[REQUEST] Bluetooth game controllers for Windows

[Kirby]

I am looking for a decent game controller to work with Emulation Station in Windows 7 64 bit. The controller must be able to connect using standard Bluetooth, not a special or specific Bluetooth adapter like the Xbox controller requires. The reason for this is that I put an Intel 3160 M.2 internal Bluetooth adapter into this computer and I want to actually use it. Plus I have no spare USB port in the front for an external controller.

Anything by SteelSeries is out. I bought 2 Stratus XL controllers only to find that the company doesn't actually understand Windows that well. While the controllers apparently work flawlessly in Linux, they only work in Windows with a few specific USB Bluetooth adapters and support has no idea what M.2 adapters they may or may not work with. I have added "SteelSeries" to my list of curse words.

Also, I want them to use standard Bluetooth connection without any additional software. The Windows version of the SteelSeries adapter requires some stupid Engine program to be running all the time.

I'm leery of PS4 controllers because they don't have officially supported drivers, instead using some third party drivers which treat the controller as an Xbox controller, possibly (I can't remember) requiring some go-between program to translate.

It should be usable when emulating everything from Atari to the original PlayStation...anything Emulation Station (or some other front-end) links to (with the obvious exceptions of Amiga or the weird Atari/Coleco/Adam controllers with the number pads. The Adam was actually my first computer. Man, I miss those days, when "dual tape DRIVES" was something to brag about).

So, anybody have anything they're happy with? I can do (and have done) a Google search. I want suggestions from people who have something they love! Thanks, all.

 

[phaZed]

The XBOX One S controllers will connect via standard bluetooth. No special adapter needed.

 

[Kirby]

The XBOX One S controllers will connect via standard bluetooth. No special adapter needed.

No it won't. Not in Windows 7.
https://support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-on-windows/accessories/connect-xbox-one-controller-to-pc
"Bluetooth requires a PC running the Windows 10 Anniversary Update."
It also says this, "We recommend connecting only one controller at a time using Bluetooth." I need 2.

Under the "Windows 8.1/Windows 7" section, "Bluetooth connections are not supported."

 

[phaZed]

Well, I guess it's Logitech time lol, sorry bout that!

I swear I saw some drivers for Windows 7 IIRC - maybe a hacked thing..

EDIT:
Maybe it was this?
https://github.com/Zel-os/MogaSerial

 

[Kirby]

Well, I guess it's Logitech time lol, sorry bout that!

I swear I saw some drivers for Windows 7 IIRC - maybe a hacked thing..

EDIT:
Maybe it was this?
https://github.com/Zel-os/MogaSerial

First, never apologize for trying to help me. I appreciate the attempt.

Second, I forgot to mention, I'll buy Logitech when I get to Hell, and I'm an atheist. They USED TO BE a great company. Now they make cheap junk. Just last week I had to invent new tools to remove a Logitech speaker plug which broke off in the jack just pulling it out. They had to invent a new, smaller gauge of wire when they designed their headphones because "microscopic" wasn't fragile enough for their crappy design. I have hated Logitech since I bought the Harmony remote many years ago and found that, like many game makers and Microsoft, Logitech decided to tell ME how I wanted to use their products, which I didn't particularly like. And a few years ago I got 2 Logitech wireless keyboard/mouse combos for a customer. Both were dead within 14 months and I had to replace both, at my own cost, with Microsoft. If their products were jokes they would be toilet humor, the cheapest of all humor. In the past decade I haven't used a Logitech product which has lasted much more than a year. Most have lasted mere months. Some lasted but weeks. If I ran this site "Logitech" would be treated like a swear word. It would be censored and you would get a language warning. In short, I don't much care for them.

I don't mind using third-party drivers for something, but I would have to hear from some professional here that they are using it and it works great. I already spent about $100 on these SteelSeries controllers only to find that they are useless in Windows unless your hardware is just right, and their support doesn't care. As long as they work on "some computer somewhere", it isn't their problem. I don't want to take any chances this time. It was for my wife's birthday, which was already more than 2 months ago. I'm hoping to try again for Christmas, but they MUST work this time. If I disappoint her again it'll be like the bedroom all over again. I can't have that on my conscience.

 

[brandonkick]

8bitdo has some pretty cool offerings, and a dongle to do the wireless bit....

Is there a specific reason your bent on using the bluetooth? You can always
get a USB extension cord and utilize one of the ports on the back of the PC
provided there is a free one available.

 

[Kirby]

8bitdo has some pretty cool offerings, and a dongle to do the wireless bit....

Is there a specific reason your bent on using the bluetooth? You can always
get a USB extension cord and utilize one of the ports on the back of the PC
provided there is a free one available.

There are a couple of reasons it must be Bluetooth. One, I already have an M.2 Bluetooth card in the case and working, the antenna wires cleverly run inside the case to be completely hidden yet still have great range. The card also has wifi, should I ever care to use it, but I already have Ethernet there, so I'm using that.

Two, the case looks cool. It's the Corsair Obsidian 205D and it looks nice. I don't want to slop 2 cables from the back to the front and lay them on the floor or tape them to the wall, looking like crap, to be able to connect 2 controllers when I already have something in the case and working which was actually designed for this exact type of connection.

I have the Bluetooth, I want to use it. That's really all there is to why I am adamant about Bluetooth. I don't need to slop something together, I already have something which looks nice, AND it's a standard connection which I can also use for other things, if I choose. If I could, I'd connect remotes and all via Bluetooth just because it's "cleaner".

Just to be clear, I'm the type of guy who, when I watch Star Trek TNG and I see Data hooked up to all the equipment, glowing cables coming out of his head, my first thought is, "Wait a minute. Why isn't he wireless?"

 

[phaZed]

Honestly @Kirby, I know you're not going to want to hear this, but Windows 10 is likely what it is going to boil down to. You only have 1 more year to go on 7, anyways.

 

[Kirby]

Honestly @Kirby, I know you're not going to want to hear this, but Windows 10 is likely what it is going to boil down to. You only have 1 more year to go on 7, anyways.

This is just an HTPC system. No need for updates. I had thought about Windows 10 so I could use a 7th or 8th gen processor and get better Intel graphics, but there's really no need for it. And W10 routinely murders your Internet bandwidth when Microsoft decides it's time for you to upgrade. I will go to W10 when I must, not a second before, and I'll try to get out of it then. I don't like spending a grand on something only to have someone else have complete control over it. Well, maybe if it were a security system, but Windows is kind of the opposite of security.

Windows 10 won't really do anything for me in this case anyway. As I pointed out, you can only connect a single Xbox controller to a PC at a time and I need 2 controllers.

It's no big deal. I was just hoping there might be some gamers here who knew all about controllers and had some kick butt suggestion for me that I may or may not have found on my own. It's looking like that isn't the case, so I'll look around until I find something I like, do a little more research by Googling for problems with the product and try again.

 

[fencepost]

You only have 1 more year to go on 7, anyways.

?? Windows 7 is going to be in Extended support until January, 2020, so 2 more years.

I was looking at that when I ran around deciding which systems to activate for Windows 10 just in case - anything that might theoretically still be viable at that point I popped an SSD in and activated for 10.

As for Windows 10, I upgraded my T430 from 7 for the Fall Creators Update - the combination of getting a nice setup for running Linux on Windows and the Files On Demand capability for OneDrive was just too good to pass up.

 

[GTP]

Windows 7 will be the last Windows I use. I won't ever use Winspy 10!
When Windows 7 support ends I'll just be more vigilant or ditch it all together and move to Windblows 8.1.
That'll get me to about 2023? Maybe more with extended support?
After that I have plenty of choice with Linux to satisfy me into the future.
By then I'll be too old and too cranky to give a s**t!

 

[phaZed]

?? Windows 7 is going to be in Extended support until January, 2020, so 2 more years.

Yep, my mistake.
It's about the easiest thing to "Stop Microsoft" from updates and spying and such. A good router will allow firewalling those MS servers. There are some software blockers as well, but nothing like blocking it in hardware for an entire site.

 

[Kirby]

Windows 7 will be the last Windows I use. I won't ever use Winspy 10!
When Windows 7 support ends I'll just be more vigilant or ditch it all together and move to Windblows 8.1.
That'll get me to about 2023? Maybe more with extended support?
After that I have plenty of choice with Linux to satisfy me into the future.
By then I'll be too old and too cranky to give a s**t!

The balls to actually say what I was thinking. I like it!