How To Use A Nintendo Switch Pro Controller On Your PC

I have had my Nintendo Switch for a year now, and I only just recently decided to splurge on an official Nintendo Pro Controller. Arguably it is one of the best decisions I ever made, this controller is great and that comes from someone who thinks the Sony DualShock 4 controller for the PlayStation is the best controller ever made.

I am so smitten by the Pro Controller that I wanted to use it not only with my Switch, but my phone and PC as well (great for Rocket League). Fortunately, it is quite simple to connect the Pro Controller to your Android phone or PC.

I have intentionally avoided duplicating setup instructions for the below methods, as the official sources for software needed are the best place for up-to-date installation and setup instructions, and Steemit doesn't let you edit your post after a few days.

PC via Bluetooth

If you have a bluetooth adapter or inbuilt support for bluetooth, there isn't really much you need to do to get your Pro Controller working on your PC. Because of the way the Pro Controller is designed, it works with bluetooth but official USB support is nonexistent.

You still need to install software on your PC to help map the controller because the Pro Controller uses an old input api called DirectInput, rather than the newer input API XInput. There is a great app called x360ce, which translates DirectInput commands for XInput games.

Rather than duplicating the steps detailed on the official x360ce website, I implore you to visit and read carefully for installation and setup. It requires a little effort, but it's relatively straightforward to getting everything running.

The downside to bluetooth is you cannot sadly charge and use your controller at the same time. So if you want to use the Pro Controller via bluetooth, you need to make sure it is fully charged first. People claim to have been able to do it, but it hasn't worked for me.

Another downside is some games will outright not work with the Pro Controller, regardless of how you map your keys or set things up, a game like Portal, for example, will not work with the Pro Controller.

PC via USB

Because Nintendo doesn't supply official drivers for the Pro Controller (yet, maybe one day) we can't just connect it to our PC and use it out-of-the-box without drivers, this is where ProconXInput comes in.

What ProconXInput does is it allows your PC to recognise the Pro Controller and read its inputs. Although it is alpha software, it works surprisingly well but may have caveats and bugs that have yet to be discovered.

Just like we needed to install some software to use the controller via Bluetooth, we need to do the same for USB, but it's a bit more involved as ProconXInput is doing more than just emulating the XInput controller API. Thankfully, the installation batch file handles most of the setup for us.

All you need to do is download the latest release here for your operating system (x64 or 32) and READ the instructions for installation and setup. Even the most technologically illiterate person should be able to install ProconXInput.

Conclusion

Either way, you slice it, until Nintendo releases official support (and really, what's the incentive), we need to use software from the homebrew community to use the Pro Controller. Really, it's a shame because it's one of the best controllers I have ever used.