One controller is actually two separate devices connected together by Bluetooth. You can play games using both of these devices at once, but they’re not interchangeable.
Once you’ve finished using them, you can always reconnect your Switch controllers to your Switch.
Let’s find out how you can use Joycons as VR Controllers.
How to Use Your Joy-Cons as Controllers?
Connect to PC
To begin with, your computer must be equipped with Bluetooth connectivity. The JoyCon controllers use Bluetooth to connect. Therefore, they won’t have any means of connecting if your computer lacks that feature.
If it doesn’t have Bluetooth, and you really want the joys of using the controller on your PC, then it will require adding a Bluetooth adaptor first.
You have two options if you have Bluetooth:
Use Each Joy-Con Individually
Each Joy-Con in the side-by-side configuration works well as a standalone wireless gamepad. It’s best used for 2-person local multiplayer gaming.
Use the Joy-Cons as one Controller
It lets you use both controllers at once as one controller, which is best for modern games that need two analog controls.
Steps to Follow
- Click Start,
- Go to Settings>Devices>Bluetooth
- To switch between pairing mode and discovery mode, press the Bluetooth toggle button.
- Click the Bluetooth icon
- Click “Add Bluetooth” or “Other Devices”.
- Choose your Joy-Con
- Press the sync button on your controller until the light starts flashing. It’s located on the connection rail between the left and right joysticks.
- Press L or R when it appears in the list of Bluetooth device options.
- If you’re pairing both controllers at once, wait until the Joy-Cons connect before repeating this step.
Use as Controllers on PC
To use your Joy-Cons, use the following steps.
- Pair them with Bluetooth devices with your computer.
- Once you’ve successfully paired your Joy-Con to your computer, you’ll need to provide some way for the computer to understand the inputs from both Joy-Cons.
There are a number of ways to accomplish this, but we’ll show how to use BetterJoy. This solution allows you to easily switch back and forth between having two Joy-Cons connected separately or one Joy-Con connected to the left side of the screen and another Joy-Con connected to the right side of the screen.
This solution requires Windows 10, but you may encounter driver crashes if you’re not running Windows 10. Try updating your official Xbox 360 control drivers. - To download BetterJoy, go to the GitHub repository and click “Download” for the latest release.
- If your operating system is 64-bit, use the x86 version; otherwise, use the x32 version.
- After extracting the files to the desired location, open the driver’s subdirectory, and run ViGEmBUS_Setup as an administrator. This will launch an installer that installs the required drivers.
- Once you’ve installed the drivers, go back to the main BetterJoy directory and run BetterJoy for Cemuas as an administrator.
- BetterJoy will recognize both Joy-Cons when they’re connected together. If you want to play games using them separately, just click one of the Joy-Con icon buttons. Doing so will rotate them into a horizontal position.
- If you want to use them as a single control, just click either icon again.
Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons Compatibility
The Nintendo Switch works with any number of different controllers, including the traditional Pro Controller, the smaller Joy-Cons, and even smartphones.
To connect the Joy-Cons, you just need to pair them with a compatible device using a Bluetooth connection. Once they’re paired, you simply need to tap the “SYNCH” icon on the top of each Joy-Con to start syncing.
On the left Joy-Con, there’s an option called “Bluetooth Preferences,” and it even has a helpful label.
Joy-Con for Mobiles
We paired the infamous left Joy-Con to an iPhone 7 Plus and a Macbook Pro and found that it synced with relative ease. However, once it was paired, we found it to not be the best controller for those devices.
We tried navigating around Slack and Twitter on an Android phone using Joy-Con’s controls, which is not recommended no matter what kind of gamepad you attach to your phone. However, the Joy-Con isn’t a good choice for a laptop, either, so don’t expect miracles from it.
It’s nice to be able to play Splatoon 2 using a controller instead of just one Joy-Con, but since it isn’t currently possible to play two Joy-Cons simultaneously, people who want to emulate that feature should probably go with the Switch.
Nintendo has joined Sony and Microsoft in letting their consoles’ controllers be used by PC gamers. The DualShock 4 now works natively with Steam, and the Xbox One Controller is compatible with computers too.
How Do I Connect VRchat to Joy-Cons?
- Pairing controllers by pressing the pairing button
- Connect controllers manually over Bluetooth with windows.
- Launch vrcjoycon.exe.
- If pairing succeeds, the controller should vibrate.
- If there’s any problem, test with other joysticks before testing with yours.
- If you haven’t already launched VRChat, launch it now.
How Do I Connect My Joy-Con to Steam?
- Press the Steam menu button on the upper left-hand side of the screen.
- Click Settings.
- Your account details will be displayed within a popup window.
- Select “Steam Beta Update” from the menu.
- If you press “Restart” now, Steam will update itself to use your new settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I use Joy-Cons on a PC without using Bluetooth?
Because the Joy-Con requires a Bluetooth connection, it cannot be paired with your computer unless you use Bluetooth. However, other Nintendo Switch controllers don’t require a Bluetooth connection and can be connected to a computer without using Bluetooth.
How do I turn on Joy-Con controllers that are connected to my computer?
If you want to disconnect your Joy-Con from your Switch console, press the “SYNC” button on each Joy-Con.
What do I do if my PC asks for a PIN when pairing my Joy-Cons?
If you’re trying to pair your Joy-Con controllers to a computer and are prompted to enter an eight-digit pin, use either 0000 or 1234. Both options will be the defaults for your controllers.
Can you use Joy-Cons as a VR controller?
They work a little bit differently, but they can do exactly the same as VR controllers. We found the switch joy-cons to be the most innovative and advanced controllers of this generation.
Can you play Dolphin Emulator using Joy-Con controllers?
You’ve successfully configured Nintendo Switch Joy Con, both the right and the lefthand one, to be used in the dolphin emulator to simulate Wii Mote and Nunchuk. Go to profile, type “Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons” and save.
Conclusion
We hope this article was helpful to you. Let us know what you think in the comments below.