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Troubleshooting

Common problems and how to fix them. If you are stuck, please open an issue with your log file attached (see Logs).

Connection Problems

Controller Not Detected

  1. Make sure your controller is running the latest firmware
  2. Try connecting via USB instead of Bluetooth (and vice versa)
  3. Try a different USB cable and port — some cables are charge-only and carry no data
  4. Close other applications that may claim exclusive access to the controller

If the app detects the connection type but inputs look wrong, restart the application with the controller already connected.

Controller Not Detected on Linux

This is almost always a permissions issue: without a udev rule, only root can open the HID device.

  1. Install the udev rule described in Linux: Controller Access Without Root

  2. Reload the rules and replug the controller:

    sudo udevadm control --reload-rules && sudo udevadm trigger

  3. As a quick test, run the application with elevated privileges (sudo ./DualSenseClient). If it works with sudo but not without, the udev rule is missing or incorrect

Warning

Avoid running the whole application as root permanently — fix permissions with the udev rule instead.

Bluetooth Connection Issues

  • Restart the Bluetooth service, or remove ("forget") the controller in your system's Bluetooth settings and pair it again
  • Hold the PS button + Create button simultaneously until the lightbar rapidly flashes double blinks to put the controller into pairing mode, then pair from your system settings

Runtime Errors

Missing .NET Runtime on Windows

If Windows reports a missing dotnet runtime when launching:

  • Install the .NET 10 Desktop Runtime
  • Make sure you installed the Desktop runtime (not just the base runtime), since the app has a graphical interface

Virtual Controller Emulation

Virtual Controller Does Not Appear

libVIIPER is bundled with the app, but attaching a virtual device requires the USB/IP driver:

  1. Install usbip-win2
  2. Restart the application
  1. Install usbip:
    • Arch: sudo pacman -S usbip
    • Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt install linux-tools-generic
  2. Restart the application

If the driver is installed but no device appears, check the VIIPER logs — USB/IP must be available for auto-attachment. See also the Virtual Controller guide.

Games & Double Input

A Game Receives Double Input

This happens when both the physical controller and an emulated virtual controller are visible to the same game.

  1. Install the HidHide driver (Windows only)
  2. Open the physical controller's device page and enable the hide toggle

The app whitelists itself automatically, so it keeps seeing the hidden controller while games no longer do. See the Controller Hiding guide.

Logs

The app writes date-rotated log files next to the executable:

<application folder>/Logs/DualSenseClient.log

On Linux, if the installation directory is not writable, logs fall back to ~/.config/DualSenseClient.

To capture more detail when reporting a problem, raise the logging level in Settings (for example to Debug) before reproducing the issue, then attach the log file to your issue report.