Let’s try that again

Now including all ‘optional’ software that I left out in previous releases, ProconXInput v0.1-alpha2 release2 should help ease installation, reduce headache, and increase usable Switch Pro Controllers over USB.

Requirements

• Windows 7 Service Pack 1 or newer
• .net Framework 4 (Windows 8 and newer come with .net Framework 4 preinstalled)

release2 changes

• HidGuardian.Lib, HidGuardian.Srv, and HidCerberus are now included in the release package.
• The install script was updated to also install HidGuardian.Srv and HidCerberus, and automatically configure them to block the Switch Procon from being noticed by compliant Windows software. This means #2 should not occur and Windows 10 users should be able to use ProconXInput.
• Once you install this release, you shouldn’t move the ProconXInput folder. HidCerberus.Srv is installed as a Windows service, and Windows doesn’t like it when you move services around. If you need to move or rename the ProconXInput folder, run uninstall Drivers.bat first before moving the folder, then run install Drivers.bat again after moving/renaming.
• The actual program itself was not changed, just the release package.

NOTE: This install configures HidGuardian, a driver designed to hide HID devices from applications, to hide the Switch Pro Controller. You might not be able to use the Procon via Bluetooth as a DInput device while HidGuardian is hiding it. To unhide it, in your web browser go to localhost:26762 while the HidCerberus.Srv service is running and remove HID\VID_057E&PID_2009 from ‘Currently affected devices’.

How to install

1. Grab the correct release for your system. Don’t get the 32-bit version for a 64-bit version of Windows, they are NOT compatible!
2. Extract the contents of the .zip to their permanent location. You won’t be able to move, rename, or delete the folder after installing without uninstalling first!
3. Run install Drivers.bat as an administrator.
4. Plug in your Switch Pro Controller, or replug it if it was previously plugged in.
5. Run ProconXInput.exe

The original release is as follows.

Bugfixes and Installers and Calibration, oh my!

No longer do you have to scour the web to find devcon.exe, download various Scp drivers, or type arcane commands to install ProconXInput! Packaged with this release is all you need to get your Switch Pro Controller working over USB. Read INSTALLATION.md included in the release for instructions.

Download the appropriate version for your system. 32-bits for 32-bit Windows only, 64-bits for 64-bit Windows only!

Full release notes are over in RELEASE.md

Changes

Basic calibration support has been added. No longer will your sticks be forever out of reach of moving your cursor in Rocket League’s menu! Simply press the Share button once after launching the driver, and your controller’s stick centers will be recorded, while the stick mins and maxes are adjusted on-the-fly. Implements #3.

Your buttons are now where you expect them to be! #5 is now fixed, meaning the bottom button on your Procon will do the same thing as the bottom button on your other XInput controllers. For those who prefer the Procon A = XInput A style, #6 is on its way.

Windows would sometimes freak out after the driver started talking to the Procon, doing all sorts of weird things ranging from erratic clicking, opening and closing Magnifier, and adjusting the volume. I changed a line in hid.c to hopefully fix that. My preliminary testing is good, but I need feedback on this one. Comment on #2 with your results.

For additional changes, see CHANGES.md

MTCKC released this Jul 2, 2017

THIS IS ALPHA SOFTWARE

It should be stable enough for playing games, but it’s not packaged nicely and it isn’t pretty. This release should theoretically support all platforms ScpToolkit does, so Windows Vista/7/8/10.

It currently theoretically supports up to 4 Switch Pro Controllers via USB, but I only own one so I can’t test past that.

Rumble is unsupported currently, and it might be forever unless I get a reliable way to test it. I don’t have an XInput controller that supports rumble, and there’s no reliable testing app to send rumble commands.

The controller will sometimes get cranky and decide to not work. Some things that cause this are being plugged in while Windows reboots or if the driver is killed unexpectedly. The driver will hang if you launch it while the controller is like this, you can press Ctrl+C to kill it. If this happens, try replugging the controller then relaunching the driver.

Read README.md for license details and other stuff.

Installation

1. Install ScpVBus first, see below.
2. Download the release, get the 64-bit version if you have 64-bit Windows, likewise for the 32-bit version.
3. Unzip it where you want it
4. Get the XOutput1_1.dll for your system (amd64 for 64-bit, x86 for 32-bit) from here and place it next to the unzipped ProconXInput.exe
5. Plug the Switch Pro Controller into your computer
6. Run ProconXInput.exe, ignore the warnings about HidCerberus
7. Hit Windows Key+R, enter joy.cpl into the Run box, hit enter (Or launch the ‘Set up USB Game Controllers’ panel however you want)
8. Check to see if your controller exists
9. Calibrate your controller if you want.
10. Game on!

Installing/Uninstalling ScpVBus

1. Download ScpVBus from here.
2. Get devcon.exe, and put it in the PATH or next to the driver to install. Make sure you install the amd64 driver on 64 bit Windows, and the x86 driver on 32 bit
3. Launch an Administrator command prompt and navigate to the driver folder. devcon will fail if you do not launch it as an Administrator!
4. Run devcon install ScpVBus.inf Root\ScpVBus in the same folder as the driver
5. Press «Install» when the confirmation box shows up, optionally untick «Always trust software from ‘. ‘»
6. Good to go!
7. To uninstall ScpVBus, run devcon remove Root\ScpVBus or in Device Manager right click System Devices/Scp Virtual Bus Driver and hit «Uninstall».

OR, you can install the ScpToolkit if you don’t want to do it manually. This installs a bunch of extra software that isn’t required, however. Especially make sure to not install the Bluetooth driver if you aren’t going to use Dualshock 3 controllers via Bluetooth, as they can interfere with normal Bluetooth usage.

HidGuardian and HidCerberus

If your games are picking up on the plugged-in Switch Controller that doesn’t work properly and not the XInput device, you’ll need to hide it using HidGuardian.

How to use Nintendo Switch Pro controller on PC

Using Nintendo Switch Pro controller on PC is a great idea if you know how to adjust it properly. Some games detect it after a few pretty easy steps, other ones require deeper customization. But in both cases, reWASD is a must-have tool. In the article below, I’ll tell you a bit more about how to use Nintendo Switch Pro controller on PC and how reWASD enhances its powers.

How to start using Nintendo Switch Pro controller on PC

reWASD is a gamepad mapper that allows you using various controllers for PC games. Some titles already have the controller support, but deeper customization will help you get the best gaming experience. To start using Nintendo Switch Pro controller on PC or to adjust it, download and install reWASD, then reboot your computer. After the reboot, connect Nintendo Switch Pro controller to PC via cable or via Bluetooth, and you will see it in reWASD. Now, let’s talk a bit about its huge functionality.

How to use Nintendo Switch Pro controller on PC with DirectInput games

DirectInput is an API created by Microsoft to unite games and input devices. A few years ago, it was pretty popular and a kind of must-have for all game developers. Time changes, and now not all up-to-date games work with it, but you can still find a lot of ones that do. Nintendo Switch Pro controller is based on DirectInput, however, without the additional customization, it is still not detected by DirectInput games.

Here is why you need reWASD. After it is installed, you just need to connect your Nintendo Switch Pro controller — Windows 10 will see it as a proper device, and it will be detected by all DirectInput games. No mappings, no additional adjustments are required. You just use Nintendo Switch Pro controller on PC with pleasure, while reWASD does its magic.

How to use Nintendo Switch Pro controller on PC with XInput games

As it was mentioned before, not every modern game works with DirectInput devices. XInput is meant to be a new standard in game development. It is the one that perfectly works for Xbox gamepads but doesn’t give us any clues of how to use Nintendo Switch Pro controller on PC. Or does? 😉

The idea is pretty easy. To use Nintendo Switch Pro controller on PC with XInput games, we need to turn it into an Xbox 360 controller. And with reWASD, it is as easy as ABC.

Just a few steps: add a new game in reWASD and remap any Nintendo Switch Pro controller button to the similar one from Xbox 360. You will find the list of Xbox buttons at the end of reWASD mapping drop-down list. Then, press Apply and agree to hide your controller in the confirmation. Now when you use Nintendo Switch Pro controller on PC, the system and games think that Virtual Xbox 360 gamepad is working.

How to use Nintendo Switch Pro controller on PC for games without controller support

Some game developers are still sure that you won’t need to use Nintendo Switch Pro controller or any other gamepad on PC but on console only. That is why there many up-to-date games that do not support controllers at all. We do not agree with such a lie of the land and recommend you to remap your controller to keyboard and mouse to enable controller support in any PC game.

All you need to do is choose the button on your Nintendo Switch Pro controller and add reWASD mapping to it. You will create your personal layout so each action will be linked to the most suitable control. If you don’t want to spend your time adjusting buttons, you can import ready-to-use configs from our Community. In any way, you will be finally able to use Nintendo Switch Pro controller on PC and with any PC game.

How to calibrate sticks of Nintendo Switch Pro controller on PC

Nintendo Switch Pro controller is nice, lightweight and powerful. However, it has a minor disadvantage. Its sticks are not calibrated at all and it is impossible to control anything with them. If you have just started using Nintendo Switch Pro controller on PC, you need long and annoying calibration. Or… you need reWASD!

After you install reWASD, it enhances the sticks of Nintendo Switch Pro controller so you may use them with pleasure. In addition, reWASD has many other stick settings you may be interested in. You can change the stick response, add deadzones, map additional actions to stick zones, swap sticks or invert their axes. Visit Advanced section of stick mapping frame to get more from your Nintendo Switch Pro controller on PC.

A few more tips about using Nintendo Switch Pro controller on PC with reWASD

Let’s get back to the beginning of this article. It was mentioned above that reWASD is a gamepad mapper with pretty exciting features. So, it doesn’t only let you use Nintendo Switch Pro controller on PC but also helps improve your gaming experience.

Long story short. With reWASD, you can add difficult combos; enable turbo or toggle mode for any button; add more mappings with Shift configurations and Shortcut functionality. You can enable Rumble, swap gamepad buttons or adjust the sensitivity of mouse mapped to analog and digital controls. You can do almost anything you may imagine. And if you don’t believe us, you just need to try 🙂

How to use gyro of Nintendo Switch Pro controller on PC

Did you know that you can aim and move your camera while rotating the controller? The only thing you need is a virtual stick which you can bind to Nintendo Switch Pro controller gyro movements, and PC will see the new input and will let you actually use gyroscope with the games that know nothing about it.

The steps are easy: click the Gyro icon on your controller in reWASD and select the preferable input. In most cases, you will need the right of left virtual stick. Then, choose between two modes reWASD has: Gyro or Tilt. We advise you to test both but we think that Gyro will work better for camera movement, while Tilt is great for driving in racing games. Which one will become your favorite one?

How to Connect a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller to a PC

You can play your favorite Steam games with the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller easily. You can play other PC games with it too, but it’s a bit harder. Here’s how to do it.

The Nintendo Switch Pro Controlleris one of the priciest «baseline» controllers in the current console generation, but it’s also sturdy, feels good to play with, has an excellent direction pad, and features impressive motion sensors and vibration systems. On top of all of that, it uses Bluetooth, so you don’t need an adapter to use it with your PC.

The Pro Controller appears to Windows as a DirectInput controller rather than an XInput controller like the Xbox 360 and Xbox Onegamepads, so it can be a bit of a chore to get it working with your PC games. Fortunately, Steam added full Switch Pro Controller support, so it probably isn’t as hard as you might think (at least for using it with Steam).

Connecting the Controller

You can’t use your Pro Controller with your PC until you connect it to your PC first. You have two options: wired and wireless. Wired is simplest, but wireless is, well, wireless.

Wired Connection

Plug your Switch 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) into the controller and your PC. That’s it. The controller will be detected by Windows 10 as «Pro Controller.» You can move on to Steam setup.

Wireless Connection

You need a Bluetooth adapter or onboard Bluetooth for this, but it’s also easy. With the Pro Controller charged, press and hold the Sync button on the top of the gamepad for a few seconds until the indicator lights start flashing.

Open up the system tray and right-click the Bluetooth icon. Click «Add Bluetooth Device,» then click «Add Bluetooth or other device.» You will then need to click «Bluetooth» because Windows 10 needs to be reassured that you want to use Bluetooth. The Pro Controller should show up on the list of available devices (if it doesn’t, make sure the indicator lights are still flashing back and forth). Click on it and pair the controller. Now you can move on to Steam setup.

Steam Setup

If Steam doesn’t open automatically into Big Picture mode when you connect the Pro Controller, open up Steam and go into the Settings menu. Click General Controller Settings, which will open a full-screen Big Picture mode window. Click «Switch Pro Configuration Support.»

Steam Big Picture

If the Pro Controller is connected, the mouse cursor should disappear and you should be able to navigate Big Picture with the gamepad. You can toggle «Use Nintendo Button Layout» depending on whether you prefer 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 to be mapped like it’s an Xbox One controller (clockwise Y, B, A, X from the top).

When set up through Steam, the Pro Controller should work like an Xbox One gamepad with any Steam game. You can toggle vibration on and off by clicking the controller under «Detected Controllers» in the same setup screen as before. If the analog sticks seem off, you can manually calibrate them by clicking Calibrate, and you can set how long the controller stays connected before disconnecting so it goes to sleep.

To make sure everything works as it should between the Pro Controller and your PC game, you should use Steam’s Big Picture mode, the couch-friendly lean-back menu system that works well with a gamepad. If Steam doesn’t ask you if you want to switch to Big Picture mode when you turn on the controller, you can activate it manually by clicking the rectangle next to your username at the upper right corner of your Steam window.

Steam Big Picture

Using Big Picture mode ensures that Steam’s controller support and over-the-game remapping and configuration options appear as they should, which won’t likely be the case if you open a game from the desktop. This happened when we played No Man’s Sky; the controller worked with the game through Big Picture, but the mapping was strange when launched through the desktop.

With the game running through Big Picture mode, entering its controller options should bring up Steam’s Switch Pro Controller overlay, letting you check the controller mappings for different situations and fix them when needed. You can map each input on the Pro Controller to any keystroke or gamepad input manually, but the default configuration should work for most games. This is helpful if any controls seem slightly off with the default settings; running in No Man’s Sky by clicking the right stick was finicky without manual corrections.

Hardware Alternative: 8BitDo Wireless USB Adapter

Steam’s Pro Controller support is welcome and should suit most gaming needs, but you’re out of luck if you want to play non-Steam games with the controller because of how Windows detects it. You can fix this one of two ways: using a hardware Bluetooth adapter specifically designed for multiple gamepad types, or using a software XInput wrapper.

8BitDo Wireless USB Adapter

The 8BitDo Wireless USB Adapteris a $20 Bluetooth adapter that lets you easily connect the Switch Pro Controller, Switch Joy-Cons, or even the Wii U Pro Controller to your PC. It handles all of the XInput details itself, so connecting the Switch Pro Controller to it with the physical sync button instead of through your PC’s Bluetooth menu will make it work like an Xbox 360 gamepad, which most PC games can easily work with.

Software Alternative: DirectInput-to-XInput Wrapper

This is the most powerful and most complicated option. Instead of relying on Steam or a USB adapter to do the job, you use a software wrapper to translate the Pro Controller’s inputs into a format Windows 10 can better work with.

X360ce is an open-source program that lets you control how Windows sees your non-XInput controller. It’s a very robust wrapper that emulates an Xbox 360 gamepad by mapping nearly any other input to the gamepad’s inputs.

The project is currently defunct; x360ce was last updated in 2015. However, they should get the job done if you’re willing to install and tinker with them a bit until the Switch Pro Controller works the way you want it to. Possibly more than a bit; third-party driver wrappers are extremely finicky and require a lot of care to get to work with any controller it’s tricking Windows into thinking is an Xbox gamepad.

How to Connect Other Controllers

For more, see our guide on how to choose the right controller for your PC. And if it’s a PS4 or Xbox controller you’re looking to connect, we have advice for that too.