Over the last few days I’ve had issues connecting my SN30 controller. It seems to connect (the paired light is on on the controller, and Steam recognises it) but none of the inputs are recognised.
Weirdly enough this only seems to be the case whilst it’s docked. Undocked, the Deck lets me use it as normal. I’ve tried both the Xbox and Switch pairing modes on the controller, with the same result.
I just tried pairing a regular Pro controller and it worked perfectly. So the issue seems to specifically be with the SN30. Has anyone else had issues, or do you have any suggestions to fix this?
*Edit: Updating the controller firmware has fixed this it seems! Over the last few days it has connected to my Steam Deck straight away, and also now seems to know when the Deck has been turned off which is cool, and subsequently turns itself off. I’m using the Xbox connection method.
Is this why I have to wait upwards of 5 minutes to be able to actually use my SN30 Pro+ even after it’s connected? I’ve only ever tried this docked, will try undocked today.
In my case, I just assumed it’s Steam taking it’s time to realize the external container takes precedence. After three few minutes of waiting it works just fine, and the UI instantly switches between XBox/Nintendo layouts and the Deck controller’s layout when I press buttons on either device.
I have also done this while in desktop mode, and while the system starts registering the controller events as soon as it connects, Big Picture still takes its sweet time, and by extension using the controller to control the desktop does too.
Updating the controller firmware has vastly improved it! I recommend trying that out if you haven’t already.
I’ve also had this issue with both of my SN30 Pro+ controllers but haven’t really found a reliable fix. Sometimes it works if I connect it undocked, and then plug it into the dock, but that doesn’t always work. It’s a shame because it used to work great!
Have you tried updating the controller’s firmware?
Not a bad shout! Do you know if that’s possible via the Steam Deck?
Unless something has changed since I bought it, the Pro+ can still only be flashed on Windows, at least officially. But the Pro 2 can be flashed on the Android app. Typical, eh?
Edit: It send fwupd can flash these, at least the non-Pro and Pro-nonplussed. And the Deck already has is installed too! Googling more…
Editception: Pro+ is indeed covered. But the amount of fwupd GitHub issues talking about things going wrong for the SN30 Pro+ during the update now has me scared.
I ended up using a windows PC to do it - and the latest firmware appears to have fixed all my issues :)
I wonder if the dock is perhaps emitting interference?
Aside from maybe reorientating the dock, maybe try updating the SN30 firmware?
Perhaps, but then why can the Pro controller connect without issue? 🤔
I’ll try updating the firmware and see if that makes any difference!
