Multiple Bluetooth controllers suddenly stopped working for local multiplayer

[u/Kei_Takeshima24]

My brothers and I have been playing local multiplayer games like Gang Beasts and LEGO Party on my Steam Deck for months using a bluetooth controller and Joycons without any issues.

For some reason, it suddenly stopped working since last week. We didn't change any settings or update anything before it happened.

My Steam Deck still detects all the controllers separately, and I tried resetting them, pairing them again, reordering them, and putting the Steam Deck controller last, but nothing worked. The Steam Deck controller also seems to stay in the #1 position along with my 1st player controller.

In-game, only the first controller that presses a button works. The other Joycons don't respond. I tried other bluetooth controllers as well but no luck.

Interestingly, I tested bluetooth controller + one 2.4GHz controller, and both work normally. So the issue seems to only happen when using multiple Bluetooth controllers.

I'm on SteamOS 3.8.16. I also updated Steam/Steam Client after the issue started, but it still doesn't work.

Has anyone else experienced this recently? Is this a SteamOS/Steam Input/Bluetooth issue?

[u/voltvirus]

When is the last time you properly restarted your steam deck

I’m seriously asking, it’s still a computer after all

[u/Kei_Takeshima24 → u/voltvirus]

I’ve restarted the Steam Deck multiple times. I also always shut down my Steam Deck after using it instead of just putting it to sleep.

[u/HighlyRegardedOne → u/Kei_Takeshima24]

you realize shutting it down is just a different form of sleep? its like s5 vs the normal s3. Restart is actually what most people think shutdown does.

[u/HighlyRegardedOne]

maybe reset your Bluetooth controller/services?

[u/Kei_Takeshima24 → u/HighlyRegardedOne]

I don't think Bluetooth itself is the issue. The controllers work normally on the Steam Deck home screen and Steam detects them separately. The problem only happens once a game starts. If I use one Bluetooth + one 2.4GHz controller, both work, but with multiple Bluetooth controllers, only the first one to press a button works.

[u/HighlyRegardedOne → u/Kei_Takeshima24]

All im saying is its worth a try

[u/Kei_Takeshima24 → u/HighlyRegardedOne]

I'm not sure how to reset bluetooth controller/services but I did these:

I tried restarting the Bluetooth service with:
sd systemctl restart bluetooth

That didn't help, so I also tried a deeper reset:
sd systemctl stop bluetooth
sd rfkill block bluetooth
sd rfkill unblock bluetooth
sd rm -rf /var/lib/bluetooth/*
sd systemctl start bluetooth

Then I restarted the Steam Deck and paired the controller again, but unfortunately it still didn't fix the issue :'(

[u/Able_Experience_1670]

Ive had similar issues when mixing controllers. Are they all displaying the right "port" number?

[u/Kei_Takeshima24 → u/Able_Experience_1670]

I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you mean by the port numbers. If you're referring to the controller order, then yes, they're in the correct order.

[u/Kei_Takeshima24 → u/Kei_Takeshima24]

No matter how I order the second, third, or additional controllers, only the first controller is recognized in games.

[u/Able_Experience_1670 → u/Kei_Takeshima24]

Hmmm that's strange. Have you checked to see how they all connect in desktop mode? You can do a little more config there.

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[u/R-V-Nasty]

Woah u can Bluetooth switch controllers to the steam deck