swap causes it to rumble when charging with no input (disconnects on contact with USB)

Ideally I think the solution is to make it so ES recognises that the GASIA is a GASIA over BT as opposed to an official Sixaxis, as that has no trouble hotswapping.

Any ideas?