Should it forget wireless PS3 controllers?

Cayaco

Am I doing something wrong? I have connected and configured multiple Dualshock 3 controllers and they work fine right after. I will shut down the machine for a week and when I come back I turn it on and the DS3s will not connect unless I connect them with a wire again.

It shouldn't be doing that right? Should I be able to have the Pi and nothing connected via USB, just turn it on, and once Retropie is up and running be able to sync the controllers? I don't want to keep a keyboard or wired controller plugged in all the time to reconfigure every time.

sirhenrythe5th

There is not much information in your question, smiliar to "my car does not run - whats wrong?".
Could be everything, from out of gas to engine has been stolen.
Please provide more information about your setup as requested here:

"Please do not post a support request without first reading and following the advice in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first"

Cayaco

Pi Model or other hardware: B+
Power Supply used: Cannacat kit thing
RetroPie Version Used : how do I tell?
Built From: pre-made SD image from https://retropie.org.uk/
USB Devices connected: None
Controller used: Trying to get a DualShock 3 working

How's that?

Should I need a keyboard or anything connected when booting up the Pi or once the DS3 is synched and connected it should be able to be used wirelessly each time I turn the Pi on afterwards?

Thorr69

Just curious, but do you use the controllers wirelessly on other devices in between Pi sessions? The controllers themselves would forget their connection with the Pi if you do.

Cayaco

@Thorr69 Nope, we only have the Pi. No Playstation 3 in the house. The battery goes dead though and sometimes it's a moth between turning the Pi on. Would that cause it to forget?

psyke83

The Bluetooth stack stores the all peripheral pairing information in the filesystem (in /var/lib/bluetooth/), so the problem is definitely on the side of your controller, which likely stores the pairing in some kind of battery-backed volatile storage.

My advice: ensure that you don't allow your controllers' batteries to drain completely. Make sure to install the sixaxis package, as this will install install a service that automatically turns off your controller after being idle for 10 minutes (or any user-set time). Without that, your controller will remain paired indefinitely until either the battery is completely dead or you turn off your Pi.

See here (and avoid using the ps3controller driver, as it's only needed for more obscure third-party clones).