8Bitdo USB Wireless Adapter

Hardware Type: Game Controller Adapter

.

Review:

The 8Bitdo USB Wireless Adapter is a controller adapter for the Nintendo Switch that allows players to plug a small USB device into their Nintendo Switch’s Switch Dock and then use that controller to play games on their docked Nintendo Switch. This is a good way for players to use a variety of controllers with their Nintendo Switch that were not originally intended for use with the Switch. Also, this allows players to hook up these controllers as well as Nintendo Switch controllers to their PC, Mac, Android device, or Raspberry Pi

The supported controllers this adapter works with are as follows: the Xbox One (original, S, and X) Bluetooth controllers, Xbox Elite 2 controller, Dual Shock 3 and 4, The Nintendo Switch Pro controller, Joy-Cons (including NES and Famicom Joy-Cons), Wii U Pro Controller, Wii remote, as well as all 8BitDo Bluetooth controllers. For the purposes of this review, I am just testing the functionality of this adapter with the Nintendo Switch.

The device itself is amusingly designed to look like a string of Mario-style bricks, with a similarly-designed cap to cover the USB plug. On the opposite ends is a button for pairing, and a red light hidden under the plastic to indicate when a controller is paired. The design is cute, and makes it pretty clear that these guys had Nintendo in mind when making it.

Pairing this device with one of the supported controllers is fairly easy. Simply press the button on the device to put it in pairing mode, and then put the controller of choice in pairing mode as well (for the PlayStation 4 controller, hold down the PlayStation button and the Share button to put it in pairing mode). This worked quickly with all controllers I tried it with (save for Xbox controller, which i’ll get to in a moment). As for how those controllers performed, well…

The first controller I tried to use with the device was a Wii remote, out of pure curiosity how that would even function. The answer is… not well. I tried multiple Wii remotes and multiple versions of multiple attachments, and all suffered similar issues. The Wii remote on its own doesn’t work like an NES controller by default, although I imagine you could probably mess around in the settings to get the button assignments to work like that. Attaching a Nunchuk does recognize the attachment, and it seems to have some sort of recognition as the right analog stick, but not one that actually works properly. The closest thing I had to a success with this controller was the Classic Controller, which mostly worked just as you’d expect it would. The problem was, the button inputs were all messed up, either detecting you letting go of the button at random times when holding it, or simply tapping it repeatedly regardless of whether you’re touching it.

So, don’t get this device to play your Nintendo Switch with a Wii Remote, regardless of which attachments you want to use.

The second controller I tried was a DualShock 4. Here I had somewhat better success. This controller operated pretty much how you would want it to, basically acting as a Pro Controller. It even retains the use of gyroscopic motion control, just like the Pro Controller. However, there’s a bit of a problem that I hadn’t anticipated. Apparently, the DualShock 4 doesn’t really mesh well with the Nintendo Switch’s HD Rumble, resulting in every small bit of rumble the controller got a signal for causing the thing to shake wildly. In some games, this isn’t so bad, just making you get a more forceful rumble than you would normally get, however, in others that use the rumble more frequently at a low setting, this was pretty distracting, which is a shame given how well this controller worked aside from this flaw.

So, you can get this device to play your Nintendo Switch with a DualShock 4, just be prepared for it to turn every rumble into an earthquake.

The third controller I tried was the Wii U Pro Controller, and out of all of the controllers I used, this one was the one that worked most flawlessly… but that doesn’t mean it’s the best. The controller worked very much in the same way as a Nintendo Switch Pro controller, and the rumble functionality was used, but definitely more subtle than the DualShock 4’s rumble. However, there are a few flaws here. Firstly, there’s no gyroscopic function in the controller. Secondly… I didn’t anticipate how much this controller’s layout would throw me off, because it feels similar to the Switch Pro controller, but the button layout and right control stick have different placement. However, neither of these are issues with the adapter, they’re issues with the controller.

If you get this device to play your Nintendo Switch with a Wii U Pro Controller, it seems to work pretty well.

Neither my Xbox One controller nor my Xbox Elite controller would pair with the adapter at all. This may have been because they kept waking my Xbox One and connecting to it, I’m not sure. So I’ll have to say the results for those are inconclusive. Oh, and out of curiosity, I tried my Xbox 360 controller as well, but nothing happened.

So the results here are… pretty mixed. The Wii controller was a dud, the Xbox controller didn’t work but I’m not sure if it’s due to my current situation, the PlayStation 4 controller worked fantastic except for an over-active rumble, and the Wii U Pro controller worked great except the Switch Pro Controller has made my muscle memory hate it now apparently. Oh, also, as with most controllers not made by Nintendo, controllers connected with this adapter cannot wake the Nintendo Switch, so you’ll either have to do so manually on the Switch itself, or with a second controller.

Overall, I’d say that this isn’t the ultimate controller situation people are likely looking for with this device. At best, if you have a DualShock 4 or Wii U Pro Controller, this can make for a nice, inexpensive alternative to a Switch Pro controller, but don’t expect it to work perfectly.

tl;dr – The USB Wireless Adapter is an adapter that can allow you to hook up a select listing of various non-Nintendo Switch controllers to your Nintendo Switch, but the results are mixed. The controllers that worked in my tests (DualShock 4 and Wii U Pro Controller) both had a few small issues, and the Xbox controllers and Wii controllers I tried either didn’t work at all or worked so poorly I do not recommend them. Because of how unreliable this device is, I’d say its use is pretty limited.

Grade: C-

^{You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!}