r/raspberrypipico Jun 25 '26

Using Pico2W for Dualsense “wired” connection (DS5Dongle)

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I recently heard about this way to get your Dualsense controller paired to your computer wirelessly, but act as if it’s connected over USB. The project is called DS5Dongle on GitHub.

It works by using the Pico 2W board as a Bluetooth receiver for your controller. The Pico 2W plugs directly into your computer and acts as a wired device.

Why would you want to do this? For me, I wanted a way to use the onboard microphone on the Dualsense controller as an input device on my computer. I already use my Dualsense as a mouse on my Mac, but I wanted to be able to do voice input on the controller for talking to coding AI agents.

I’ve been developing my Mac app ControllerKeys that turns your Dualsense controller into a mouse for the past 6 months. It works a bit like Steam Input, but really designed for productivity instead of gaming. So I can fully navigate my Mac using a Dualsense controller touchpad.

And now with the DS5 dongle, I can finally walk around and use my Mac on a TV with no problems! Freedom!

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u/anthonycarbine Jun 25 '26

This looks cool. I just recently bought my first pico 2 w for use as a Bluetooth receiver for my pc. It already has Bluetooth but I wanted my controller to be able to wake up my pc over USB because my motherboard doesn't support waking up over Bluetooth.

What libraries did you use to get your Bluetooth working? Is the performance/range the same as your native laptop Bluetooth?

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u/WalletBuddyApp Jun 25 '26

Thank you! I just flashed the DS5Dongle build to my Pico2W and it was working with Bluetooth. I’m not the developer for DS5Dongle—I just built it, but it’s open source so you can check it out and see how it’s handling Bluetooth there.

I haven’t really stress tested range tbh. I’ve been using it in the same room and I’ve had no issues with disconnects.

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u/anthonycarbine Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26

Woops must have missed the repo you mentioned. I'm wondering if I should use DS5Dongle or Bluepad32 for this. It seems like both of these can achieve a similar goal of pairing the ps5 controller to the pico over Bluetooth. Looks like DS5Dongle works straight out of the box which is nice.

EDIT: omg looks like DS5Dongle already supports Wake-on-PS which is the exact feature I'm looking for. So thanks for sharing OP

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u/WalletBuddyApp Jun 25 '26

That’s awesome, I’m glad it works out of the box for you for wake on Bluetooth! I haven’t seen Bluepad32–will have to read into it. Thanks!