RetroPie 4.2 NES 30 Controller by 8bitdo

gaavoid

@lxevans What pairing mode/method are you turning on the controller with?

The way I do it:

Go into the Bluetooth options.
Hold start on 8bitdo controller for a few seconds.
Search for devices.
If the 8bitdo controller isn't listed go back and search again.
Usually at around this point the controller may turn itself off; so press start again. Eventually the Raspberry Pi will find it (listed as 8bitdo controller).
Connect controller.
Set udev rule.
Turn off 8bitdo hack.
Reboot Pi.
Turn on 8bitdo controller using same method (hold start)
Set input configuration in emulation station.
Play games.

You may need to repeat steps 2, 3 and 4 a couple of times.
I think you're failing at around number 5. I think this is because you're not actually connecting the controller. (Although you had it connected in your original post.)
Make sure you delete all current connected devices.
I get several mac addresses show up when I first search for devices. One of them may be the controller I wish to connect but there's about 4 or 5 mac addresses and I don't know which each one is.
One might be my TV, wireless headphones, Bluetooth sound bar, iPad, iPhone, and probably something from the house next door. Maybe connecting to one of these other devices would cause the Pi to crash like your has.
So go back one screen and search again till it's displayed as 8bitdo controller so you know that you're definitely connecting to the right thing.

SleepyOwl

Dumb question: Have you tried pairing the NES30 with any othe devices to see if it worked?
and have you tried any other bluetooth controller on the Pi?

Clearly something is wrong. either
a) You've got a bad controller, or
b) You've got a bad Pi with a deffective bluetooth chip.

Both can happen and are not indicative of the general quality of either peripheral.

Try your NES30 with you phone or pc beforehand (if not already done) to ascertain functionnality.
Try to pair another bluetooth device to ascertain that the Pi is not deffective.
Second, format your sd (or use another one) and install a fresh image of retropie
Update your retropie
Disable 8bitDo hack.
redo the pairing process.

When I need to pair mine, I have to redo the pairing sequence a couple of time for the pi to see the controller. After the it pairs and works perfectly.

LXEvans

The "Retro Gaming Kit" is on his way back to Brack, the Micro SD Card is on its way back to Engelberger. At the Moment i have no gear to test. But as i connected the NES 30 to my Windows 7 Notebook, it worked.

i serched for some alternatives an got to the asus tinker board or a nividia shield tv 2017

so i have to play the waiting game

blargsnarf

I still don't understand how in the original post, you were trying to button map (which is something you do once the pad is installed, just not configured) and then the rest of the topic is talking about trying to connect it in the first place.

If you can map a single button, the pad is connected, and you just need to finish mapping.. none of this bluetooth connecting/reconnecting/reinstalling/system testing/new SD cards, etc.

MrJordaaany

I almost exclusively use 8bitdo controllers with RetroPie. I've connected up and mapped tons of them to heaps of different Pi's following the instructions of the wiki and have had no issues.

After all the testing and advice here I would have to agree with @SleepyOwl and say either the controller or Pi/SD card is defective. Maybe you have a bad bluetooth module? Who knows.

Sucks you are getting issue tho, they are great controllers.

Aphex

Also had issues with Bluetooth detection (logitech K380 keyboard and MX Anywhere 2 mouse). Turned out i wasn't pressing the detection button on the devices at the right moment or was maybe unnecessarily holding it down and causing a reset. I just had to press the detection button once to put the device into a detection state for 30-60 seconds (with a LED blinking on the device). Then start the scan for Bluetooth components in the RetroPie Setup during that period.

I've also seen a youtube video of a guy reviewing NES 30 Pro controllers and pointing out that the major difficulty was to get them detected since the extra buttons on these controllers aren't self explanatory and that you better keep the provided instruction manual to do it right.

As for reinstalling RetroPie from scratch, i've also read somewhere about people having issues doing it with Etcher while having no problem by using "Win32DiskImager". I'm no expert and couldn't explain how it helped, but it costs nothing to give it a try.

LXEvans

The SD Card is replaced, now im waiting for brack to send me a new Retro Gaming Kit, 50-50 chances they still have the hardware.

LXEvans

my internet was gone for over 2 weeks (thanks UPC) and brack did not reply for 3 weeks after i sended in the Retro Gaming kit, now i got "answer" they don't have any left to replace, so that means "game over" for my RetroPi Project.