How To Connect A Switch Pro Controller To Pc

The Nintendo Switch Pro Controller is one of the priciest "baseline" controllers in the electric current console generation, but it's also sturdy, feels good to play with, has an excellent directional pad, and features impressive motion sensors and vibration tech. On top of that, the gamepad uses Bluetooth, so you don't need an adapter to connect it with your PC.

The Pro Controller appears to Windows as a DirectInput controller rather than an XInput controller like the Xbox Series South/10 and Xbox One gamepads, so information technology can exist a chip of a job to get it working with your PC games. Fortunately, Valve added full Switch Pro Controller support to Steam, so that probably covers a skilful chunk of your game library. Non-Steam games require boosted steps that we'll walk yous through.

Of grade, you tin can't use your Switch Pro Controller with your PC until you starting time connect information technology to your PC. You accept two options: wired and wireless. Wired is simplest, only wireless is, well, wireless. And it requires a bit of work.

Connect Your Switch Pro Controller to PC With a Wired Connexion

Plug your Pro Controller cable (or any USB-A-to-USB-C data cable, or USB-C-to-USB-C information cable if your PC has a USB-C port) into the controller.
Plug the other end of the cable into your PC.

That's information technology! The controller will be detected by Windows x every bit "Pro Controller." You can motility on to Steam setup steps beneath.

Connect Your Switch Pro Controller to PC With a Wireless Connectedness

You need a Bluetooth adapter or onboard Bluetooth for this, but information technology's as well easy.

With the Pro Controller charged, press and hold the Sync button on the top of the gamepad for a few seconds until the indicator lights commencement flashing.
Open the system tray and right-click the Bluetooth icon.
Click "Add Bluetooth Device."
Click "Add Bluetooth or other device."
Click "Bluetooth" (because Windows ten needs to be reassured that you lot want to use Bluetooth).
The Pro Controller should testify upward on the list of available devices (if it doesn't, make sure the indicator lights are even so flashing back and forth). Click it, and pair the controller.
At present you can move on to Steam setup.

Steam Setup

To brand sure everything works as it should betwixt the Pro Controller and your PC game, yous should use Steam's Big Motion picture mode, the couch-friendly lean-back menu organisation that works well with a gamepad.

If Steam doesn't open automatically into Big Moving picture when you lot connect the Pro Controller, open Steam and enter the Settings carte du jour.
Click General Controller Settings, which opens a full-screen, Large Picture window.
Click "Switch Pro Configuration Support."

If the Pro Controller is continued, the mouse cursor should disappear and you should be able to navigate Large Motion picture with the gamepad. You lot can toggle "Use Nintendo Button Layout" depending on whether you adopt the A/B/10/Y buttons to exist mapped as they are on the Pro Controller (clockwise 10, A, B, Y from the meridian), or as they're mapped on an Xbox controller (clockwise Y, B, A, X from the top).

When set up through Steam, the Pro Controller should work similar an Xbox gamepad with whatever Steam game. You lot tin toggle vibration on and off by clicking the controller under "Detected Controllers" in the same setup screen every bit before. If the analog sticks seem off, you can manually calibrate them by clicking Calibrate. You tin too set how long the controller stays connected earlier disconnecting, so that it goes to slumber.

Using Big Picture ensures that Steam's controller support and over-the-game remapping and configuration options appear as they should, which won't probable exist the case if you open up a game from the desktop. This happened when we played No Man's Heaven; the controller worked with the game through Large Motion picture, merely the mapping was strange when launched through the desktop.

With the game running through Big Pic way, you lot should enter the Pro Controller's controller options to bring upwards Steam's Switch Pro Controller overlay. It lets y'all cheque the controller mappings for different situations and fix them when needed. Y'all tin can manually map each input on the Pro Controller to any keystroke or gamepad input, only the default configuration should work for nearly games. This is helpful if any controls seem slightly off with the default settings; running in No Man's Sky by clicking the correct stick was finicky without manual corrections.

Hardware Alternative: 8BitDo Wireless USB Adapter

Steam's Pro Controller back up is welcome, but you lot're out of luck if yous want to play not-Steam games with the controller because of how Windows detects it. Yous tin can ready this in i of ii ways: using a hardware Bluetooth adapter specifically designed for multiple gamepad types, or using a software-based, XInput wrapper.

The 8BitDo Wireless USB Adapter is a $xx Bluetooth adapter that lets you easily connect the Switch Pro Controller, Switch Joy-Cons, or fifty-fifty the Wii U Pro Controller to your PC. The adapter handles all of the XInput details, so connecting the Switch Pro Controller to it with the concrete sync button instead of through your PC's Bluetooth menu makes it work like a PC-friendly Xbox gamepad.

Software Alternative: DirectInput-to-XInput Wrapper

This is the most powerful and well-nigh complicated choice. Instead of relying on Steam or a USB adapter to practise the job, you use a software wrapper to translate the Pro Controller'south inputs into a format that Windows 10 can better work with.

X360ce is an open up-source programme that lets you control how Windows sees your non-XInput controller. It's a robust wrapper that emulates an Xbox 360 gamepad by mapping about any other input to the gamepad's inputs. The project is currently defunct; x360ce was concluding updated in 2015.

Software wrappers should become the job washed if yous're willing to install and tinker with them a flake until the Switch Pro Controller works the way you want it to. It may take more than a flake of work; third-party commuter wrappers are extremely finicky.

How to Connect Other Controllers

For more than, see our guide on how to choose the right controller for your PC. If you accept a PS4 or Xbox controller that you want to connect to PC, we accept instructions for those gamepads, as well.

Like What Yous're Reading?

This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or chapter links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at whatsoever fourth dimension.