3DS Bluetooth Controller via ESP32?

[ks100rr]

To start off I know about Lumas 3DS Input Redirection. That requires a PC and wifi connection something I'm trying to avoid.

I've been researching and at least from what I have found no one has attempted to do this mod via an ESP32 bluetooth controller.

The esp32 has been used to add bluetooth to old consoles like the PS1 that never had bluetooth and the esp32 has been added to gamecube controller pcb converting the controller into a bluetooth controller

My thought/idea if tapping directly on the motherboard pcb the traces same way done on the gamecube controller for every single button then connect them to the the ESP32 controller you could have a bluetooth controller that you can use on the fly without needing to get into luma3ds or loosing the ability just to grab the console and continue using no need for a wifi connection.

Space would definitely be an issue. Using flat ribbon cables and once a design has been reach a reduction of the esp32 to smallest size possible. Similar to the gamecube esp32 mod which has a custom pcb. Most likely interior trimming of the shell would be required.

I'm not a coder or electrical engineer, my question to the more advance folks on here. With your knowledge could this be done? the coding for all modern controllers xbox, ps5, switch, joycon, etc already exist for the esp32. connecting directly to the motherboard pcb would i need to worry about voltages or resistors? again no electrical or coding experience i apologize for my ignorance. i have an idea which i think could work and others i think would enjoy but want to see what more knowledgable people think before i fry a 3ds

 

[ELMERTEM]

cool

Post automatically merged: Mar 9, 2025

cool

 

[linkinworm]

Possibly but youd likely tank the 3ds already small battery life or if it draws too much power youd tank performance since the critical components woulsnt get the juice they need. Maybe it would be possible with a custom cartridge and a plugin to redirect commands that way since things like sky3ds(?) Have custom cpus that would likely draw way less power

 

[TheStonedModder]

Possibly but youd likely tank the 3ds already small battery life or if it draws too much power youd tank performance since the critical components woulsnt get the juice they need. Maybe it would be possible with a custom cartridge and a plugin to redirect commands that way since things like sky3ds(?) Have custom cpus that would likely draw way less power

an esp barely uses any power

To start off I know about Lumas 3DS Input Redirection. That requires a PC and wifi connection something I'm trying to avoid.

I've been researching and at least from what I have found no one has attempted to do this mod via an ESP32 bluetooth controller.

The esp32 has been used to add bluetooth to old consoles like the PS1 that never had bluetooth and the esp32 has been added to gamecube controller pcb converting the controller into a bluetooth controller

My thought/idea if tapping directly on the motherboard pcb the traces same way done on the gamecube controller for every single button then connect them to the the ESP32 controller you could have a bluetooth controller that you can use on the fly without needing to get into luma3ds or loosing the ability just to grab the console and continue using no need for a wifi connection.

Space would definitely be an issue. Using flat ribbon cables and once a design has been reach a reduction of the esp32 to smallest size possible. Similar to the gamecube esp32 mod which has a custom pcb. Most likely interior trimming of the shell would be required.

I'm not a coder or electrical engineer, my question to the more advance folks on here. With your knowledge could this be done? the coding for all modern controllers xbox, ps5, switch, joycon, etc already exist for the esp32. connecting directly to the motherboard pcb would i need to worry about voltages or resistors? again no electrical or coding experience i apologize for my ignorance. i have an idea which i think could work and others i think would enjoy but want to see what more knowledgable people think before i fry a 3ds

Ive done this for my twittch plays channel. input redirection is finicky on a good day. If you want a hardware solution loopy has his 3ds gamecube controller mod open sourced. I started there and modded it to my needs

 

[The Real Jdbye]

To start off I know about Lumas 3DS Input Redirection. That requires a PC and wifi connection something I'm trying to avoid.

I've been researching and at least from what I have found no one has attempted to do this mod via an ESP32 bluetooth controller.

The esp32 has been used to add bluetooth to old consoles like the PS1 that never had bluetooth and the esp32 has been added to gamecube controller pcb converting the controller into a bluetooth controller

My thought/idea if tapping directly on the motherboard pcb the traces same way done on the gamecube controller for every single button then connect them to the the ESP32 controller you could have a bluetooth controller that you can use on the fly without needing to get into luma3ds or loosing the ability just to grab the console and continue using no need for a wifi connection.

Space would definitely be an issue. Using flat ribbon cables and once a design has been reach a reduction of the esp32 to smallest size possible. Similar to the gamecube esp32 mod which has a custom pcb. Most likely interior trimming of the shell would be required.

I'm not a coder or electrical engineer, my question to the more advance folks on here. With your knowledge could this be done? the coding for all modern controllers xbox, ps5, switch, joycon, etc already exist for the esp32. connecting directly to the motherboard pcb would i need to worry about voltages or resistors? again no electrical or coding experience i apologize for my ignorance. i have an idea which i think could work and others i think would enjoy but want to see what more knowledgable people think before i fry a 3ds

It doesn't require much coding, or much power, all you're doing is simulating button presses, the hardest part of it is the soldering. I don't know how accessible the solder points are on the 3DS, you can't solder directly to the button contacts because it would interfere with normal use of the buttons. But Nintendo are usually better at putting test points on their hardware than some (*cough*Microsoft*cough*). The OG 3DS has a billion test points which no doubt includes the buttons, but the 2DS XL has only a few (which may or may not include the buttons), so it could depend on the model how easy it is.