(Credit: Nintendo/PCMag)
The Nintendo Switch Pro Controller is one of the best "baseline" controllers out there. It's sturdy, feels good in hand, has an excellent directional pad, and features impressive motion sensors and vibration tech. On top of that, the gamepad uses Bluetooth, so you don't need an adapter to connect it to your PC. The Nintendo Switch 2 is now available, and its new Switch 2 Pro Controller is even more impressive, featuring programmable rear buttons and a headphone jack. However, it doesn't currently work well with Windows. If you want a good gamepad for your PC, the original Switch Pro Controller is still one of your best bets. Here's how to connect it.
The Pro Controller appears to Windows as a DirectInput controller rather than an XInput controller like the Xbox Series X/S gamepad (or the fancier Xbox Elite Core Controller), so it can be a bit of a chore to get it working with your PC games. Fortunately, Valve added full Switch Pro Controller support to Steam, which probably covers a good chunk of your game library. Non-Steam games require additional steps that we'll walk you through.
Of course, you can't use your Switch Pro Controller with your PC until you first connect it to your PC. You have two options: wired and wireless. Wired is simplest, but wireless is, well, wireless. And it requires a bit of work.
How to Connect Your Switch Pro Controller to PC With a Wired Connection
Plug your 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.
Plug the other end of the cable into your PC.
That's it! Windows will detect the controller as a "Pro Controller." Then, you can proceed to the Steam setup steps below.
How to Connect Your Switch Pro Controller to PC With a Wireless Connection
You need a Bluetooth adapter or onboard Bluetooth, but it's also easy to set up.
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 the system tray and right-click the Bluetooth icon.
Click "Add Bluetooth Device."
Click "Add Bluetooth or Other Device."
Click "Bluetooth" (because Windows needs to be reassured that you want to use Bluetooth).
The Pro Controller should appear on the list of available devices (if it doesn't, make sure the indicator lights are still flashing back and forth). Click it, and pair the controller.
Now, you can move on to setting up Steam.
How to Set Up Steam for Switch Pro Controller Use
To ensure everything works as intended between the Pro Controller and your PC game, use Steam's Big Picture mode, a couch-friendly lean-back menu system that works well with a gamepad.
If Steam doesn't open automatically into Big Picture when you connect the Pro Controller, open Steam and enter the Settings menu.
Click General Controller Settings, which opens a full-screen, Big Picture window.
Click "Switch Pro Configuration Support."
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 as they're mapped on an Xbox controller (clockwise Y, B, A, X from the top).
When set up through Steam, the Pro Controller should work like an Xbox gamepad with any Steam game. You can toggle vibration on and off by clicking the controller under "Detected Controllers" in the same setup screen. If the analog sticks appear to be off, manually calibrate them by clicking Calibrate. You can also set how long the controller stays connected before disconnecting.
Using Big Picture ensures that Steam's controller support, 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 issue occurred when we played No Man's Sky; the controller worked with the game through Big Picture, but the mapping was incorrect when launched directly from the desktop.
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With the game running through Big Picture mode, you should enter the Pro Controller's controller options to bring up Steam's Switch Pro Controller overlay. It allows you to check the controller mappings for various situations and adjust them as needed. You can manually map each input on the Pro Controller to any keystroke or gamepad input, 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 2
Steam's Pro Controller support is welcome, 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 in one of two ways: using a hardware Bluetooth adapter specifically designed for multiple gamepad types or a software-based XInput wrapper.
The 8BitDo Wireless USB Adapter 2 is 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. The adapter handles all of the XInput details, so connecting the Switch Pro Controller to it with the physical sync button instead of through your PC's Bluetooth menu makes it work like a PC-friendly Xbox gamepad.
Software Alternative: DirectInput-to-XInput Wrapper
This is the most powerful and most complicated option. Instead of relying on Steam or a USB adapter, you use a software wrapper to translate the Pro Controller's inputs into a format that Windows 10 can better support.
X360ce is an open-source program that allows you to configure how Windows recognizes your non-XInput controller. It's a robust wrapper that emulates an Xbox 360 gamepad by mapping nearly any other input to the gamepad's inputs. The project is effectively complete and/or abandoned at this point; x360ce was last updated in 2020, but the program continues to work well even without ongoing development.
BetterJoy is another program for getting the Switch Pro Controller, as well as Joy-Cons, working as XInput devices. Its most recent release is from 2021.
These applications should get the job done if you're willing to tinker with them. In fact, it may take more than a bit of work; third-party driver wrappers are extremely finicky. These workarounds are currently the only way to get the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller working with your PC, incidentally. Hopefully, Valve adds a Switch 2 Pro Controller profile to Steam in the near future.
What About Switch Joy-Con Controllers?
Joy-Cons are incredibly powerful and flexible on the Switch, but they can be awkward to use on a PC. The good news is that you can connect Joy-Cons to your PC by pairing them over Bluetooth like the Switch Pro Controller. The bad news is that each Joy-Con registers as its own controller, and getting two Joy-Cons to work together as a single gamepad can be challenging. Betterjoy, mentioned above, can help streamline that process.
How to Connect Other Game Controllers
For more information, see our guide on selecting the right controller for your PC. If you have a PS4, PS5, or Xbox controller that you want to connect to your PC, we have instructions for those gamepads as well.
About Our Expert
I’m PCMag’s home theater and AR/VR expert, and your go-to source of information and recommendations for game consoles and accessories, smart displays, smart glasses, smart speakers, soundbars, TVs, and VR headsets. I’m an ISF-certified TV calibrator and THX-certified home theater technician, I've served as a CES Innovation Awards judge, and while Bandai hasn’t officially certified me, I’m also proficient at building Gundam plastic models up to MG-class. I also enjoy genre fiction writing, and my urban fantasy novel, Alex Norton, Paranormal Technical Support, is currently available on Amazon.
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