Bush‑style adapter based on the Raspberry Pi Pico unlocks the full potential of DualSense for PC

How an enthusiast turned the DualSense into a full‑featured PC controller

The nickname *awalol* managed to fully unlock the potential of Sony PlayStation DualSense when it’s connected to a Windows computer. To do this, he had to create his own Bluetooth adapter – DS5Dongle, based on the single‑board Raspberry Pi Pico. The project cost only $20.

Why standard connectivity is limited
The built‑in Windows Bluetooth can’t handle all of the non‑standard traffic that Sony uses for DualSense. As a result, with a normal wireless connection the controller works only partially: haptic feedback, precise thumbstick data and other features are missing.

To get the full feature set most users have to connect the gamepad via USB cable.

What DS5Dongle does
* A bridge between Pico2W and DualSense – as the developer described it.
The adapter connects to DualSense over Bluetooth, receives all data (haptic feedback, thumbstick position, audio, etc.) and “converts” it into a form that Windows interprets as a wired connection.

* Minimal latency – the solution is based on handshaking replacement rather than emulation. Therefore the response time remains almost unchanged compared to a direct USB connection.

Where to find details
All code and schematics are hosted in an open GitHub repository under the MIT license. Anyone can download, build, and test the adapter themselves.

Thus, thanks to a simple and affordable solution, *awalol* showed that DualSense can be used on PC as fully functional as when connected to PS5.