Cant connect dualshock 3 controller via bluetooth

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1

Hi everyone!
I’ve trying to connect my ps3 joystick over bluetooth to my fedora 40 desktop without success. The controller works fine when wired, but every time I tried to pair it to my bluetooth dongle its like it isn’t even there.

The only steps I tried so far were connecting the controller via USB to see if a notification to trust the devices appeared (it didn’t), and pressing the “Playstation” button on the dualshock 3 to see if it appeared on the bluetooth devices list.
Also, just in case, I’m pretty sure the adapter works because I’ve been able to connect a pair of wireless earbuds with no problem.

I’ll leave here my system information in case it’s needed:

System:
  Kernel: 6.11.4-201.fc40.x86_64 arch: x86_64 bits: 64
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.2.2 Distro: Fedora Linux 40 (KDE Plasma)
Machine:
  Type: Desktop System: Gigabyte product: B450M DS3H v: N/A
    serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: Gigabyte model: B450M DS3H-CF serial: <superuser required>
    UEFI: American Megatrends LLC. v: F63c date: 07/20/2022
CPU:
  Info: 8-core AMD Ryzen 7 5700X [MT MCP] speed (MHz): avg: 1740
    min/max: 550/4663
Graphics:
  Device-1: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Navi 22 [Radeon RX 6700/6700
    XT/6750 XT / 6800M/6850M XT] driver: amdgpu v: kernel
  Display: wayland server: Xwayland v: 24.1.3 compositor: kwin_wayland
    driver: N/A resolution: 2327x1309
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: amd mesa v: 24.1.7 renderer: AMD
    Radeon RX 6700 XT (radeonsi navi22 LLVM 18.1.6 DRM 3.59
    6.11.4-201.fc40.x86_64)

Bluetooth dongle specs:

Bluetooth:
  Device-1: TP-Link TPLink Bluetooth USB Adapter driver: btusb type: USB
  Report: btmgmt ID: hci0 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 5.1

Thanks in advance!

2

I guess bluetooth related questions are tough, seeing im not the only one with a similar issue that has posted here without a response.

3

Did you try this method since it is similar to pairing playstation?

Pair the Controller:
   * Connect the PS3 controller to your device using the mini-USB cable.
   * Press and hold the PS button on the controller until the light bar starts flashing.
   * Your device should recognize the controller and pair it with the Bluetooth adapter.
   * Once paired, you can disconnect the mini-USB cable.

Side note I just gave up ps controllers on Linux and just bought Xbox controller and it is so much easier and steam support is just so much better

4

Thanks for the response! I just tried this and unfortunately it didn’t work, I’m guessing the problem is I have a bootleg controller disguised as an official one. Honestly i was thinking of doing the same thing and just buy an xbox series x wireless joystick.

1 Like
5

Easiest and best solution I have that Xbox x series and it just works easy to connect and less stress for debugging issues and future proofing