@markyb2021 nope, i have 4 8BitDo Pads running very well and had no problems at all, not with retropie 2 x, nor with 3.x or 4.7.
It is your setup, but as you are not able to answer specific questions we will never know what is wrong with it.

@stuffu for some reason joy2pad was not installed. I installed it and everything is back to normal. Thanks

It's not a general feature for each gamepad - it depends on the driver. If you're using a Dualshock 3/4 gamepad, then this information can be found by querying the /sysfs- see for example https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/12945/wireless-battery-indicator-ps3.

@mitu Thank you guys! this community is the balls! Really appreciate it - and I try to toss in my nuggets on knowledge learned form pain and learning where I can! -- Appreciate it!

Did anything change in the dmesg and/or tail output?

Looks like this issue has been discussed before.
https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/17400/changed-button-numbers-on-ps3-controller-on-stretch-4-4-image

@udb23 I concur. To my own biggest surprise, I managed to get a genuine copy of the Dragon's Lair 20th Anniversary 3 DVD box (as far as I can tell, but Daphne recognizes it, too) for only 4,04€ plus 3€ shipping at the German Amazon Marketplace last month. \o/

I also expected a fraud, but for that price plus Amazon's refund guarantee, it was worth a try.

Thanks a lot for that!
I have just announces it in a tweet, see https://twitter.com/petrockblog/status/1000702534674198533 :-)

@mediamogul Actually a really good idea. You can also buy "dead" OEM controllers, or third party controllers from eBay for the parts and mix and match until it is good. I did that with my Logitech PS2 controller. Except for the L3 button it works excellently now.

Well, I don't have an IPAC, but maybe some forum members can chime in with their experience, but IMHO shouldn't be an issue as long as all controllers are detected by the system.

@cwacha this is something that has always been a confusion due to the various hardware types. It had originally been left bottom, left top but that was confusing too depending on people's vantage point. It's most telling on the Xbox controllers where physically the shoulders are flat buttons whereas as the triggers are actually shaped like triggers as opposed to PlayStation controllers where the top buttons don't have any physical distinction other than placement. Shoulders and triggers are also more common in most gaming communities

In short: bottom = shoulders, if there only two like the SNES then they are shoulders. Top = triggers

I included the diagrams so they reflect the controls and verbage in emulationstation and so there can be no ambiguity.

@rosskii yes no issues with as many players as you want. Player position is based on the usb port order even on a usb hub.

please post in this thread instead https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/13380/trouble-configuring-dual-controllers-with-same-id

@SpudsMcToole Hm.

Any competing bluetooth devices? You seem to mention another dongle of sorts.

Have you tried the instructions here

https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/PS3-Controller

for "older versions of RetroPie"?

Also, in the guide, it clearly states "Note: Do not enable other bluetooth options as these will conflict with the PS3 specific bluetooth setup (sixad)", so I wonder if you have any competing bluetooth service turning on, regardless of dongles and stuff.

I'd try going through that guide, extensively, and seeing if anything works - and yes, disconnecting any other Bluetooth device (and potentially uninstalling any other bluetooth service you might have started or enabled unknowingly).

Problem solved here. What I had to do was unplug the keyboard dongle and reboot, then pair the joypads one at a time. With that done, putting the keyboard dongle back in didn't seem to conflict any more and everything's fine.

Update: Installed the newest firmware for the controllers (4.0), whereas apparently I was previously on 2.65 or something like that.

One controller works and the bug even seems to be fixed.

The other controller now won't connect to Retropie at all.

Edit: Took me like an hour of fiddling but both controllers now connect properly and the save state bug is gone! Had a devil of a time getting Retropie to let me register and connect both pads at once for some reason.

Thanks for the suggestion to update the firmware, I had completely forgotten that I had done it when I first got the pads and I honestly wouldn't have thought a small Hong Kong company like 8BitDo would keep working on new firmware updates for so long - pleasantly surprised to be wrong. At least in the end the fix turned out to be relatively simple!