How to Connect Your Nintendo Switch Pro Controller to Your PC

It's easy to play your favorite Steam games with the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. You can play other PC games with it, too, but it requires a bit of work. Here's how to do it.

       

The Nintendo Switch Pro Controller is one of the best "baseline" controllers in the current console generation. It's sturdy, feels good in hand, has an excellent directional pad, and features impressive motion sensors and vibration tech. On top of that, the gamepad uses Bluetooth, so you don't need an adapter to connect it to your PC. The Switch 2 is coming in the next few months with a new Switch 2 Pro Controller that features programmable rear buttons and a headphone jack, but if you want a good gamepad right now, the original Switch Pro Controller is still one of your best bets. Here's how to connect it to your PC.

The Pro Controller appears to Windows as a DirectInput controller rather than an XInput controller like the Xbox Series X/S gamepad (or the fancier Xbox Elite Core Controller), so it can be a bit of a chore to get it working with your PC games. Fortunately, Valve added full Switch Pro Controller support to Steam, which probably covers a good chunk of your game library. Non-Steam games require additional steps that we'll walk you through.

Of course, you can't use your Switch Pro Controller with your PC until you first connect it to your PC. You have two options: wired and wireless. Wired is simplest, but wireless is, well, wireless. And it requires a bit of work.

(Credit: Will Greenwald)

Connect Your Switch Pro Controller to PC With a Wired Connection

1. Plug your Pro Controller cable (or any USB-A-to-USB-C data cable, or USB-C-to-USB-C data cable if your PC has a USB-C port) into the controller.
2. Plug the other end of the cable into your PC.

That's it! Windows 10 will detect the controller as a "Pro Controller." Then, you can proceed to the Steam setup steps below.

(Credit: Microsoft/PCMag)

Connect Your Switch Pro Controller to PC With a Wireless Connection

You need a Bluetooth adapter or onboard Bluetooth, but it's also easy.

1. With the Pro Controller charged, press and hold the Sync button on the top of the gamepad for a few seconds until the indicator lights start flashing.
2. Open the system tray and right-click the Bluetooth icon.
3. Click "Add Bluetooth Device."
4. Click "Add Bluetooth or Other Device."
5. Click "Bluetooth" (because Windows needs to be reassured that you want to use Bluetooth).
6. The Pro Controller should show up on the list of available devices (if it doesn't, make sure the indicator lights are still flashing back and forth). Click it, and pair the controller.
7. Now, you can move on to Steam setup.

(Credit: Valve/PCMag)

How to Setup Steam for Switch Pro Controller Use

To ensure everything works as it should between the Pro Controller and your PC game, you should use Steam's Big Picture mode, the couch-friendly lean-back menu system that works well with a gamepad.

1. If Steam doesn't open automatically into Big Picture when you connect the Pro Controller, open Steam and enter the Settings menu.
2. Click General Controller Settings, which opens a full-screen, Big Picture window.
3. Click "Switch Pro Configuration Support."

If the Pro Controller is connected, the mouse cursor should disappear, and you should be able to navigate Big Picture with the gamepad. You can toggle "Use Nintendo Button Layout" depending on whether you prefer the A/B/X/Y buttons to be mapped as they are on the Pro Controller (clockwise X, A, B, Y from the top), or as they're mapped on an Xbox controller (clockwise Y, B, A, X from the top).

When set up through Steam, the Pro Controller should work like an Xbox gamepad with any Steam game. You can toggle vibration on and off by clicking the controller under "Detected Controllers" in the same setup screen. If the analog sticks seem off, manually calibrate them by clicking Calibrate. You can also set how long the controller stays connected before disconnecting, so it goes to sleep.

(Credit: Valve/PCMag)

Using Big Picture ensures that Steam's controller support, over-the-game remapping, and configuration options appear as they should, which won't likely be the case if you open a game from the desktop. This happened when we played No Man's Sky; the controller worked with the game through Big Picture, but the mapping was strange when launched through the desktop.