8bitdo SF30/SN30 Pro controller bluetooth pairing trouble after updating RetroPi on Pi4

[RevolutionFlat]

This isn't so much of a please help post, but a "There's a problem, here's how I fixed got around it" post.

I purchased 2x bluetooth SF30 Pro controllers and the new RetroFlag NES case for the Pi 4. When the controllers arrived, I spent hours trying to get them to pair but one outright refused to connect after pairing, and the other wouldn't pair in a mode that allowed all the buttons to be used (triggers didn't work).

After 3 re-imaging and installations, I realized THEY WORK ON THE 4.6 IMAGE just fine, connects immediately and behaves as you'd dream. If you update, that's when the problems occur. I was able to install extra themes/emulator packages/retroflag scripts without disturbing the connections. Hope this helps people going through this!

Edit: On the clean 4.6 image, I had the controllers in [Start+B] mode, I'd recommend re-flashing the firmware if you've been troubleshooting.

[zerojay]

Hi, I have 3 SN30 Pro controllers also on the RetroFlag NESPi 4 case. All pair and work fine both before and after updating the 4.6 image.

[mitu]

@RevolutionFlat Are you using an external USB dongle for bluetooth connections ?

There was a recent bug in one of the Raspbian bluetooth utilities that affected connections via USB dongles, but this was fixed yesterday with an update.

[RevolutionFlat]

@mitu Nope, just the Pi 4 bluetooth.
@zerojay So happy for you. I spent 2 nights not getting them to work, seeing other posts of people having similar issues. 3rd clean install/flash of RetroPie and 15th controller firmware flash later, I thought I'd share my success experience.

[zerojay]

@RevolutionFlat said in 8bitdo SF30/SN30 Pro controller bluetooth pairing trouble after updating RetroPi on Pi4:

@mitu Nope, just the Pi 4 bluetooth.
@zerojay So happy for you. I spent 2 nights not getting them to work, seeing other posts of people having similar issues. 3rd clean install/flash of RetroPie and 15th controller firmware flash later, I thought I'd share my success experience.

I'm wondering if you did the other things in the menu specific for the 8bitdo controllers such as the udev setup and such. The only other thing I did was disable Wifi as I remembered it interfering with Bluetooth controllers on previous Pi machines I've owned. I also run the controllers in Switch mode so that all the buttons work and report correctly.

[RevolutionFlat]

@zerojay I didn't try disabling Wifi (I don't have wifi disabled now and its good) I tried every mode, for hours and they just weren't working.

[retrox]

All,

I have succeeded to set up the 8bitdo SF30 on RetroPie on the Raspberry Pi 4.

Here is the procedure I have have followed to make this work for me:

• tested using a Raspberry Pie 4 4GB RAM with latest firmware

• tested using RetroPie version November 12th 2020 / Github commit: 3d0a4ed7673e3d54aa5332d2894534fe00727c13 (cd ~/RetroPie-Setup/ && git show on the RetroPie over SSH) + any OS / RetroPie upgrades available at that date

• tested with latest 8bitdo SF30 Pro firmware upgrade version 1.34

• (once) update the controller firmware

  1. download the latest SF30 firmware from 8bitdo website
  2. press simultaneously LEFT + RIGHT + start buttons on the controller: the front red light should be blinking
  3. plug-in the USB cable to the controller and the computer
  4. launch the firmware update executable 8Bitdo_Update_v1.10.exe
  5. click on the USB update button
  6. select the firmware file: Firmware_SF30&SN30_Pro_V1.34.dat
  7. once the upgrade completed, remove the USB cable

• Bluetooth pairing (assumes that there is a working legacy controller like a the Buffalo wired controller I used for my tests to control the GUI while the 8bitdo controller is not set up yet).

  1. boot on RetroPie on the Raspberry Pi 4
  2. select RetroPie configuration menu
  3. select Bluetooth menu
  4. select Register and Connect to Bluetooth Device to trigger a device search
  5. start the controller by pressing start + B buttons
  6. click on the small grey pairing button, on the front side of the controller, above the select button, to pair the controller
  7. RetroPie should detect the controller and display its hexadecimal address
  8. click OK
  9. for the security mode prompt: select Keyboard only (this option, at least, seems OK and does not generate a connection error to the controller)
  10. select Setup udev rule for Joypad menu
  11. click OK
  12. leave the 8bitdo mapping hack menu to OFF as the firmware has been upgraded to latest version (as detailed above)
  13. click CANCEL then B button to exit RetroPie configuration / start button / QUIT / RESTART SYSTEM to reboot RetroPie
  14. when rebooting, the leftmost green light (of the four green lights at the back of the controller) should be blinking. When Emulationstation is up and running, the leftmost green light should stop blinking and remain green indicating that the controller is now paired with RetroPie and functional.

• Configuring inputs of the controller in Emulationstation

  1. click start button
  2. select CONFIGURE INPUT
  3. long press the A button to trigger the configuration
  4. press all relevant keys as prompted
  5. for the HOTKEY (last input to configure): as all keys / pads have been assigned, you can press either the little grey button just on the right of the right analog pad or the other button on the left of the left analog pad. Tests show that this may not allow to exit the emulator. You can press simultaneously the select and start buttons of another (wired) controller to exit an emulator if the HOTKEY on this controller does not work for that purpose.

Feel free to give your feedback on any clarifications or corrections, and I hope this helps.

[avionyx]

@revolutionflat said in 8bitdo SF30/SN30 Pro controller bluetooth pairing trouble after updating RetroPi on Pi4:

This isn't so much of a please help post, but a "There's a problem, here's how I fixed got around it" post.

I purchased 2x bluetooth SF30 Pro controllers and the new RetroFlag NES case for the Pi 4. When the controllers arrived, I spent hours trying to get them to pair but one outright refused to connect after pairing, and the other wouldn't pair in a mode that allowed all the buttons to be used (triggers didn't work).

After 3 re-imaging and installations, I realized THEY WORK ON THE 4.6 IMAGE just fine, connects immediately and behaves as you'd dream. If you update, that's when the problems occur. I was able to install extra themes/emulator packages/retroflag scripts without disturbing the connections. Hope this helps people going through this!

Edit: On the clean 4.6 image, I had the controllers in [Start+B] mode, I'd recommend re-flashing the firmware if you've been troubleshooting.

Received my SF30 Pro for my RetroPie 4.7.1 and have been having bluetooth connectivity issues. Did what RevolutionFlat did by reverting back to flashing my SD card with ver 4.6 and SF30 Pro finally connected... HALLELUJAH!!! Thanks for the version revert advice!!!