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Pair a DualShock 3 (SIXAXIS) and Motion Controller

The DualShock 3 gamepad does not implement standard Bluetooth discovery. You must pair it over USB before it connects over Bluetooth.

Manual pairing steps

1. Find the ESP32 or Pico W Bluetooth address

  • Connect a serial terminal to the ESP32 or Pico W at 115200 baud (8N1).
  • Read the boot log to find the local Bluetooth address:
Bluepad32 (C) 2016-2020 Ricardo Quesada and contributors.
Firmware version: v2.0.0-beta
BTStack: Copyright (C) 2017 BlueKitchen GmbH.
Dual port / 1-button mode enabled
Gap security level: 0
BTstack up and running at CC:50:E3:AF:E2:96     <------ THIS IS THE BLUETOOTH ADDRESS
Btstack ready!

In this example, the Bluetooth address is CC:50:E3:AF:E2:96.

2. Connect the DualShock 3 to your computer

Connect the DualShock 3 gamepad to your computer with a USB cable.

3. Pair the DualShock 3

Install HIDAPI for your operating system.

On Debian or Ubuntu, run:

sudo apt install libhidapi-dev

On Gentoo Linux, run:

sudo emerge dev-libs/hidapi

On macOS, run:

brew install hidapi

On macOS, update tools/Makefile to include the Homebrew hidapi paths:

INCLUDES := -I/opt/homebrew/Cellar/hidapi/0.13.1/include
LIBS := -L/opt/homebrew/Cellar/hidapi/0.13.1/lib -lhidapi

sixaxispairer: sixaxispairer.o
    ${CC} $^ $(LIBS) -o $@

sixaxispairer.o: sixaxispairer.c
    ${CC} -c $(INCLUDES) $< -o $@

clean:
    rm sixaxispairer sixaxispairer.o

Run pkg-config --cflags hidapi and pkg-config --libs hidapi to find your local INCLUDES and LIBS paths.

Compile and run sixaxispairer:

cd bluepad32/tools
make sixaxispairer
sudo ./sixaxispairer XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX  # Example: CC:50:E3:AF:E2:96

4. Pair a PS Move Motion Controller or Navigation Controller

Use the PS Move API tool to pair a PS Move controller:

# List connected PS Move devices
sudo psmove list

# Write the target Bluetooth host address to the controller
sudo psmove pair XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX  # Example: CC:50:E3:AF:E2:96

5. Disconnect the USB cable

Unplug the controller from your computer and press the PS button. The controller connects to the ESP32 or Pico W within 10 seconds.