Latest update and PS3 sixaxis controller

skm

I've been wrestling this for a few days now. I have two PS3 controllers that I want to get working with RetroPie so the sixaxis driver appears to be the way to go. The controller works fine when connected with USB but I am unable to pair it using Bluetooth - in fact running a scan via bluetoothctl doesn't pick up my controllers at all, but I can see other bluetooth devices. I am using the onboard bluetooth on a Pi Model 3 B but also tried two different dongles as well as different versions of RetroPie. The controllers work fine wirelessly with a PS3. I have now realised that they are in fact Sixaxis controllers rather than DS3; Wikipedia says they lack Bluetooth discovery mode, which may account for my difficulties. Not sure if there's going to be any way around that.

mitu

@skm said in Latest update and PS3 sixaxis controller:

Not sure if there's going to be any way around that.

The lack of discovery is worked around by the driver - did you follow the instruction on how to pair it from the documentation ? Are you using the genuine Sony controllers or a clone of it ?

skm

Yes, they are genuine Sony controllers which came with the PS3. (Even if it was a clone I should still have been able to see it when I ran a scan.) I have been through the pairing instructions numerous times - unplug USB when instructed (all lights flash), press PS button, plug back in (light 1 comes back on), wait, nothing detected. I can even see neighbours' Bluetooth devices show up on occasion, but no PS3 controller. I have also attempted to reset the controller with the paperclip method, to no avail.

As you suggest, though, I can't find any evidence that a DS3 actually has Bluetooth discovery mode either, so that may have been a red herring. I will try to detect the controller with a Bluetooth scan using a different Pi later on.

skm

I thought my controllers were Sixaxis because they had never vibrated and I was sure they said Sixaxis on them. On closer inspection, they say "DualShock 3" as well as "Sixaxis" so they are proper DS3 controllers after all. Tried to pair a controller again using the sixaxis driver on a Pi Zero this time, with a fresh install of RetroPie 4.5.1, but it was not detected. Then I tried the ps3controller driver, after removing sixaxis and rebooting, and it was detected straight away (and vibrated) - D-pad still worked via Bluetooth although the other buttons didn't, which wasn't unexpected. There is actually very little evidence that only one controller can be connected via Bluetooth when using ps3controller, so I'll press ahead with that, since I don't need to use Bluetooth for anything else.

skm

It looks like the ps3controller driver works fine with multiple controllers - at least I was able to pair both my controllers via Bluetooth with one having LED 1 lit and the other LED 2, and navigate the EmulationStation menus with both.

Jshhh

Heya, struggling a bit here. I have installed this but had trouble pairing my ps3 sixaxis controllers via bluetooth (only works when wired). I tried downgrading the kernel as suggested in this thread but that bricked my OSMC so I have reformatted and installed everything but still can’t manage to pair my controllers via bluetooth.

Any ideas as to where I’m going wrong? How can I get these things paired?

George Spiggott

Use the ps3controller driver if you only have one pad. I was tempted to migrate back to sixaxis because I want to get a second controller. Maybe I'll wait a while longer.

psyke83

There was a fix for Bluetooth pairing applied to the sixaxis module on May 3rd (i.e. after the release of the latest 4.6 beta image). You can get the fixed version by first updating the RetroPie-Setup script and then reinstalling sixaxis.

The kernel downgrade was only necessary for to workaround an error in a specific older firmware which is no longer present in recent firmware versions. Finally, The ps3controllerdriver is really not recommended unless you have an obscure third-party clone controller that is not yet supported; IIRC, only the rare "SZMY-POWER" clones are known to have problems.

Jshhh

Unfortunately I had/have tried what you advised psyke83 and it still fails to pair. When I unplug the controller the light immediately starts flashing and continues to do so upon pressing the PS button. When I plug it back in the 1st light comes back on steady, the controller again responds to input but when the instruction message disappears the only thing found by the scan is the DTVBluetooth (TV).

I'm using the retrOSMCmk2 installer so not sure if that makes a difference at all.

Also when I try the same process with the PS3 driver that is advised against using, the controller vibrates upon pressing the PS button, but also fails to pair/respond afterward though I think this has something to do with needing an alternate button mapping. I haven't tried to troubleshoot it too much as I would prefer to use the recommended SIXAXIS driver.

I have the same result with all my controllers which are official PS3 controller that work fine with the PS3 itself and also pair well with my computer. Would appreciate any more hints or help anyone might have. Cheers!

mitu

@Jshhh Try using a RetroPie image and see if that works. If it does, the problem may be the kernel/firmware version in OSMC.