8bitdo SF30 Pro and SN30 Pro

MRP2000

I've got two SN30 Pro controllers, both have the firmware upgraded to v1.22, and I'm running RetroPie 4.3 on a Raspberry Pi 3 model B.

They both will shut off by themselves after being used for about 20 minutes, and they will not reconnect unless I reboot the system.

I'm running them in "Switch" mode, and they are fully charged. I can't even get it to work at all in "MacOS" mode, and I've also tried changing the bluetooth setting from "default" to "background", but they just keep shutting off and not reconnecting. Am I missing something?

louiehummv

@mrp2000 In RetroPie's bluetooth menu, there are 2 options you should've also setup: (1) set the udev rule (only need to set once even if you have more than 1 controller of the same bluetooth name), and (2) turn off the 8bitdo mapping hack (for new firmware)... then reboot to take effect.

According to the manual, the controllers shut off after 15 minutes of non-use (no buttons/joysticks being pressed) while connected, and after 1 minute of no connection. If yours shut off during regular use, it's possible your RasPi's WiFi is interfering/dropping the bluetooth connection. I know that sounds strange, but once I disconnected from my wireless network, the bluetooth connection was wayyy more stable. I actually ran an ethernet cord to my network router & forced the RasPi's WiFi service off in the meantime.

Otherwise, please confirm your setup intricacies (particularly your connected profile's bluetooth ID/Name & LEDs) against the following, and note the confirmed issues too.

For the record (as of firmware v1.22, 2017-12-20)

Confirmed Issues

"Switch": analog range is only 85% (-27391 to 26966 instead of -32767 to 32767); turbo feature not recognized

"Mac" : reconnection established only after reboot when connect mode has been set to 'boot' or 'background'

"Windows" : left & right triggers aren't recognized

"Android" : left & right triggers aren't recognized

Confirmed LEDs

"Switch" : all 4 LEDs cycle back-n-forth

"Mac" : the first 3 LEDs blink repeatedly

"Windows" : the first 2 LEDs blink repeatedly

"Android" : the first LED blink repeatedly

Confirmed Profile Selection Buttons

"Switch" : START + Y

"Mac" : START + A

"Windows" : START + X

"Android" : START + B

Confirmed Bluetooth IDs & Name (SN30 | SF30)

"Switch" : 98:B6:E9:42:--:-- Pro Controller | 98:B6:E9:42:--:-- Pro Controller

"Mac" : E4:17:D8:20:--:-- Wireless Controller | E4:17:D8:CF:--:-- Wireless Controller

"Windows" : E4:17:D8:20:--:-- 8Bitdo SN30 Pro | E4:17:D8:CF:--:-- 8Bitdo SF30 Pro

"Android" : E4:17:D8:20:--:-- 8Bitdo SN30 Pro | E4:17:D8:CF:--:-- 8Bitdo SF30 Pro

Notes

Hitting only START button activates previously selected profile

Firmware receive mode activated by LEFT SHOULDER + RIGHT SHOULDER + START

click for manual

click for support/firmware

MRP2000

@louiehummv it ended up being the WiFi that was causing the issue. Once I turned off the WiFi, I had no problems with the controllers. Thank you for the help, I appreciate it.

louiehummv

@mrp2000 You're welcome. Happy holidays

theelite1x87

Hello everyone. I decided to register and post this after buying a sn30 pro and reading this thread. I am using the controller in Dinput mode (android) and it works great. Analog sticks work. All 4 triggers work. Connects to Bluetooth just fine. Stays connected. After restart, controller hooks right back up after a few seconds. Here's what I did:

Before anything I went to my PC and updated its firmware (v1.22 as of Xmas day). Completed that. Not sure if this matters, probably not, but I next connected it via Bluetooth to my android tablet to test it in ps1 emulators (using android mode obviously). Worked great. Next I went to my pi3, running latest version of retropie. Used my existing controller to head over to search for Bluetooth. Did the pairing process. Saw it quickly and connected. I enabled the udev option as suggested here. I believe there was a option for Bluetooth connection to out it in background mode or something but I left that as default. Then I used existing controller to go to gamepad setup screen. Held down button on the sn30 pro to begin config. Mapped all buttons without issue (set select as hotkey as usual). And....thats it. Worked great in all games. All buttons, including triggers, worked as expected. Can't comment on range of motion with analog sticks as I'm not sure how to check that. I can say the analog sticks worked just as well as my 360 wired pad does. So it seems to be good. Perhaps latest firmware solved the android config issue? But I just wanted to leave a comment here for others, as this thread is top result on Google when looking up this issue

louiehummv

@theelite1x87 That's great news. Perhaps leaving your connect mode as 'default' allowed the left/right triggers on the "Android" profile to finally work.. as my (undesirable) results were tested on the v1.22 firmware with connect mode left on 'background'. Didn't even think to change it.. I'll retest everything tonight.

robertclemens

I've re-connected my controllers (SN30 Pro) in Android mode. So far so good -- it appears all is working quite well. I loaded a N64 game and did notice my triggers responded so that is also good news.

I'll keep testing out more. Thanks everyone for the good feedback!

louiehummv

I retested the v1.22 "Android" profile with udev settings in place.. but this time I changed the connect mode to 'default'. Not sure that had much effect since I couldn't get the left/ right triggers to recognize at first. The difference happened after I immediately tried configuring the buttons again without exiting the EmulationStation start menu. Somehow the left/right triggers became recognized on that 2nd attempt! I was able to repeat this bizarre behavior after exiting the start menu, going back in, & configuring my controllers again; triggers were only recognized on a 2nd config attempt following the incompleted first.

The fact that others don't face this hurdle could be attributed to my tests since older firmwares. Maybe some conflicting configuration files were left behind as I upgraded... who knows how RetroPie was reacting behind the scenes.

Bottom line, the "Android" profile is definitely solid now, not to mention its full analog range.

One thing to note, however, is that the controllers' Hotkey(Select)+Start combination that exits an emulator doesn't work in N64. As luck would have it, pressing the left/right triggers together exits N64 for me. Some N64 games even exit when pressing left-trigger+Y. Very wierd.. although I'm aware that N64 is not exactly RetroArch-friendly. For that reason, I can live with these varying exit button combinations. Good news is that the other consoles (Genesis/32x/NES/SNES) still exit as expected to Hotkey(Select)+Start.

BuZz

connect mode should always be left at "default" unless you have a controller that will not reconnect once powered on (it's a hack that forces a reconnect attempt every 10 seconds or so). for my 8bitdo controllers, "default" is fine.

Rion

@louiehummv said in 8bitdo SF30 Pro and SN30 Pro:

Somehow the left/right triggers became recognized on that 2nd attempt! I

This can even happen on a fresh install. Had this problem with my 8bitdo Sfc/Snes30 and Nes30 Gamepads.

louiehummv

Did more testing.. figured I'd update the record. "Android" profile remains best.

As of firmware v1.22, 2017-12-20:

Confirmed Issues

"Switch": analog range is only 85% (-27391 to 26966 instead of -32767 to 32767); turbo feature not recognized
"Mac" : reconnection established only after reboot when connect mode has been set to 'boot' or 'background'
"Windows" : left & right triggers aren't recognized
"Android" : acceptable; may need to configure controller input twice (a 2nd attempt immediately following the 1st) to get EmulationStation to recognize the left & right triggers; note this profile's Hotkey+some-button combinations vary in N64 emulator per game

Confirmed LEDs

"Switch" : all 4 LEDs cycle back-n-forth
"Mac" : the first 3 LEDs blink repeatedly
"Windows" : the first 2 LEDs blink repeatedly
"Android" : the first LED blinks repeatedly

Confirmed Profile Selection Buttons

"Switch" : START + Y
"Mac" : START + A
"Windows" : START + X
"Android" : START + B

Confirmed Bluetooth IDs & Name (SN30 | SF30)

"Switch" : 98:B6:E9:42:--:-- Pro Controller | 98:B6:E9:42:--:-- Pro Controller
"Mac" : E4:17:D8:20:--:-- Wireless Controller | E4:17:D8:CF:--:-- Wireless Controller
"Windows" : E4:17:D8:20:--:-- 8Bitdo SN30 Pro | E4:17:D8:CF:--:-- 8Bitdo SF30 Pro
"Android" : E4:17:D8:20:--:-- 8Bitdo SN30 Pro | E4:17:D8:CF:--:-- 8Bitdo SF30 Pro

Notes

Hitting only START button activates previously selected profile
Firmware receive mode activated by LEFT SHOULDER + RIGHT SHOULDER + START
click for manual
click for support/firmware

dracule

Hi. I just bought the SN30 pro and it seems i cant get Y working and X button is L1 somehow in retroarch on android. Anyone knows if its possible to fix?

louiehummv

@dracule There are many unknowns to your setup. Please update RetroPie to the latest version, upgrade your controller firmware to v1.22, & follow the suggestions/links on this thread to configure the "Android" profile on your SN30 Pro.

robertclemens

Just a note that firmware v1.23 has been released. Below are the details.

Firmware v1.23
Enhanced vibration optimization on Xinput mode.
Added USB connection to Mac mode.
Fixed the bug that the controller would not turn on occasionally.

Press and hold L+R and then plug in USB cable to update the controller if it does not power on.

Edit: Not sure if it was just me or not, but after I did the firmware update to v1.23 I had to remove the bluetooth devices and reconnect them. The controllers also seemed to turn on default to "Switch Mode". So I returned them to "Android Mode".

Action937

Hello - I just bought the SN30 pro - I've had similar problems like others here, but this has been very helpful.
I'm having one problem that folks here haven't mentioned. I can't seem to enter the settings for the individual emulators / cores. For instance, when I load up a game, before it starts, I get a splash screen telling me to hit A to configure. Normally this works, however my SN30 pro doesn't allow me to do this (firmware 1.23).

Has anyone had any luck doing this? Is it not the traditional A button anymore?

robertclemens

@action937 I know I was able to get into those setup screens. I don't recall what button I hit, but I want to say I used "Start". I can test later and confirm. I am running in Android mode.

Action937

I'm in Android mode as well - sorry ... didn't mention that.

louiehummv

@action937 I didn't realize that splash screen actually meant the A button.. thought it meant 'a button' as in any button. In light of that, I'm using the same controller, 'Android' profile, firmware 1.23, under RetroPie 4.3.. and only the A button works for me.

robertclemens

Sorry for the delay but I have the same results. The "A" button is what gets into that screen. I am in Android mode.

A Former User

Just got an SF30 Pro. Upgraded to v1.23, ran udev, in Android mode. Not able to use the left or right trigger buttons. :/