Hardware Can't reconnect my Switch Pro Controller in Windows 10

[mangaTom]

Hi guys. So I've been using my pro controller on my laptop for a month now and it's a very good controller. No problem in pairing the device whatsoever. However, every time the connection is lost (ie. when I shutdown, restart or turn-off the controller) I can't seem to reconnect the controller with my laptop even if it shows that the controller is installed/"paired"(not connected). I can't seem to connect to it(controller) manually from my laptop. It really is a bother removing, adding and calibrating the device over and over again every time I want to use it. Is there any workaround about this issue? Thanks.

 

[CTCaer]

Yes, just press a button (not the sync button) and it connects automatically with your laptop.
If you paired it with switch, you need to remove it and pair it again to your laptop.

Basically all switch controllers connect to the last host when pressing a button.

 

[mangaTom]

Thanks for the reply mate. The controller does get "connected" for awhile while doing that method, however it doesn't register any inputs and get disconnected after a few seconds.

 

[CTCaer]

Hmm, strange.. My joycons stay connected for forever. I need to restart or disable BT or press the sync button to turn off or get far away from my crappy BT adapter to disconnect.

But this behavior is in windows 10 with Microsoft BT stack. I don't know with older versions.

EDIT:
And the inputs are registered in the windows game controller settings

 

[mangaTom]

Yeah, it is kinda frustrating. Signal wise, it's pretty good so I doubt that's the case. It's probably on the software side since it does get connected, albeit for awhile, but disconnects itself which is pretty strange. It doesn't maintain the connection and no inputs are received from the controller.

 

[CTCaer]

To be true the only way to have the best experience, especially lag wise, in any OS, is to use a custom driver for the switch controllers.

A custom driver can enable the switch style input report which is rated at 16ms for Joy-Cons and 8ms for Pro controller.
And ofc it can keep the controller alive because it sends periodic keep alive packets.

I'll play a little with my JC toolkit, send commands that enable different input report formats and see how the windows generic driver acts

 

[CTCaer]

Whatever I tried, the joy-cons stayed alive..

Anyway try this beta version of my tool:
1. Pair the pro-controller
2. Open the app
3. Click Menu->Debug
4. Write these to the fields: to Command: 01 , to Subcommand: 03 , to Arguments: 3F
Check how it behaves.

If the problem is the same try these values also: 01 , 48 , 01

Warning: Beware what you type, because there are 2 Subcommands (I will not point them out here), that can write/erase sectors on the controller flash.
Make a backup first!

 

[mangaTom]

Trying these out mate. Will report later if it's okay.

Edit: My controller still works the same. It still doesn't reconnect to my laptop after doing the said things above. Btw, the tool is pretty nice.
Edit2: Only the second set of values makes the controller vibrate if that helps.

 

[CTCaer]

The 2nd set is enabling the HD rumble. I thought that sending a valid command would keep it alive a little more. BTW how are your BT settings? You are not in any battery save mode right?

 

[Tigran]

Sorry to raise the dead thread again. But I'm in the same boat. I can pair the pro controller to the PC with no problem. HOWEVER when I turn the Pro controller off or my PC off. I am unable to hit a button on the controller and get it to run again. I either have to plug it up, or I have to go and delete the device then re-pair it completely. Any suggestions?

 

[camakazininja]

I was running into the same issue for a while, and I think in my case it's due to always using the "home" button on the switch controller to wake it up. I think this operates differently since it normally allows the controller to wake the switch and when paired with a computer seems to get things in a bad state. I switched to using the "A" button to wake the controller and it seems to re-connect automatically without any problems.

 

[Classicgamer]

Sorry to raise the dead thread again. But I'm in the same boat. I can pair the pro controller to the PC with no problem. HOWEVER when I turn the Pro controller off or my PC off. I am unable to hit a button on the controller and get it to run again. I either have to plug it up, or I have to go and delete the device then re-pair it completely. Any suggestions?

Same here: I found disabling and then re-enabling Bluetooth on my pc allows me to reconnect the controller. It has a little toggle button in the settings to do so.

 

[Lyron]

Checkout my solution here

 

[dukman821]

TLDR Eventually I was able to get the Nintendo Pro Controller to reconnect fine using an older USB Bluetooth 4.0 dongle on Windows 10, specifically the ASUS USB-BT400. A newer BT5.0 (ASUS USB-BT500) didn't work for me, nor did a TP-Link UB400 (USB 4.0). Now it reconnects without having to re-pair it each time.

For those that find this thread from a search years later, I was having the same issue with my Nintendo Pro Controllers when attempting to reconnect them to my PC running Windows 10 via Bluetooth using a USB to Bluetooth 5.0 dongle (ASUS USB-BT500). They would pair just fine, but if Bluetooth was disabled/reenabled or the controller was turned off and then back on, the controller wouldn't reconnect. It would require a re-pair to start using the controller again, similar to what @mangaTom mentioned.

Upon an attempted reconnect, the "Bluetooth & other devices" window would show the "Pro Controller" still "Paired" and then it would say "Connected" upon clicking one of the buttons (A for example), but the controller's front lights would go back and forth without connecting like it was trying to pair. Eventually the front green lights on the controller would turn off, and then Windows would go from "Connected" to "Paired" again on the same "Bluetooth & other devices" settings window.

Out in the Internet ether, others mentioned they had success when using a Bluetooth 4.0 dongle, so I bought a TP-Link (UB400) to give it a go. However, I was seeing the same reconnection behavior from the Pro Controller with the US400, in that it would pair and work just fine the first time around, but it wouldn't reconnect after being disconnected. The UB400 didn't work either.

A solution that worked for me is trying an ASUS USB-BT400 dongle I had around that wasn't being used. I first removed the device from Windows on the "Bluetooth & other devices" window with the UB400 connected - Windows for some reason pairs a Bluetooth device to the dongle itself instead of the Windows instance - then re-paired the Pro Controller using the "new" USB-BT400 dongle after removing the UB400.

The pair was successful and it now reconnects fine without having to re-pair it each time I want to use it.