How to play with 2 PS3 controllers on 1 BT dongle

This is designed for friends/ couples/ family that are in the same room using the same PC.
What this will do is allow you to simulate the XBOX controller using your PS3 controller on your PC. This guide will also tell you how to connect 2 controllers wirelessly through 1 bluetooth dongle.

Note, that this may not work for all hardware configurations. Not all bluetooth dongles are supported

Introduction

So to start off with, this is designed for friends/ couples/ family that are in the same room using the same PC.
What this will do is allow you to simulate the XBOX controller using your PS3 controller on your PC. This guide will also tell you how to connect 2 controllers wirelessly through 1 bluetooth dongle.

This will only work with Local Co-Op games and games with Full Controller Support.

My wife and I first wanted to play Legend of Dungeon together, but with the lack of network multiplayer, we managed to get 2 contollers working wirelessly on her PC. We soon realized this works in a multitude of other games.

Note, that this may not work for all hardware configurations. Not all bluetooth dongles are supported

This guide is designed for people with PS3 controllers and no access to an Xbox controller. It is a cost effective solution to people who do not want to buy an Xbox controller for their PC.

What You Need

Bluetooth Dongle













2 PS3 Controllers













A Mini USB to USB wire to plug in the controllers into your PC

• MotionJoy DS3 Tool[www.motioninjoy.com]
  
• A game with Local Co-Op and Full Controller Support

I use a Technika USB Bluetooth Adaptor, Model: H16BL-01, that I bought from Tesco for like £2. Very cheap but it hasn't broken in the number of years that I've had it.

Initial Hardware Setup

Getting it initially setup is a bit of a pain at times. But doing it this way, you will be able to tell if your BT device is compatable or not.

Install the DS3 Tool

Just get it installed, follow the on screen intructions, allow drivers to be installed. (Simple Next, Next, Next etc).

Do not run the DS3 Tool yet.

Plug In your Bluetooth Device

When you plug it in, Windows should detect the device automatically and install some basic drivers.





Once complete, it will say 'Driver Install Complete', with a small tick on the install icon.


If Windows does not install the driver automatically, then you will need to go to your Vendors' website and download the neccessary drivers. (Usually a google search of 'model XXXX bluetooth driver download' will find what you need).

Plug in your controllers

Grab one PS3 controller and plug it into your PC.
Note that this CANNOT be on the same USB port that you plugged your bluetooth device into

Like the BT dongle, wait for windows to automatically install the gamepad device drivers.

Setting up Bluetooth

Ok, so now we have all the base drivers needed to get this show on the road.
Some quick bullet points to make things a bit easier to follow next:

• Plug in your Bluetooth Device, and make sure your PS3 controller is unplugged
  
• Run the DS3 tool (as administrator) and click on Driver Manager at the top
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• You should have one Port listed. Tick the box next to the port
  
• Click on Load Drivers (at this point, it may freeze... it will also ask you to confirm driver install through windows, accept it all)
  
• It will be completed, with a small console at the bottom of the screen telling you what just happened
  
  
  
  
  
• While the box is still checked, Click on Install All
  
• Wait for completion (it will say 'Success: Install Completed')
  

To check if your driver has installed properly, go to the Bluetooth Pair at the top and it should then be listed as your bluetooth adapter, with model/ manufacturer etc.
If it's there, then keep calm, and carry on.
If not, re-do the above steps and make sure you have local administrator rights.

Setting up Player 1 Bluetooth

Leaving your BT Dongle plugged in, plug in your first player PS3 controller.

Follow the steps listed before. But this time, you will see 2 ports listed.

• Check them both and click load driver.
  
• Wait to complete.
  
• Leave them both checked and click Install All.

Once the install is complete (refer to the image in the last step) we need to now pair the controller to the bluetooth device.

Click on the Bluetooth Pair button at the top.

You should now see the two pieces of hardware you just installed. The Bluetooth Adapter and the Dualshock Controller (USB).



















Leave everything default and Click on Pair Now. The Have Paired to: should change from 0.0.0.0 to the MAC address of the PS3 controller.


If any hardware isn't listed, try reloading the drivers through driver manager. Ensure you are running as administrator. If it doesn't pair to the device, try re-plugging in the bluetooth device on a different port and starting again.

Setting up Player 1 Profile

This is an important step to getting your PS3 controller to working with these games.

Click on the Profiles button at the top.

You will be presented with a few different options. Let's walkthrough each one.
(image at the bottom of this to show the selections)

Connected game controllers

This has to have your controller listed as USB.
'Dualshock 3/sixaxis (USB)'

The coloured moving icon to the right of that is indicating that it is charging. (When you are running wirelessly, it will report your battery).

Select one mode

What we want here is to emulate the XBOX 360 controller. So to do that, select the 5th selection, called XInput-Default (it will have Xbox 360 Controller configuration option next to it).

LED

This is optional, but what I do is select Custom and have only 1 of the checkboxes checked.
That way when I come to setup the second controller, there will be one with LED #1 lit up, and the other with LED #2 litup.

So I would suggest selecting Custom and choosing a unique number.




















Now it's time for the big test.
Unplug your controller.

Your controller LED's will start flashing.
Let them finish flashing, and keep an eye on the profile page.
When the flashing stops, LED #4 should be lit (it may not be #4... it may be another LED number).

The profile page should say under Connected game controllers:

'Dualshock 3/sixaxis (Bluetooth)'

Now click 'Enable'

This will change the LED light on the controller to the one you selected under LED in the profile setup.

Click on 'Vibration Testing' - This should make your controller vibrate for a short time.

If it does not vibrate, try disconnecting, reconnecting... just make sure that the software detects the device

Congratulations, Player 1 is now Setup for wireless play!

Be sure to leave this software running while you want to play with the controller.

Setting up Player 2

This is very very similar to setting up player 1. But during this whole process, you will need to have the Player 1 controller connected through bluetooth.

So while Player 1 is connected wirelessly:

• Plug in Player 2 controller
  
• Go to Driver Manager, select both the checkboxes and Load Drivers, then Install All
  
• Go to BlueTooth Pair and click Pair Now (ensuring that the Dualshock 3 is listed as USB)
  
• Go to Profiles

Now In your Profiles, under Connected game controller there should be 2 controllers listed. 1 Bluetooth and 1 USB.

• Select the USB Controller.
  
• Leave everything else default.
  
• Give it a custom LED number. Preferrably different to player 1.
  
• Click Enable (Do it while it's plugged in this time)
  
• Unplug your controller
  
• Go to the Connect game controller and select number 2 in the list (both have the same name)
  
• You can check which controller you have selected by checking the custom LED number when selecting the profile.
  
• While have player 2 selected, click on Enable again.

The LED light should now be lit to the number you gave it in the profile.

Congratulations. Player 2 is now setup wirelessly

During this time, Player 1 may have turned off. The controllers are automaticall set to turn while while not in use. Just push the PS button to turn it back on.

Conclusion

Well it was a long journey, but at least you don't have to do this every time ;)

If you want to use the controller with the Playstation after, just plug it in via usb and push the PS button. The controller will pair itself with the playstation.

And if you want to go back to the PC. Just run the DS3 Tool. Plug in the controller(s) by USB. Then Unplug it. When unplugged, click Enable under the Profile section.

It's always a good idea to run a Vibration Test to make sure it's connected wirelessly.

Remember, this is emulating an Xbox Controller - Analogue is fully supported
Since the PC has a default driver installed for Xbox, this is for those people without an Xbox controller.

So when you are in game, you may see it asking you to press Y. For this you need to push Traingle.

Here is the default layout translation.

Xbox360--------------------------PS3
A-----------------------------------X
X-----------------------------------Square
Y-----------------------------------Triangle
B-----------------------------------Circle
Back------------------------------Select
Start-------------------------------Start
DPad------------------------------DPad
Left Shoulder--------------------L1
Left Trigger----------------------L2
Right Shoulder------------------R1
Right Trigger--------------------R2
Left Analogue-------------------Left Stick
Right Analogue-----------------Right Stick


Contructive Feedback is most welcome. This helped me, so I'm passing it on to you.

It's not just for Magicka, it will apply to many local coop games.

Thank you for reading, and I hope it helps.

[Masat]

Thank you! Worked like a charm.

[CzerstfyChlep]

Connecting first controler was veary eazy so i did it by myself.
Unfortunately second controler wasnt working so i came here. Anyone can help? it says i paired second controler but when unplug he cant ''find'' my bluetooth adapter.

[total2d]

@Flappers The best way I can explain what's happening is that the Enable button is not working. Everything is working as you said it would except the enable button does nothing. If the controller is off and then I press the PS button, it instantly connects to the software, but the controller keeps flashing even after I press the enable button.

[Flappers]

@Total2D After you unplug the controller, press Enable on the software. It should stop the lights flashing and connect with the controller.
If that doesn't work, try re-installing the Bluetooth adapter drivers through DS3 tool (Start from Setting up Bluetooth part)

[total2d]

This worked perfectly until the part where I have to unplug the controller. DS3 Tool actually connected and said 'Dualshock 3/sixaxis (Bluetooth)', but the lights keep flashing forever. Any ideas?

[JayD]

@Ranmaz yes, this will support 4 PS3/PS4 controllers at once.

@Flappers: Thanks for taking the time to make this guide for us and for including screenshots. I would however urge you to update it to recommend to people to start using the SCP drivers instead of MotioninJoy. The author of BetterDS3Tool made a post about why there might be a backdoor on DS3Tool. Check it out:
http://betterds3.ciebiera.net/why/

Here's a YouTube video on how to get PS3 controllers working on PC without MotioninJoy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpSaOJJIun8

[Gapp]

This worked perfectly on the first try. Big thanks for this guide!

[Rato de Laboratório]

Took me 2 days to get my bluetooth working on my alienware (built in) on windows 8.1, but i managed it thx for this guide. luv ya long time

[BAM!]

awesome

[Red Jalapeño]

hmm nice