The Nintendo Switch Pro Controller is one of the most expensive "baseline" controllers in the current console generation, but it's also durable, comfortable to use, has a great directional pad, and boasts outstanding motion sensors and vibration technology. Furthermore, because the gamepad is Bluetooth-enabled, you won't need an adaptor to connect it to your computer.
Because the Pro Controller appears to Windows as a DirectInput controller rather than an XInput controller like the Xbox Series S/X and Xbox One gamepads, getting it to operate with your PC games might be a challenge. Thankfully, Valve has enabled complete Switch Pro Controller compatibility to Steam, which should cover the majority of your game collection. Non-Steam games need a few more steps, which we'll guide you through.
Of course, you won't be able to utilize your Switch Pro Controller with your PC until it's connected to it. There are two types of connections: wired and wireless. Wired is the most straightforward, but wireless is, well, wireless. It also necessitates some effort.
Using a Wired Connection, connect your Switch Pro Controller to your PC
- In the controller, connect your Pro Controller cable (or any USB-A-to-USB-C data cable, or USB-C-to-USB-C data cable if your PC has a USB-C port).
- Plug the other end of the cable into your PC.
That's it! Windows 10 will recognize the controller as a "Pro Controller." You may now proceed to the Steam setup stages, which are shown below.
Using a wireless connection, connect your Switch Pro Controller to your PC
This can be done using apter or onboard Bluetooth, but it's also simple.
- When the Pro Controller is fully charged, press and hold the Sync button on the gamepad's top for a few seconds until the indicator lights begin to flash.
- Right-click the Bluetooth icon in the system tray.
- Click "Add Bluetooth Device."
- Click "Add Bluetooth or other devices."
- Click "Bluetooth" (Because Windows 10 requires confirmation that you wish to enable Bluetooth.)
- If the Pro Controller does not appear in the list of available devices, check to see if the indicator lights are still flashing back and forth. Pair the controller by clicking it.
- Now you can move on to Steam setup.
Steam Setup
Use Steam's Big Picture Mode, a couch-friendly lean-back menu layout that works well with a gamepad, to make sure everything works as it should between the Pro Controller and your PC game.
- If Big Picture does not open instantly after connecting the Pro Controller, launch Steam and go to the Settings menu.
- A full-screen Big Picture window appears when you click General Controller Settings.
- Click "Switch Pro Configuration Support."
The mouse cursor should disappear when the Pro Controller is attached, and you should be able to browse Big Picture with the gamepad. Depending on whether you wish the A/B/X/Y buttons to be mapped as they are on the Pro Controller (clockwise X, A, B, Y from the top) or as they are on an Xbox controller, you may check "Use Nintendo Button Layout" (clockwise Y, B, A, X from the top).
When connected to Steam, the Pro Controller should function similarly to an Xbox controller in any Steam game. On the same setup page as previously, click the controller under "Detected Controllers" to turn the vibration on and off. If the analog sticks appear to be off, click Adjust to manually calibrate them. You may also choose the length of time the controller remains connected before disconnecting and going to sleep.
When you use Big Picture, Steam's controller support, as well as over-the-game remapping and setup choices, display as they should, which is unlikely to happen if you launch a game from the desktop. When we played No Man's Sky using Big Picture, the controller functioned fine, but the mapping seemed unusual when we opened the game through the desktop.
Enter the Pro Controller's controller settings when the game is in Big Picture mode to bring up Steam's Switch Pro Controller overlay. It allows you to examine and correct controller mappings in a variety of circumstances. You may explicitly map each Pro Controller input to any keyboard or gamepad input, but for most games, the default arrangement should be enough. Running in No Man's Sky by clicking the right stick was problematic without manual modifications, thus this is useful if any controls feel slightly odd with the default settings.
Hardware Alternative: 8BitDo Wireless USB Adapter
Although Steam's Pro Controller support is nice, you'll be out of luck if you try to use it with non-Steam titles because of how Windows recognizes it. You may either use a hardware Bluetooth adapter made expressly for several gamepad types or a software-based XInput wrapper to address this.
The 8BitDo Wireless USB Adapter is a $20 Bluetooth adapter that allows you to connect your Switch Pro Controller, Switch Joy-Cons, or Wii U Pro Controller to your PC. Because the adapter handles all of the XInput data, connecting the Switch Pro Controller to it using the physical sync button rather than the Bluetooth menu on your PC makes it function like a PC-friendly Xbox gamepad.
Software Alternative: DirectInput-to-XInput Wrapper
This is the most powerful but also the most difficult choice. Rather than depending on Steam or a USB adaptor, you use a software wrapper to convert the Pro Controller's inputs into a format that Windows 10 can understand.
X360ce is open-source software that allows you to customize how Windows perceives your non-XInput controller. It's a powerful wrapper that lets you imitate an Xbox 360 gamepad by mapping almost any other input to the gamepad's inputs. The project is no longer active; the latest update to x360ce was in 2015.
If you're prepared to install and fiddle with software wrappers until the Switch Pro Controller functions the way you want it to, they should suffice. It could require a little more effort; third-party driver wrappers are notoriously difficult to deal with.
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