JJX-TECH Bluetooth Controllers for RetroPie

Fritzo130

Hello All,

I just wanted to give back to this community somehow after all the helpful guides I found here. Getting off brand clone PS3 bluetooth controllers to work with RetroPie is known to be problematic. This controller, the JJX-TECH, is available from Amazon for just $15 (w/ free prime):

http://www.amazon.com/JJX-TECH-Controller-Playstation-PS3-Dual-Vibration/dp/B014KM7X9Y?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00

These controllers are really great and very durable. A steal at $15 and will you save you a ton of money when putting your system together.

The bluetooth receiver (good for 4 controllers) can be found here (many others can work):

http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Bluetooth-Adapter-Raspberry-Compatible/dp/B009ZIILLI?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00

However, it is very hard to properly connect and configure this controller because for some reason the normal method of pairing a bluetooth controller (be it Sony or clone PS3 drivers) does not work and will give you days and weeks of heartache and despair. To save you time, here is how you can pair these inexpensive clone PS3 bluetooth controllers.

Have your bluetooth adapter, keyboard, and wifi adapter connected to the pie (no controller via USB yet!)
Do a clean install of RetroPie 3.8.1
Go to the RetroPie Configuration and install the PS3 Controller drivers
Restart the system
Wait for Emulation Station to initialize and then plug in the bluetooth controller via USB (do NOT press the P3 button or any others, this is very important)
The lights on the controller will blink (wait 30 seconds)
Press the P3 button (wait another 30 seconds)
Unplug the controller. After a few seconds the first LED will go solid red and it has been paired.

You can repeat steps 4 through 8 for all 4 of your controllers (I use 4 and they all work well). Each controller will just show the 1st red LED but they are connected as separate controllers. They are able to always reconnect after system restarts, etc. I do not have a logical explanation for this, but after wasting weeks to try to pair these controllers, this is the only method that works. If you use the normal method you will not be able to pair on 3.8.1 and only have limited functionality even when the controller is connected in USB and configured (not all buttons will work).

eddyman1us

Hi @Fritzo130 thanks posting this, usually I try the Gasia gamepad option for retropie-setup menu and it has seemed to work for most after market controllers.

Does you method turns on LED lights according to gamepad number on the controller as well ?

Fritzo130

@eddyman1us

Unfortunately they will also just show the LED for player 1, but the controllers are always remembered as being 1,2,3 or 4 to retropie so you can put labels on the back of them.

I tried getting these controllers to work with retropie 3.6 using the normal method with gusia clone. They would initially connect, the LEDs would light up correctly for each controller, but they would disconnect when loading a game. At that point you could not reconnect them and if you restarted the system they would not reconnect either.

gorgar

Hey thanks i have one of these buggers and i cant get it to pair....i tried your directions last night with no luck my only diff is i am using the PI3 so it has built in Bluetooth but i had no joy......any ideas....

Just to clarify you don't use the retropie setup pairing just the 30 sec USB wait on the main screen then PS3 button?

Fritzo130

@gorgar

Hmm, that's odd. Does the pi3 still have trouble with the onboard Bluetooth?
Are you running 3.8.1 with a fresh install?

But yes, I plug the controller in at the home screen of emulation station, wait 30 seconds, then press the P3 button and wait 30 more seconds. Then I disconnect the controller.

Part of the problem may also be the controller needs to be charged more. That was another problem I had. Make sure the controller is charged several hours before trying this.