Bluetooth with ps3 sixaxis still not connecting

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?

mauruco

My GASIA works perfectly via bluetoth with the new kernel.
I think I chose in retropie_setup.sh "GASIA ONLY".
Over 1 hour tested and no problems.
Cheers

DxFx

I'm using a Pi3 running Retropie 3.7 I had originally set up on a Pi2. I have a Gasia controller that I just got and it works no problem. Even after shutting down and rebooting it still works by pressing the P3 button. I used Gasia clone support instead of Gasia only.

luetzel

@General_Toxic
Howdy,
I've been following this thread for quite a while and have some good news for you! It is now possible to pair PS3 controllers solely using bluez.

Szymon Janc, one of the bluez developers made some patches for bluez, supporting Gasia and Shanwan PS3 clones. They can be found on github and were made for the OpenELEC.tv media centre, however they didn't make it to the master branch, yet.

So here are instructions how to pair your PS3 controller using bluez:
1.) download the bluez-5.39 source from bluez.org
2.) apply the patches found on github: https://github.com/OpenELEC/OpenELEC.tv/tree/openelec-7.0/packages/network/bluez/patches
3.) goto bluez-5.39/src/bluetooh.ver and add the line: sdp_*; into the 'global' section. If you don't do it, the bluetoothd will not load the sixaxis plugin on startup because of undefined symbols
4.) run configure, make, make install
./configure --prefix=/usr --mandir=/usr/share/man --sysconfdir=/etc --localstatedir=/var --enable-sixaxis
make -j3
sudo make install
5.) sudo service bluetooth restart
6.) download QtSixA from http://qtsixa.sourceforge.net/ and follow the instructions in the INSTALL file; you will only need the 'sixpair' program in the 'utils' subdirectory. In case that you have a Gasia/Shanwan clone, you might need a fork of QtSixA, which can be found on github (at the moment I do not remember where I downloaded my copy of QtsixA)
7.) Connect your PS3 controller via USB to the Pi. Wait a few seconds until it starts to rumble. Then run: sudo ./sixpair
If successful, you should see something like:
Current Bluetooth master: DE:AD:BE:EF:00:00
Setting master bd_addr to: 00:1F:81:00:06:20
(I also tried bluetoothctl for pairing, but it always requested a key-code, which one cannot enter using the controller)
8.) disconnect the controller from USB. Its LEDs start flashing. If the pairing is successful, only LED1 will stay on for controller 1 (LED2 for controller 2 and so on)
9.) If you have to pair bluetooth keyboards/mice, simply use the retropie-setup.sh for doing that.
10.) Leave a comment at http://luetzels.raspiblog.com if you like my tutorial!

cheers,
/luetzel

Krayzie8

This post is deleted!