What is wrong with Bluetooth controllers when it comes to PC gaming?

[Darknight]

I've seen this happen with multiple games where if the Bluetooth signal is weak, it can cause performance issues and I just can't figure out why. I have my Bluetooth antenna extension right on top of my desk next to my monitor, and I can be less than a foot away but just below the desk line enough for it to obstruct and you can see the framerate start skipping. In Assassin's Creed Odyssey, while in the menu, you can literally see it go from 200 fps to 90 fps when you turn on the controller. Turn off the controller, and watch the framerate jump to 200 fps.

Even worse, for some reason Eneloop batteries causes more issues than regular batteries as far as the strength of the signal so using rechargeable batteries amplifies the problem. It's pretty annoying to be trying to figure out performance problems and you're messing around with settings only to finally realize it's the controller that's causing the problem.

So what's the deal with Bluetooth controllers and PC gaming? It feels like this isn't a problem elsewhere.

 

[Massicot]

I could never get my current controller (Elite V2) to work flawlessly with bluetooth. 99% of the time? Sure, but I would always have one or two missed presses every while, and it was endlessly frustrating. This might be paranoid of me, but I think my bluetooth headphones performed worse whenever my controller was attached via bluetooth as well. I had a big 5.0 antenna attached directly to my motherboard and still had problems.

Ended up connecting my controller via the Xbox Wireless Adapter and all the issues went away... feels like a needless work around but USB ports are plentiful, so eh.

 

[Syriel]

USB is king.

 

[Windu]

Your experience depends on how good your Bluetooth hardware is on your pc. Which varies widely.

 

[leng jai]

I've never bothered with it, even on my Elite V2 I'm using the official dongle I bought In 2017.

 

[notBald]

There might be differences to the quality of Bluetooth chipsets.

I use my X1 controller with a $2 USB thing, and have never experienced any missed button presses. But I have another $2 Bluetooth adapter which has been troublesome. I've never used it with the controller, but I imagine it might miss presses.

 

[Dastidood]

Use that 8Bit Duo dongle on my PC with DS4...
No problem ever...
Previously used a cheap, off the shelf, no name BT dongle and it caused problems every single day...

 

[Darknight]

There might be differences to the quality of Bluetooth chipsets.

I use my X1 controller with a $2 USB thing, and have never experienced any missed button presses. But I have another $2 Bluetooth adapter which has been troublesome. I've never used it with the controller, but I imagine it might miss presses.

Click to shrink...

It's not about missed button presses though. It's about the game's framerate just tanking and stuttering because of the Bluetooth controller. The example I used above is just in the menu and turning on the controller causes it to go from 200fps to 90fps with the controller just being idle.

 

[belairjeff]

I notice when my batteries are low in my bluetooth controller, I will get huge lag spikes and the Xbox logo will start blinking.
And it fixes itself once I change the batteries.

 

[nded]

My DS4 always needs line of sight to the dongle.

 

[sredgrin]

Have never had issues with the random shitty 10 dollar dongles I've bought and dualshock 4s, outside of 1 dongle that would not be recognized sometimes in its usb slot after a sleep.

 

[notBald]

It's not about missed button presses though. It's about the game's framerate just tanking and stuttering because of the Bluetooth controller. The example I used above is just in the menu and turning on the controller causes it to go from 200fps to 90fps with the controller just being idle.

Click to shrink...

Sorry, I read Massicot post right after yours and somehow got that into my head. I've never tested performance, or noticed any FPS drops, but I got a 7700K which probably brute forces its way through the problem.

 

[SquirrelSaysNuts]

It's not about missed button presses though. It's about the game's framerate just tanking and stuttering because of the Bluetooth controller. The example I used above is just in the menu and turning on the controller causes it to go from 200fps to 90fps with the controller just being idle.

Click to shrink...

Bad drivers can fuck everything up.

 

[RedOnePunch]

I've always had a similar experience with Bluetooth on pc. I just use the xbox dongle and it works great. The dualshock 4 I use wired

 

[Flandy]

I've accidentally turned on my xbox controller (connected via bluetooth) while playing Overwatch before and that also introduced a frame drop with some stutter. If I went back to controlling the game with mouse and keyboard the frame rate would return to normal, but the second I touched a button on the controller the frame rate would tank again. Not sure why that happens or if it happens wired. For the record the frame rate would go from a smooth120+ to 100ish with stutter.

 

[Chettlar]

I had constant disconnects and massive issues with bluetooth on PC. It was such a headache. I went ahead and got an xbox controller with the new style adapter for like $50 on sale. Works flawlessly. But then some people have to use bluetooth and can't use the adapter. So many I dunno. Works perfect for me, and the extra few xbox features are nice. I think like rumble or whatever doesn't work on bluetooth?

 

[Velikost]

USB is king.

Click to shrink...

^

 

[notBald]

I think like rumble or whatever doesn't work on bluetooth?

Click to shrink...

Rumble works, I know because I don't like rumble.

What other features do you get?

With Bluetooth you can hook up a headset, but the sound quality is so awful it's useless.

 

[Bubble Metropolis]

I don't own a Bluetooth controller for PC, but I DO use a lot of Bluetooth devices at the same time (mouse, ear buds, keyboard) on my PC. I have three Bluetooth dongles, each with the same specs, but one doesn't turn on at all anymore, one constantly drops connections, and the other one is smooth as butter. I have no idea what the deal is, but it seems like Bluetooth hardware can just be a crapshoot.

The Bluetooth hardware built into my laptop is always flawless too.

 

[cdracingzx6r]

Personally, I've been using multiple controllers from 8bitdo, to the switch pro controller with windows 10 through steam.. Zero issues when paired with my Razer 15in OLED 2019 model. Years ago when I tried with older hardware, it was full of issues and I gave up on it. Now its the only way I play.

 

[Deleted member 16136]

It's odd, ive had built in bluebooth be crappy with my Xbox controller, where you need to be within 1 meter of it at all times otherwise it craps out. Thankfully I dont have that with my current motherboard.

Meanwhile, I can take a PS4 controller and turn on the console from the bottom of the garden.

 

[CheeseWraith]

Dualshock 4 + official sony wireless dongle.
Same performance as the PS4, excellent audio quality without any noticeable lag, still bluetooth.
At times I find myself holding the PS button on the joypad to bring up the menu and turn off my PC. Then I realize.

 

[amc]

It's definitely down to what bluetooth hardware is being used and how it works with the windows stack. I've had BT be working fine with my Xbox One pad then have terrible problems after a windows update. It can really hit game performance.

I couldn't be dealing with it, nor a long arse cable so I bought a couple of Xbox PC dongles for my machines and it now works flawless with no performance impact.

Ditch your system's BT for connecting a One pad and get the Xbox One PC dongle.

 

[Chettlar]

Rumble works, I know because I don't like rumble.

What other features do you get?

With Bluetooth you can hook up a headset, but the sound quality is so awful it's useless.

Click to shrink...

Does audio work? I know that works for me. I used it when I had my PC hooked up to my TV. Xbox button pulls up the guide. Rumble triggers work. You can hook up multiple controllers.

 

[notBald]

Does audio work? I know that works for me. I used it when I had my PC hooked up to my TV. Xbox button pulls up the guide. Rumble triggers work. You can hook up multiple controllers.

Click to shrink...

Audio does work, but like I said, it's usless. Sounds like it's under water.

The Xbox button pulls up the guide, I think, at least it's something. Never use the feature.

I've never tested multiple X1 controllers. I instead use my USB x360 controllers for MP.

 

[Gelf]

The cheap dongle I've been using hasn't let me down. I can connect from the next room even when I want to use the TV instead of the monitor.

 

[Chettlar]

Audio does work, but like I said, it's usless. Sounds like it's under water.

The Xbox button pulls up the guide, I think, at least it's something. Never use the feature.

I've never tested multiple X1 controllers. I instead use my USB x360 controllers for MP.

Click to shrink...

Gotcha. I remember hearing there were some limitations of bluetooth, and supposedly the connection that microsoft has is faster too, but who knows.

 

[Skyfireblaze]

Reading about how many people have issues with bluetooth on PC, I feel like I'm fortunate that it works without issue for me sans two small things and that's rumble in Rocket League and some games wrongly identifying my controller as a XBOX one even if the game supports DS4 icons.

I use a Dualshock 4 v2 with Steam Input and before that a Dualshock 3 with SCP Drivers and thankfully never had issues with latency or lag after I followed one rule which is to never connect the bluetooth solution directly to the PC, also not on the front-panel ports. PCs are giant electromagnetic fields so if you have your dongle directly connected to your PC even if it has it's own cable you'll have a bad time latency and connection wise unless that cable happens to be well shielded. I always have my generic 10€ Hama bluetooth dongle connected to a USB hub sitting on my desk and all my connection and latency issues went away once I started doing that.

At first it was connected to the USB passthrough ports of my G19 keyboard, nowadays I have a USB 3.0 hub that does the job.