Bluetooth Controller Connectivity Issues

VelocityFox

I recently installed Batocera (64 Bit PC) on an old laptop of mine, and I've been having a few issues regarding my wireless controllers:

The first thing I noticed was that it took many attempts when trying to connect my PS4 Official controller using the controllers settings -> Pair a Bluetooth Controller. The process seemed random and unreliable as when I attempted it again it took around 15 minutes or so of attempts to get it to connect again.

The next issue I noticed was that when the PS4 controller was connected it shows up as 2 controllers: "#0 Wireless Control...nsors" and "#1 Wireless Controller." This poses a problem because some emulators choose to use #1 as player 1 (The SNES one I believe) while the rest use #0, so constantly having to change the order is very tedious and irritating. I've tried forgetting and reconnecting bluetooth devices but nothing has worked.

Another issue is that whenever I am attempting to connect xbox controllers in addition to my ps4 controller it gives me a false "controller connected" popup after I hit the Pair a Bluetooth Controller button. I tried connecting the xbox controllers while the ps4 controller was disconnected and I still got this same message even after several restarts. I tried editing the options in the recalbox.conf file (ex disabling and enabling ps3 controllers and enabling xboxdrv) but nothing has worked.

Useful Info and Specs:
Version: 5.20 (Internal Drive)
Processor: Intel Pentium B980
Graphics: Intel Integrated Graphics (3.3 Open GL)
Bluetooth (US😎: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07J5WFPXX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 - Reviews say this chip has a limit of 7 connected devices
Controllers Attempted: PS4, xbox one, xbox 360 (All wireless)
Wired controllers work fine!

I appreciate any help I can get on this issue, and I will provide any more details if necessary.

Thank You!

VelocityFox

Bump. I would appreciate some help on the issue. Thanks.

joinski

VelocityFox
arpaterson

For me pairing with DS4v1 and DS4v2 works fine.
Just press and hold Share + PS-Button for a few seconds, until the light blinks fast. Then go to "Controller Settings" and "Pair a Bluetooth Controller". After a few seconds the controller is paired.
And after reboot i just press PS-Button and the controller is paired again after a few seconds.

Maybe you should try other Bluetooth Dongles?

arpaterson

i am experiencing this too, since x86_64 - 5.18, 5.19, 5.20 and several betas, 5.21 betas. I will try 5.21 RC0/RC1 in the morning.

I am using a DS4v2 (CUH-ZCT2E), and a surface pro 3, and DS4v1 behaved same.

It can take 5-10minutes of continuous attempts, and then one will mysteriously work.
It says unable to pair and controller paired at random - when it is failing.

After pairing successfully and rebooting, it sometimes is a little flaky reconnecting the controller.

Once connected, works well.

arpaterson

still happening on 5.21 RC 20190326

arpaterson

also, ES goes to black screen when Forget Controllers is used.

VelocityFox

joinski I've tried variations of that method and it's just been very inconsistent on being able to connect. I haven't been able to get my ps4 controller to connect since I resynced it with my ps4, but I did have success in connecting PS3 controllers which is good and tells me my bluetooth adapter most likely isn't the issue. (The dongle also claims to be linux compatible, has decent reviews, and works perfectly with my windows pc)

I also did a fresh install of 5.21 and 5.20 in case something was messed up with my install, but still no luck.

I really appreciate all the help and I look forward to hearing an update on the "detecting 2 controllers" issue. I will keep working and let you know if I find out anything.

arpaterson

I agree and actually have an Asus bt400 sitting on my desk to try, which I couldn’t before because I was running batocera from the USB port. I have now dual booted it.

I suspect this maybe a marvel WiFi problem. Surface devices have a marvel WiFi/BT that kinda sucks, broken firmware, sleep issues. mwifiex_pcie needed with the correct marvel firmware file. Currently WiFi doesn’t work either.

I have support files for both situations - just paired, and after forgetting causes black screen. (I was able to alt F2)

joinski

arpaterson

Ok and regarding the issue, that DS4 controllers are detected as 2 controllers ("#0 WIRELESS CONTROL...NSORS" and "#1 WIRELESS CONTROLLER") i found this here:
https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/17650/dualshock-controllers-on-4-4-with-3b/35

So it seems, that it could be possible to deactivate/disable the detection of Motion Sensors as a Controller.
@nadenislamarre could you or one of the other devs have a look at this?
Also i noticed, that the button mapping of DS4 controllers within Kodi is different to PS3 controllers:
PS3 Controller Cross = Select <-> DS4 Controller Circle
PS3 Controller Circle = Back <-> DS4 Controller Triangle
PS3 Controller Triangle = Opens Menu while playback <-> DS4 Controller Square
PS3 Controller Square = opens Submenu like "Add to favourites" for example <-> DS4 Controller Cross

So the 4 buttons (cross, circle, triangle, square) are shifted one place counterclockwise on the DS4 controller.

arpaterson

no i dont experience any shifting of keys. once paired it works as expected. option = start, share =select ( or vice versa i dont have a ps3 controller here)

nadenislamarre

disable the detection of Motion Sensors as a Controller
it is supposed to be already done
if not for you, send me a report.

joinski

nadenislamarre

ok, i will reproduce now from a fresh install and then upload the support file for you

joinski

nadenislamarre

i installed the current rc of 5.21 for my RPi3 on a fresh formatted sd-card.
then i connected a genuine Sony PS4 controller (DS4v1) via bluetooth and configured the buttons.
here what i see under Controller Settings, Input P1:
https://abload.de/img/img_5906npjz6.jpg

and here the support file i created:
https://www.file-upload.net/download-13551805/batocera-support-20190327225727.tar.gz.html

i also tried to start a dreamcast game in Game Ratio 4/3 but the screen was stretched to 16:9 instead. In version 5.20 the default aspect ratio of dreamcast was 4:3 and could be stretched to 16:9, when you set Game Ratio to 16/9. Now in 5.21 the default aspect ratio of dreamcast is 16:9 and it can not be changed. it does not matter what Game Ratio or Video Mode you select, the screen is always stretched to 16:9.

nadenislamarre

thanks. i will analyze it.

joinski

VelocityFox I haven't been able to get my ps4 controller to connect since I resynced it with my ps4

i guess that is the cause.
maybe it helps, when you reset your controller before connecting to batocera (just press ps-button and while the controller is blinking press the reset-button on the back with a toothpick for example).

best is to use a seperate ps4-controller only for batocera, without using it for ps4 in the meantime.

VelocityFox

Ok so I noticed something interesting. I ssh into batocera and type in "bluetoothctl" and I watched what it did while it was attempting to pair with my controller. It seems like the false "controller paired" sign comes up because for some reason it gets connected to an Apple TV or someone's iPhone, and this is entirely possible because I do live in an apartment complex with a bunch of college students. I can provide screenshots if necessary, but I do not wanna give away addresses and things.

It seems that priority is being given to iPhones and Apple TV's, and since my dongle has a 7 device limit it seems to fill up before it has a chance to connect to the controller. (This is just observation and I could be completely wrong bc I don't know a lot about these things.) Is this a problem with my dongle? Or is there something I can enter to change this?

EDIT: I've manage to be able to get my PS4 controller to connect every time I've tried pairing it in the command window via the discovered MAC address (it has wireless controller next to it so it's easy to find) and trusting it. Since the device is trusted it remembers it on restart! This also does not change it showing up as 2 controllers in Batocera.