Can't pair wireless controllers with NES Classic
April 27, 2023 5:54 PM   Subscribe

My girlfriend gave me an NES Classic for my birthday. Hooray! Unfortunately, we can't get the third-party wireless controllers she also bought to pair successfully. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

The instructions, unfortunately, are not well-written, but it seems like there really shouldn't be too much to it. As I understand it, you:

1) Turn on the NES Classic console
2) Plug the USB dongle into the accompanying adapter
3) Set the controller into pairing mode by pressing Select, Start, and Up simultaneously (this sets a red light on the front of the controller blinking)
4) Plug the adapter (with USB dongle) into the console (this makes the red light solid)

The fellow in this video performs this same routine (albeit with an SNES mini) and gets his controller to work without an issue.

We originally thought the controllers themselves might be busted, so we returned them and got a new set—same problem. The console also appears to be just fine—it's a bonafide Nintento (not a knock-off), and we successfully used the accompanying wired controller to play Super Mario Bros. Are we doing this wrong? Any tips? Much thanks!
posted by DavidNYC to Technology (2 answers total)
 
It would help if you could explain where your process goes wrong. I assume it's when the dongle plugs in?
posted by Alensin at 6:47 PM on April 27, 2023


In the instructions (indeed bad) it looks like you plug the dongle and adapter into the NES first, before doing the pairing. The timing may be important. I don't think the little doodad has power of its own - it might not pair unless it's plugged in to stat with.

You may also want to try pairing the controller with the dongle on a PC nearby to make sure the connection works. It looks like there is also a "input mode" that you may well have switched to Xbox mode or whatever. If you get it paired in the PC situation it may start right up in the NES situation. Good luck!
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 8:59 PM on April 27, 2023


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