- A modder has come up with a way to use a DualSense controller wirelessly on PC without losing haptics and the adaptive triggers
- It uses a Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W as a bridge between the controller and PC
- This solution seemingly has no discernible added latency, at least for non-competitive gaming
If you use a PS5 DualSense controller for gaming on your PC, you might well be frustrated that to get full functionality, you must have it connected via the cable, and not wirelessly – but that isn't true any longer, thanks to this clever use of a Raspberry Pi.
Tom's Hardware reports that a new creation built with a cheap Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W (the wireless variant of the Pico 2) acts as a bridge between the PC and the controller. This allows the DualSense to connect over Bluetooth and work just as it does on PS5 with haptic feedback, the nifty adaptive triggers, and other goodies.
In case you didn't realize, those functions work fine on PC when you hook up with the cable, but they don't if you connect to the PC (directly) using Bluetooth. This is because the Windows implementation of Bluetooth doesn't have the full bandwidth required by the DualSense to enable all its functions to be transmitted wirelessly.
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The project, dubbed 'DS5Dongle', was highlighted on Reddit and is the creation of a developer by the name of 'awalol' on GitHub.
How does it work? Essentially, the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W is plugged into the PC and acts as a bridge, meaning the PS5 controller connects to it (rather than the computer) – with the Pi then presenting itself to Windows 11 as a wired DualSense.
It's a clever workaround, and you can buy the necessary goods to fashion your own DS5Dongle for less than $20 in the US (or a roughly equivalent outlay in your region). All you need is a Pi Pico 2 W and a microUSB cable, and of course, the file for the project from GitHub.
Analysis: a neat solution, and latency doesn't spoil the wireless gaming fun
This shortcoming has been an annoyance for many PC gamers who want to use their PS5 DualSense with games that are better suited to a controller than to a mouse and keyboard. It's not ideal having to be restricted to plugging in your DualSense, as wireless obviously offers a great deal more freedom.
Once you've made your own Pi dongle, all you need to do is the initial handshake with the controller, and then your DualSense will be connected to the PC automatically every time you turn the controller on (assuming you leave the dongle in place, of course).
Are there any drawbacks? The obvious worry is that this is an extra step between the PC and the controller, so it may introduce some input latency, which is a point raised by some Redditors on the above thread.
According to the original poster, though, it's not a problem. They observed: "I can only say about my experience, which is I didn't feel any difference to wired. But I only play single player games."
It may not be an ideal solution for competitive gaming, but this is definitely one of the smarter DIY tech pieces I've seen for PC gamers this year. There's some possible flakiness with the current implementation of the DS5Dongle, as noted on GitHub, including the audio from the controller potentially being choppy. The project is still a work in progress.
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