8bitdo USB adapter gets stuck and registers no input after hard reboot

[Magu]

I have recently got my MiSTer up and running, and in general it works great. However, I have noticed some funkiness with my 8bitdo USB adapter.

It works great at first, but gets stuck in an unusable state after hard reboot that requires that I unplug-and-replug it to get it working again. This regardless if I reboot the MiSTer from OSD or with "reboot" command over SSH. Soft reset is ok.

In this state the adapter still receives power and keeps the connection to the gamepad, however no input is registered by the MiSTer. Turning the gamepad off and then on again reconnects it, but still no input is registered until I replug the adapter.

I have tried both fast and regular polling, downgrading the firmware of the adapter a few steps, but to no avail. Nothing weird appears in the dmesg log. Since I assume this adapter is quite popular, anyone else seeing this?

(I also have an 8bitdo genesis BT-adapter which when used via USB works fine, even through a hard reboot, so I think the MiSTer works as intended and mostly suspects the adapter is at fault here.)

[LeftEmpty]

easier than unplug replug, just resynch your controller, they will reconnect to it immediately.

[Magu]

easier than unplug replug, just resynch your controller, they will reconnect to it immediately.

I don't really understand what you mean by "just resynch the controller"? Turning it off and then on again does nothing, as i mentioned in my post.

Turning the gamepad off and then on again reconnects it, but still no input is registered until I replug the adapter.

... and if I were to re-pair it, I still need to get physically close to the MiSTer, which misses the point; then I can as well just pull the adapter and replug it, which is quicker than re-pairing.

My problem is that if I cold reboot the MiSTer from the OSD or over SSH the controller gets stuck; and I do not want to have to move across the room to physical proximity every time that happens, since it shouldn't stop working like this, which is evident by the fact that my Genesis BT receiver does not exhibit this behaviour when connected through USB.

[LeftEmpty]

Re-pairing an already known controller is instantaneous: just press and hold the button dedicated to it on the controller for a couple of seconds. It will do its lighting thing then be back to normal. That is what I meant, and what I do all the time in such instances of loss of synch.

[Magu]

Now I'm not sure what you've been smoking, or if you're just trolling me.

1. What you describe—holding the button "dedicated to it" on the controller—does nothing but drop pairing, making the controller look for another dongle. It will not reconnect without once more pushing the button on the dongle, which in turn will not fix it but just lead to a connected controller transmitting no input to the MiSTer (see 2. below).
2. The problem is not the controller not having synch with the dongle, but this particular 8bitdo USB dongle getting unresponsive _despite_ having synch with a controller, after, and only after, a cold reboot.
3. This behaviour is consistent with several different controllers synched with this dongle, and persist even if I repair any controller without replugging the dongle, but does not occur with the same controllers synched to other types of 8bitdo dongles.
4. Since I only have one of the 8bitdo pure USB ones, but several of the console specific ones that also work with USB (which do not exhibit this behaviour), I would like input regarding whether this is a problem in general with this type of adapter, or if I have a lemon.

What you suggest for fixes do either not work, or are already tested as described in the top post. Also "just replug the dongle" is not an acceptable solution, since this is unintended behaviour.

[ItalianGrandma]

Hmmm. That is an odd one...Could it possibly be a power issue? By chance, when the adapter is connected and working, do you ever get input drops?

[LeftEmpty]

I have the exact same issue Grandma, with the exact same hardware, and am fixing it with the workaround I posted and was told (rudely, I may add) didn't work. So *shrug*.

[Magu]

Hmmm. That is an odd one...Could it possibly be a power issue? By chance, when the adapter is connected and working, do you ever get input drops?

Nope. Works fine for hours until i cold reboot. Don't get any weird errors in dmesg log either, and everything else works on the internal USB hub.

I have the exact same issue Grandma, with the exact same hardware, and am fixing it with the workaround I posted and was told (rudely, I may add) didn't work. So *shrug*.

My intention was not to be excessively rude, but I just got annoyed when you suggested actions as sure-fire fixes that were already explained as not working in my previous posts. Gave the impression that you hadn't read them thoroughly before replying. Also, you didn't specify that you actually use the same adapter, which would've been, and now is, useful information.

More and more points to my adapter being a lemon then. Gah.

[LeftEmpty]

I am unsure about it being that much of a lemon: my own USB receiver won't hardly ever recognize its linked gamepad when I fire up the MiSTer!
I have to turn on my controller and re-pair it using the pad's button almost every single time.

But, on the other hand, when I lose connection on a reboot to the MiSTer menu as you described, re-pairing it works as well (it goes through a couple of light cycles and respots its USB controller home instantly).

[Magu]

That's just weird.

When I get time, I'll have to do some more digging on the Linux side of it to see if I can find out what actually is happening when it looses sync. A real pity since with the repurposed console adapters it works as I would like it, i.e. controller keeps sync and works after cold reboot. Every. Single. Time.

Thank you for your input!

[ItalianGrandma]

That's just weird.

When I get time, I'll have to do some more digging on the Linux side of it to see if I can find out what actually is happening when it looses sync. A real pity since with the repurposed console adapters it works as I would like it, i.e. controller keeps sync and works after cold reboot. Every. Single. Time.

Thank you for your input!

Re-read through the thread and I didn’t see it mentioned, but are you using the Orange brick adapter? I’ve used both the Genesis dongle and the dongles meant for the NES/SNES Classics with no issues. I do have an orange brick I can test though, so I will try and run some tests this weekend.

[ash2fpga]

What power supply are you using?

I had a scenario that I am guessing is do to power:

I moved my mister into my office for some testing, with the original 2A PSU, wired kbd, wifi, and an old wired controller with rumble. After some use, the controller went fritzy and the only thing it would do is rumble.

I tried unplugging the wired controller and plugging in a single 8bitdo USB dongle (black brick). It did not work either.

(I don't remember when during all this I may have cycled power.)

I relocated back to the entertainment center, hooked up with the 4A PSU, plugged wireless kbd, wifi, and 4x 8bitdo (black brick). Turned back on, everything worked fine (and still does, after several days of multi-hour play sessions).

[mario64]

I have recently got my MiSTer up and running, and in general it works great. However, I have noticed some funkiness with my 8bitdo USB adapter.

It works great at first, but gets stuck in an unusable state after hard reboot that requires that I unplug-and-replug it to get it working again. This regardless if I reboot the MiSTer from OSD or with "reboot" command over SSH. Soft reset is ok.

In this state the adapter still receives power and keeps the connection to the gamepad, however no input is registered by the MiSTer. Turning the gamepad off and then on again reconnects it, but still no input is registered until I replug the adapter.

I have tried both fast and regular polling, downgrading the firmware of the adapter a few steps, but to no avail. Nothing weird appears in the dmesg log. Since I assume this adapter is quite popular, anyone else seeing this?

(I also have an 8bitdo genesis BT-adapter which when used via USB works fine, even through a hard reboot, so I think the MiSTer works as intended and mostly suspects the adapter is at fault here.)

Same problem here. I noticed it most commonly after running the Update script. Finally quit using the 8bitdo adapter and changed to a regular USB BT dongle. It works fine for the most part although sometimes it takes two attempts to get my DS4 to connect.

[LeftEmpty]

What power supply are you using?

Stock 2A here, and have to re-pair my pad a lot of times (sometimes it will work on first boot, but only if I wait a while, I am guessing for the 8bitdo BT USB thing to initiate properly?)

[Cebion]

There should be no loading / initialize times.
Press start so that it connects and maybe another start to register input.

2A is not really much if usb devices are connected.

[LeftEmpty]

I just ordered a 4A one. I'll report my personal experience with my own little living Bitdo adapter (they all have their personalities, apparently!) when I get it.

[antibolo]

I think I had the same thing happen to me yesterday after an update. It triggered a hard reboot and then my dongle simply did not respond to any controller input until I fully power cycled.

It was annoying but since one shouldn’t need to hard reboot often I’m not too bothered. At least now I know what to do if it happens again.

[LeftEmpty]

I got my 4A power supply, but it didn't fix any of my issues with that USB little thing. I guess it's just not very good!

[Biby]

I have the same issue, even connecting the pad via USB. I own M30, SN30 and SN30 PRO and I have the same issue on all of them. I'm using 8bitdo dongle (orange brick) but it's not related to is, as I wrote, because I got the same result with USB connection.

[Cebion]

I had kind of a similar problem lately. But it happened because I had a 2nd 8 bit do adapter connected on my pc.
Not even a 2nd controller connected only sending out his signals.

In unplugged the 2nd adapter and it immediately worked on my mister.
So maybe the usb stick has a problem with interference.

[rhester72]

I'm seeing the same with direct USB connection - unplugging and replugging it always does the trick, but it seems a recent-ish (i.e. within the last month?) problem. Haven't tried to do a dmesg trace to see if I can figure out what's going on yet.

[Biby]

I wish someone fixed it...it's pretty annoying!

[edr]

Having similar issues with my MiSTer + analog IO board + USB board.

I normally keep the following plugged in (but I've also tried unplugging most of them in various combinations and still seeing the same issues):
* Bluetooth USB
* WiFi N USB
* WiFi AC USB
* 8BitDo M30 2.4G USB
* 8BitDo TG16 2.4G USB

Issues I'm seeing:
* Sometimes after reboot via reboot button, none of the USB ports light up. Have to power off/on
* Frequently having issues with one or both 8BitDo controllers not able to control the MiSTer. They are connected to the USB adapter (solid blue light), but the MiSTer does not respond to inputs. Have to either reboot or unplug/replug the USB adapter
* Fairly frequently after I press some button on the M30 controller, the MiSTer starts scrolling the selection bar upward quickly and infinitely. Unplugging the USB adapters does not help. Requires powering the MiSTer off/on to get back to normal.

Due to these frequent persistent USB problems I'm unfortunately keeping the MiSTer in the closet for now and using my Analogue consoles . The MiSTer does work, but the USB problems make things less fun.

[ash2fpga]

* Frequently having issues with one or both 8BitDo controllers not able to control the MiSTer. They are connected to the USB adapter (solid blue light), but the MiSTer does not respond to inputs. Have to either reboot or unplug/replug the USB adapter
* Fairly frequently after I press some button on the M30 controller, the MiSTer starts scrolling the selection bar upward quickly and infinitely. Unplugging the USB adapters does not help. Requires powering the MiSTer off/on to get back to normal.

I have experienced both of these issues. I think these were regressions from a few months ago and have not seen a fix yet. When I first had my M30 controllers, around April~June 2020, I had no issues.

There is a github issue for m30, but what you describe better matches what I am experiencing.

[ash2fpga]

Some things I found out trying to diagnose the "repeated input" and "no input" issues:
When I had the 1ms (1000hz) polling, unplugging/replugging the USB receivers would fix the issue, sometimes requiring unplugging/replugging multiple times.

Attempting to reset USB devices via software did not help. I tried this python script: https://github.com/mcarans/resetusb/

Some of the mister scripts, such as the polling scripts, do not work out of the box if you have renamed your mister.

Edit: Still having "repeated input" issues regardless of polling rate. Turning off controllers and turning them back on does not always clear up the "no input" issue. Soft-rebooting the mister sometimes clears up both issues.

I have four m30 2.4g usb controllers. Sometimes after a reboot, one controller will have "repeated input", another will have "no input", and two will work OK. After another reboot, it could be a different controller with "repeated input" and another different one with "no input". Sometimes three controllers will be OK and one has an issue. It does not seem to be tied to a specific controller either.

Once a controller initializes OK it appears to stay that way. I have never had a controller develop "repeated input" or "no input" during a playing session. I am starting to wonder if there is an issue with initializing the controllers, whether on the controller side or on the host side.

[slaps]

I have been having the same issue for months. I believe it began happening in the summer of 2020 but has gotten worse lately.

Have tried fast and normal polling, upgrading to a 4amp power supply, etc. For a while I thought it was the dc barrel jack splitter with switch. Haven't been able to track down the exact issue but have had the same thing everyone is describing. FWIW, I do not believe it's caused by wireless interference as it happens to two different MiSTer setups in two locations, and with different devices plugged in between them.

[geiger9]

I have recently got my MiSTer up and running, and in general it works great. However, I have noticed some funkiness with my 8bitdo USB adapter.

It works great at first, but gets stuck in an unusable state after hard reboot that requires that I unplug-and-replug it to get it working again. This regardless if I reboot the MiSTer from OSD or with "reboot" command over SSH. Soft reset is ok.

In this state the adapter still receives power and keeps the connection to the gamepad, however no input is registered by the MiSTer. Turning the gamepad off and then on again reconnects it, but still no input is registered until I replug the adapter.

I have tried both fast and regular polling, downgrading the firmware of the adapter a few steps, but to no avail. Nothing weird appears in the dmesg log. Since I assume this adapter is quite popular, anyone else seeing this?

(I also have an 8bitdo genesis BT-adapter which when used via USB works fine, even through a hard reboot, so I think the MiSTer works as intended and mostly suspects the adapter is at fault here.)

Are you using a OTG hub? Is it powered or unpowered? Or maybe you are using the MiSTer 2.1 hub?

When I connected my 8bitdo bluetooth adapter using an unpowered OTG hub directly to the DE10, there was no issue. I had the M30 2.4ghz adapter plugged in next to it and also my logitech keyboard dongle. No problems at all. I don't know if there are any settings or values I can give you to help troubleshoot but I'm willing to help if I can.

Then I recently bought the MiSTer 2.1 hub which is powered. My M30 works fine but the 8bitdo bluetooth adapter's LED stays solid and it wont enter pairing mode when I press the button. It's totally bizarre.

[edr]

Exactly the same issues here with 8BitDo M30 2.4G, TGFX16 2.4G, etc.

At boot sometimes some controller either does not respond, or sometimes if I press for ex. DOWN, the DOWN will repeat infinitely in the MiSTer UI even if I disconnect the controller adapter. The connection between the controller and the 8BitDo bluetooth adapter is solid, so that's not the issue.

Solution is almost always to unplug/replug the MiSTer, reboot is not enough. Using a MisterAddons complete system with MiSTer 2.1 USB and MiSTer analog board, stock power supply with Y-adaptor that plugs power into 2 of the boards.

I guess I could buy a second power supply and use 2 separate power supplies at the same time just to see if that makes any difference. But could just be some kind of issue specific to 8BitDo HW and the MiSTer.

[venalaine]

Exactly the same issues here with 8BitDo M30 2.4G, TGFX16 2.4G, etc.

At boot sometimes some controller either does not respond, or sometimes if I press for ex. DOWN, the DOWN will repeat infinitely in the MiSTer UI even if I disconnect the controller adapter. The connection between the controller and the 8BitDo bluetooth adapter is solid, so that's not the issue.

Solution is almost always to unplug/replug the MiSTer, reboot is not enough. Using a MisterAddons complete system with MiSTer 2.1 USB and MiSTer analog board, stock power supply with Y-adaptor that plugs power into 2 of the boards.

I guess I could buy a second power supply and use 2 separate power supplies at the same time just to see if that makes any difference. But could just be some kind of issue specific to 8BitDo HW and the MiSTer.

I'm almost sure that new PSU changes nothing. I have high quality 4A PSU and exactly same problem.

[kirabate]

Hello, I have a similar problem but not with my 8bitdo controllers, if not with my arcade stick. I have an M30 controller and an SF30pro, they work fine, but I have an Arcade stick that I make with a typical "Zero delay" board that has a split USB / PS2 output cable.

The problem that it presents is that the stick registers what seems to be multiple pulsations or a constant pulsation, it also happens that sometimes it presents an incredibly slow response, maybe 5 seconds or more. The problem is partially solved by disconnecting and reconnecting several times and restarting the MISTer, however, eventually fails again within minutes, a specific annoying example is when I try to play Dodonpachi the ship continues to move towards the direction I indicated for about a second after I have removed the lever from that position, it is like a pulsation continues and is truly annoying.

I came to think that it was the Zero delay board but it works perfectly on my PC. The strange thing is that I also have a Neo GeoX stick and it works perfectly with MISTer.

My setup consists of a 6.1 I / O board and a USB Hub 2.1+ splitter + switch that I bought at misteraddons.com

Excuse my English, I know it sucks.