How To Get Nintendo Switch Controller To Work On Pc

How to use a Nintendo Switch Pro controller on PC

Nintendo didn't accept PC gamers in heed when it built the Switch Pro controller, but that won't cease united states of america from using it anyway. It's a fantastic controller with very long bombardment life, dandy analog sticks and face buttons much larger than the puny ones on the Switch joy-cons. If you accept i around and are set to upgrade from an aboriginal Xbox 360 pad, information technology's a strong contender for your next PC controller.

Thank you to Steam'southward controller configurator, which has official support for the Nintendo Switch Pro controller, using it for the majority of your PC games is a cakewalk. It's basically plug-and-play. But if you desire to play games that aren't on Steam, you're going to need this guide.

Hither'due south how to get your Nintendo Switch Pro controller working in Steam or Windows, via a wired connection or Bluetooth. To commencement, y'all'll need a Nintendo Switch Pro controller (plainly) and a USB-C cablevision.

Steam setup

How to utilise the Switch Pro Controller in Steam

Steam's born controller support has included the Switch Pro controller since 2018, which makes using the controller a breeze in Steam games. Enabling it is extremely simple. Showtime by plugging the controller into your PC.

1. Open Steam and the settings carte du jour. Find the Controller tab and open General Controller Settings. You should encounter a few configuration support options on the left. Naturally, nosotros want to enable Switch Pro Configuration Back up.

If you like your Pro controller with flip-flopped Ten/Y and A/B buttons, yous can also enable the Nintendo button layout so games default to it. If this option is not enabled, your Pro controller will be treated similar an Xbox controller. You tin also change your controls game-by-game past right-clicking that game in your library, selecting Edit Steam Controller Configuration, and remapping each button.

three. While you lot're here, take the time to personalize your Switch controller by selecting it under Detected Controllers. If your controller isn't registering properly, commencement by clicking Identify, then open up the controller'due south preferences. You tin can modify the proper noun, the brightness of the home push'due south lite ring, and whether to use the gyro motion sensor.

From the controller settings page, yous tin also calibrate your controller's gyro sensor and joysticks by clicking Calibrate, merely you should only calibrate your controller if you meet latency bug. If it own't bankrupt, don't fix information technology: if you calibrate before trying your controller in-game, you may actually create a latency problem. If yous always feel the need to calibrate your controller, click Calibrate, set up information technology on a flat surface, and follow the button prompts.

So, if everything feels right, just save your profile and voila, you're ready to go. Whenever you want to utilize your controller, exist sure to plug information technology in before opening Steam or any Steam games to forestall any connection issues.

Non-Steam games

Setting up the Switch Pro Controller for non-Steam games

Using Steam is the really easy way to get this controller working. If you aren't playing games via Steam, using a Switch Pro controller is nevertheless an option just it requires a little extra piece of work, particularly for a Bluetooth connection. But the good news is that information technology's at present natively recognized in Windows, which helps speed things up.

The easiest solution for non-Steam games is to really bring Steam dorsum into the picture. Steam has an "Add together to library" feature for Windows executables that allows you to add other programs to your Steam library, and and so brand use of the Steam overlay. This even works for the Nintendo GameCube/Wii emulator Dolphin!

As y'all tin can see in the image above, click the "Games" bill of fare in Steam, then choose the "Add a Non-Steam game to my library..." pick to pull up a listing of programs on your PC. In nigh cases, this should let you to add together a game and use a controller with Steam equally an intermediary. Hooray!

Bluetooth

How to get Bluetooth working on PC

Here'southward what you lot need to offset:

Hardware

Nintendo Switch Pro controller
Bluetooth dongle (optional)
8Bitdo wireless Bluetooth adapter (opens in new tab) (optional)

Software

x360ce (if you don't utilise the 8Bitdo dongle)

8Bitdo adapter: Piece of cake Bluetooth and XInput support

The $20 8Bitdo Bluetooth adapter (opens in new tab) helps you bypass most of the finicky setup below by treatment the Bluetooth connection and making Windows play nice with the controller without any hobbyist software. Information technology'll make Windows see the controller similar it would an Xbox gamepad, and supports the button/joystick inputs and motion controls (merely non vibration). Every bit a bonus, this will work on multiple consoles and with tons of other controllers, too, including the Switch Joy Cons, PS4 controller, Wii remotes, and more than.

If you don't desire to spend the $20, follow the guide below.

The hard way: Windows installation guide

You only need to follow these steps if you're non using the Switch Pro Controller through Steam.

1. Plug your Switch Pro controller into the PC with a USB cable. You should be able to use the USB-A to USB-C cable that came with the controller, or y'all can use a USB-C to USB-C cablevision, if your PC has the appropriate port. Inside a few seconds, Windows x should pop upwards with a new connected device: Pro Controller.

You're most of the way at that place! But because this is a DirectInput controller (like most gamepads other than the Xbox'due south), if you aren't using Steam's congenital-in controller interface, some games won't recognize the controller without some extra software.

2. Download both the 32-bit and 64-chip versions of x360ce (opens in new tab) and salvage their .nada files to a fresh binder. I'm running a 64-scrap system, and you probably are too, but some games require the 32-bit version, so get them both now to save time after. Thankfully, x360ce volition tell you which version you demand.

3. Yous have to install x360ce individually for every new game, and this process can vary slightly between games. Luckily, the beginning pace is always the same: find your game'south executable (or awarding) file. You lot'll find information technology in the game'south local files—sometimes it'southward buried in a folder, sometimes information technology's correct upwardly front.

four. Once y'all've found the right binder, re-create and paste the x360ce .zilch file into it. Now extract its contents. This volition give y'all an application file with a little controller icon. Open it. If yous need the 32-bit version of x360ce, a prompt will tell y'all at this fourth dimension. Otherwise, you'll get a prompt maxim you need to create a .dll file. Click Create.

five. After you create your base .dll file, another prompt will inquire you to search for controller settings. Click Search automatically for settings and make sure the Search the Net box is checked. This will pull a button layout for your Switch Pro controller to employ, and lucky for us, the default layout is perfect for nearly games. Click Adjacent and then Finish.

6. Test the buttons and analogue sticks on your controller. If everything went co-ordinate to plan, they should line up with the virtual Xbox 360 controller displayed in x360ce. If everything looks good, click Save, and close x360ce. It will kick on in the background once you outset your game. If your controller withal isn't registering, endeavour deleting the default .dll in your game'due south local files (steam_api.dll), merely be sure to save a copy offset.

7. You have to repeat these steps for every game you lot want to play with your Switch Pro controller. So, to reiterate: detect local files, paste the x360ce .zip, extract and run, create and relieve a profile, then salve and shut x360ce before opening your game.

Using your Switch Pro controller

x360ce works by reading DirectInput commands as XInput commands, which is what near modernistic games support. Now that it's installed, your Switch Pro controller should behave similar an Xbox 360 controller in well-nigh games. However, some games flat-out will not work with DirectInput gamepads. The Witcher three, for example, cannot be played with a Switch Pro controller using this method. With any luck, some whiz will work out a workaround for that in the coming months.

Compared to other controllers, I had to remap my in-game buttons more frequently while using a Switch Pro controller. My x360ce layout was correct, but the game wasn't registering it correctly. However, after remapping the gamepad controls in the in-game settings, it worked perfectly for every game I tried.

You lot shouldn't need to remap whatever buttons in x360ce, but if you exercise need or desire to, simply click the driblet-downwardly card on the button y'all want to remap, click Record, and press the desired push on your controller. Exist certain to relieve your profile after making any changes.

The hard way: Windows Bluetooth setup

You only need to follow these steps if you want to play wirelessly and chose non to buy the 8Bitdo adapter for Bluetooth connectivity.

Note that if you decide to connect via Bluetooth, without using the 8Bitdo adapter method in a higher place, you cannot accuse the controller while it'south connected, so make sure its battery is topped off before you starting time.

First, disconnect it from your Switch by holding the pocket-sized circular button on the top of the controller to the left of the USB-C port. (If your Switch is in the aforementioned room as your PC, I recommend turning it off, only to continue your Bluetooth surround clear. Nosotros also don't want it to know we're two-timin' it. You can easily reconnect your Pro controller to your Switch via cable.)

Pull up your Bluetooth settings and starting time a search for new devices, and then press the same small button on the top of your controller one more time. Information technology should automatically pair after 30 seconds to a minute. Note: the lights on the bottom of the controller will proceed flashing even afterwards it's paired.

From this point, follow the aforementioned instructions above to use x360ce with your controller. You may accept to re-pair your controller each fourth dimension depending on what Bluetooth dongle you're using and your Bluetooth settings.

WiinUPro and WiinUSoft (opens in new tab) are also longstanding favorites for using Bluetooth to play Nintendo controllers on PC, and they added Switch Pro controller support as well. Withal, to use a Switch Pro controller with these programs y'all have to jump through several more Bluetooth hoops. x360ce is a simpler alternative which can also be used with other DirectInput gamepads. For now, we think information technology's the all-time mode to use your Switch Pro controller on PC, other than via Steam.

Not a controller person? Hither'southward a round-up of the all-time gaming keyboards , and best gaming mouse .

Wes has been covering games and hardware for more than than x years, first at tech sites similar The Wirecutter (opens in new tab) and Tested (opens in new tab) before joining the PC Gamer team in 2014. Wes plays a petty bit of everything, but he'll always leap at the gamble to encompass emulation and Japanese games.

When he'south not obsessively optimizing and re-optimizing a tangle of conveyor belts in Satisfactory (it's really condign a problem), he's probably playing a twenty-year-onetime Final Fantasy or some opaque ASCII roguelike. With a focus on writing and editing features, he seeks out personal stories and in-depth histories from the corners of PC gaming and its niche communities. 50% pizza by volume (deep dish, to exist specific).