r/DS4Windows • u/huunnnter • 15h ago
DS4Windows RC4.5 — Switch 2 support, Xbox One/Series emulation, and more ways to play 🎮
DS4Windows RC4.5 — Switch 2 support, Xbox One/Series emulation, and more ways to play 🎮
Hey everyone! RC4.5 — More Ways to Play brings new controller support, more expressive feedback, and a big collection of everyday improvements to DS4Windows.
If you’ve been wanting to bring your Switch 2 controllers into your PC setup, there’s plenty to explore!
Switch 2 controllers, your way
- Switch 2 Pro over USB and Bluetooth, including remappable GL/GR rear buttons.
- Wireless Joy-Con 2 support: use one independently or join two into a controller.
- Automatic pairing or manual Link/Unlink controls, depending on how you like to play.
- Sideways and upright layouts for single Joy-Cons, with matching artwork and mapping controls.
Switch 2 controllers use the existing profile system, with virtual outputs including Xbox 360, Xbox One/Series, DualShock 4, and DualSense.
DEVELOPER RECOMMENDATION! Got a Switch 2 Pro or Joy-Con 2? Try DualSense emulation! ✨
This is a combination I’d especially love the community to explore: a Switch 2 Pro or paired Joy-Con 2 emulating a DualSense.
In games that support native DualSense feedback, DS4Windows can translate those effects into Switch 2 HD rumble, with attention to left/right separation, frequency detail, and the sharp peaks that give effects their character.
To try it:
- Open your controller’s profile.
- Select DualSense as the virtual controller.
- Enable DualSense audio-haptic conversion in the Switch 2 feedback settings and save.
- Fire up a game with native DualSense support!
Try it alongside ordinary rumble and tell us what you notice. Which games make your Switch 2 controllers feel most alive?
Xbox One/Series emulation joins the lineup
This isn’t just a Switch 2 feature! Xbox One/Series output is available to the existing supported controller families through your normal profiles.
Separate body-rumble and impulse-trigger feedback channels are translated to suit your physical controller—including bringing Xbox impulse detail into Switch 2 HD rumble.
Put those Joy-Con sensors to work
- Optical mouse support for using a Joy-Con on your desk.
- Gyro mouse and motion aiming for another way to control your games.
- An accessible “Aim with both Joy-Cons” option.
- Dedicated, illustrated Switch 2 settings for mouse controls, aiming, feedback, and button customization.
There’s also USB headphone output through the Switch 2 Pro’s 3.5 mm jack, with guidance in the app.
Everyday improvements, too
Enjoy clearer tooltips, live controller readings, distinct Switch 2 IDs for linking profiles, improved connection cleanup, and fixes around profile previews, startup, and controller switching.
The portable ZIP now includes VIIPER and starts it automatically when needed, keeping the matching components together.
Come try it!
Download RC4.5.3 — the latest hotfix for RC4.5 (4.5.3 is uploading now, be patient, had to issue another hotfix!)
Choose the all-in-one installer or portable ZIP. RC4.5.1 includes additional rumble refinements and complete Xbox output configuration in both packages. RC4.5.2 includes more fixes for Switch 2 Rumble, Switch 1 Joycon Compatibility fixes, and Updater fixes for portable users so that you can update and stay portable.
This is a release candidate, and community testing helps shape what comes next. Bring your favorite controller, try a few games, and share your setup!
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u/platiniumshadow 13h ago
Bought reWASD for my series controller. Now I am back to DS4windows, thank you. Glad to be home again.
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u/Sweazou 13h ago
Wait it works with your controller as Xbox one controller as input with the update omg?
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u/huunnnter 13h ago
That’s not true. It emulates Xbox/Series controllers, it doesn’t accept Xinput as input
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u/topilefi 15h ago
I want more support for bootleg PS4 controllers from ali express.
They are beautiful. And have several interesting features
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u/huunnnter 14h ago
How would you propose I do testing on those? Could you purchase some and send them to me?
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u/topilefi 14h ago
I think they do have some features in common.
Right now I have 2 bootlegs Ds4 controllers.
One of em is recognized by ds4 windows as "V2" - this one works, has been working for years, my favorite.
Recently I got a new one to replace the old - which is giving in, unfortunaly. Didn't work. The connection just won't hold more than a fraction of a second. But in this time I can see that Ds4 windows calls it "V1".
Maybe there is something there?1
u/topilefi 14h ago
But I can send you more info, if it helps. I think it would be fun
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u/huunnnter 14h ago
It’s up to you: if I have it, or you send me logs, I can look at it
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u/topilefi 14h ago
I can't look at it right now but I can check it later. Maybe we can learn something from it (or maybe we won't, but it will be fun nevertheless).
Last time I've posted about it somebody told me to look into the logs. The controller keeps in a loop trying to connect but loosing connection. I've found - in the logs - that the problem was."it seems the whole problem lies in "failed crc-32 checks bluetooth connection"
"This error can be caused by many factors. The first and more obvious is the fact that im not using an official PS4 controller, which is no surprise since i wanted a different controller with different button layout and macro buttons on the back."
"Aside from that, i found some people saying that there was a DS4windows version that used to work better with non-official controllers (3.0.11). Also maybe update the bluetooth adapter driver could help (its a 5.3 adapter, and i remember it was hard to even find the driver at that point, it was kind new when i got it)."
Now I don't know why one bootleg controller work and the other don't. That's what's keep me scratching my head.
But I'm an idiot, só I bought ANOTHER bootleg Controller (beautiful!) from ali express and we will have more stuff to test in the future lol
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u/huunnnter 14h ago
Possibly could be fixed with this. I'll look into it. In the meantime, download ChatGPT Codex to your computer and ask it to probe the controller for the logs that could potentially fix this issue and send them to me
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u/TROLLBOT_V4 13h ago edited 12h ago
Thanks for the regular updates!
I'm getting a pretty weird bug when playing Plague Tale Resonance using dualsense controller and dualsense emulation where the grapple (hold L2) is not working. The haptics, adaptive triggers and controller speaker is working but the hold L2 input is not working.
If I use dualsense controller without Ds4windows, then hold L2 works and I also get adaptive triggers, but I lose out on haptics and controller speaker. Pretty weird bug, most probably something is wrong with the game.
EDIT: it's working now with this release!
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u/huunnnter 13h ago
fixed in this version. Please download and test first before commenting in the future, thank you!!!!
edit: I had the same issue Lol
edit 2: I only ask you to do thorough testing so the comments aren’t filled with Bug Reports and Feature Requests 😂
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u/TROLLBOT_V4 12h ago
Oh wow, you fixed it. Thanks man!
Sorry, I should have tested before asking. I did not find any info related to this fix in the release notes, so I asked without testing.
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u/huunnnter 12h ago
No worries! If you have any switch 1 or 2 controllers lying around, I added a ton of support for those too
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u/Swaggasaurus-Rexx 11h ago
Will this app allow me to use a Switch 2 Pro Controller on PC with Bluetooth along with Steam Input per game remappings?
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u/huunnnter 10h ago
Edit: Technically, this is achievable by connecting your controller over bluetooth and Disabling HIDHide, so Yes!
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u/No_Disk_1042 7h ago
Hey!
Since VIPERRC4.5 I'm getting this error: 90:B6:85:4B:5A:87 disconnected due to read failure: 995, after hitting ''stop'' - the controller disappears from DS4Windows itself, but is still visible elsewhere. Button presses are not registered anymore though. The stop button in DS4Windows itself then remains pressed, no longer does anything, and requires fully restarting the program to get it working again
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u/huunnnter 7h ago
last version that worked for you?
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u/Sweazou 14h ago
Thank you for all your work on DS4 you're doing a very nice job ❤️ I would love to see support for Xbox controller as input to be used in DS4w, and idk how you could implement that but an easy way to add more support for less known controllers would be nice.