I waited months for Google to release a firmware patch to unlock Bluetooth. Eventually, I got tired of 4 mostly bricked (could still use them wired) controllers laying around and tossed 3 of them. I wish I would have kept them all now, Stadia controllers are some of the best, I may have to pick up another one online.
It’s a fun co-op which I’ve played with my partner and my kids. It packs a lot of variety into it’s level design and is very well executed. Would recommend.
The variety is really great. If your partner isn’t as into games it makes for a good jumping off point for finding out what kinds of things they do like.
Yeah they released a tool almost immediately after they shut it down. I have not used them until now because I got a steam deck with all the Stadia refunds and I was gaming on that. I used them today because we hooked the steam deck up on the TV.
Nice. Yeah I followed that for a little while and got my refunds in about 1-2 months. I’m guessing they released an update soon after I got my refunds and stopped paying attention lol I’m guessing this past February or March.
The controller is actually very nice. It is a shame Google killed stadia, it was a nice service to supplement the few games I wanted to play that I couldn’t get on Nintendo, without having to go out and buy an Xbox or PlayStation. But I guess the steam deck now fills that void.
Yeah it was also great because it integrated with Google TV well. The recent game you played was integrated with the “ongoing watch” list. So you can quickly pick up and play just like a TV show you’ve been watching. I thought for sure that was genius and would make playing video games more mainstream for people who don’t really play video games. That was the audience Google should have pivoted towards to keep it afloat. Oh well…
You gotta be quick. The “unlock” website will be going down eventually meaning that if you didn’t “unlock” it before the website goes down, you’re stuck with a paperweight
Pretty sure someone pulled the code, it’s all JavaScript in the browser and archived the firmware so it is possible to do it without relying on that page when they shut it down.
Looking it up again I couldn’t find a self host website for it but here is a good writeup on it. Firmware is archived elsewhere and people have looked into the JavaScript that does the flashing process, so I imagine it wouldn’t be too hard to make a permanent tool, but also it isn’t needed until end of the year.
I liked their feel for sure. I probably wouldn’t go out and buy any more from eBay or whatnot as I already have two, but they were solid and I definitely plan on updating mine.
Can’t speak to their use after the Bluetooth update as I just found out about it, but they were responsive when I used them through stadia and work just as well, if not better, when wired to a computer.
As much as I dislike Google, they did handle this stadia wind down and shuttering pretty well.
Edit: The Bluetooth works just as well! These were my favorite controllers until the PS5 controllers came out (don’t even own a PS5 but picked up a couple for my mobile gaming).
One thing I prefer about Dualsense over the stadia controller is that their buttons are really quiet. I still prefer the feel of the stadia controller, though, so for casual daytime gaming, I think these are gonna be my go to.
The only downside I’ve found so far is that they’re much more sensitive than my old Xbox 360 controllers. I tried playing Overlord: Raising Hell with one, and resting my fingers on the top buttons was enough to send my minions running all over the map.
It’s probably great for racing games, but it took a few minutes to get used to :)
There’s an official dock you can get for it. I have one and it’s awesome. Has a USB-C for power, HDMI, and 2 regular USB ports for peripherals. It even has an Ethernet port.
Any kind of USB-c dongle. I bought one on Amazon that’s like $20. It had HDMI and two USB inputs. There’s a USB-c input on the dongle as well and I plug in the charger on there.
Quick edit: I went on my Amazon account and found the one I bought. You can find it below but like I said basically any kind of USB-c dongle will work. You can get a fancier one if you want but I have not had any issues with this one.
Hiearcool USB C Hub,USB C Hub Multi-Port Adapter for MacBook Pro/Air M1 M2, 4K HDMI USB C Dock Dongle for iPad and Other Type C Devices https://a.co/d/63ceAr9
I bought the JSAUX dock (from Amazon). Has been really good. It’s a fair bit cheaper than the official one and there are a load of reports.of the official one having issues.
Such a fun game to play with a partner. It has a great story… My GF and I made it pretty far but she just doesn’t have the controller skills to manage a certain boss fight later game. I’m trying to get her to play other games to get some practice. I’d really like to finish it.
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I waited months for Google to release a firmware patch to unlock Bluetooth. Eventually, I got tired of 4 mostly bricked (could still use them wired) controllers laying around and tossed 3 of them. I wish I would have kept them all now, Stadia controllers are some of the best, I may have to pick up another one online.
Why would you throw them away? It was to be fixed and some one could find a way to make it work.
Been looking at this game, but we are going slowly through Unravel 2 atm.
It’s a fun co-op which I’ve played with my partner and my kids. It packs a lot of variety into it’s level design and is very well executed. Would recommend.
The variety is really great. If your partner isn’t as into games it makes for a good jumping off point for finding out what kinds of things they do like.
If you like Unravel 2 you’ll love ITT. Similar vibe. Some other recommendations that I played through with my partner:
I’ve heard this about ITT before. And thanks for this list, comment has been starred.
Did they release an update to allow these to work wirelessly? How… how you doin’ that? Lol
These were actually one of my preferred controllers.
Yeah they released a tool almost immediately after they shut it down. I have not used them until now because I got a steam deck with all the Stadia refunds and I was gaming on that. I used them today because we hooked the steam deck up on the TV.
Nice. Yeah I followed that for a little while and got my refunds in about 1-2 months. I’m guessing they released an update soon after I got my refunds and stopped paying attention lol I’m guessing this past February or March.
Yep, you can switch them to Bluetooth mode now. Works pretty well! https://stadia.google.com/controller/
Oh crap, didn’t realize I have until the end of this year to switch it to Bluetooth mode! Thanks for the reminder.
How do you like it? I’ve heard good things
The controller is actually very nice. It is a shame Google killed stadia, it was a nice service to supplement the few games I wanted to play that I couldn’t get on Nintendo, without having to go out and buy an Xbox or PlayStation. But I guess the steam deck now fills that void.
It always looked nice for something to do during a lunch break, play a little destiny.
Yeah it was also great because it integrated with Google TV well. The recent game you played was integrated with the “ongoing watch” list. So you can quickly pick up and play just like a TV show you’ve been watching. I thought for sure that was genius and would make playing video games more mainstream for people who don’t really play video games. That was the audience Google should have pivoted towards to keep it afloat. Oh well…
They’re cool, but I haven’t been able to abilitate haptic feedback while on Bluetooth connection, sadly
You gotta be quick. The “unlock” website will be going down eventually meaning that if you didn’t “unlock” it before the website goes down, you’re stuck with a paperweight
Pretty sure someone pulled the code, it’s all JavaScript in the browser and archived the firmware so it is possible to do it without relying on that page when they shut it down.
Shit really? Someone archived it?? I thought the script needed to talk to google servers
Shit really? Someone archived it?? I thought the script needed to talk to google servers
Looking it up again I couldn’t find a self host website for it but here is a good writeup on it. Firmware is archived elsewhere and people have looked into the JavaScript that does the flashing process, so I imagine it wouldn’t be too hard to make a permanent tool, but also it isn’t needed until end of the year.
This might be the firmware dump:
https://github.com/Scyne/stadiaRawBtFw
Oh, nice lol I’m late to that party but definitely glad for the invite!
How are they as controllers?
It’s my favorite controller. I just love the size and feel. And like I said it brings back the Stadia vibe.
I liked their feel for sure. I probably wouldn’t go out and buy any more from eBay or whatnot as I already have two, but they were solid and I definitely plan on updating mine.
Can’t speak to their use after the Bluetooth update as I just found out about it, but they were responsive when I used them through stadia and work just as well, if not better, when wired to a computer.
As much as I dislike Google, they did handle this stadia wind down and shuttering pretty well.
Edit: The Bluetooth works just as well! These were my favorite controllers until the PS5 controllers came out (don’t even own a PS5 but picked up a couple for my mobile gaming).
One thing I prefer about Dualsense over the stadia controller is that their buttons are really quiet. I still prefer the feel of the stadia controller, though, so for casual daytime gaming, I think these are gonna be my go to.
I have two that I’ve been using on Bluetooth for months. They’re just as responsive. If they had back paddles they’d be perfect for me.
The only downside I’ve found so far is that they’re much more sensitive than my old Xbox 360 controllers. I tried playing Overlord: Raising Hell with one, and resting my fingers on the top buttons was enough to send my minions running all over the map.
It’s probably great for racing games, but it took a few minutes to get used to :)
How did you connect your steam deck to your tv?
There’s an official dock you can get for it. I have one and it’s awesome. Has a USB-C for power, HDMI, and 2 regular USB ports for peripherals. It even has an Ethernet port.
Any kind of USB-c dongle. I bought one on Amazon that’s like $20. It had HDMI and two USB inputs. There’s a USB-c input on the dongle as well and I plug in the charger on there.
Quick edit: I went on my Amazon account and found the one I bought. You can find it below but like I said basically any kind of USB-c dongle will work. You can get a fancier one if you want but I have not had any issues with this one.
Hiearcool USB C Hub,USB C Hub Multi-Port Adapter for MacBook Pro/Air M1 M2, 4K HDMI USB C Dock Dongle for iPad and Other Type C Devices https://a.co/d/63ceAr9
Ordered, thank you! I don’t know why but the idea never occurred to me. Excited for some big screen gaming.
I bought the JSAUX dock (from Amazon). Has been really good. It’s a fair bit cheaper than the official one and there are a load of reports.of the official one having issues.
FWIW my official dock has been working great
I thought Stadia was great too! It definitely helped me get through pandemic isolation. And I definitely felt like the controller fit my hands well.
Couldn’t get mine to reliably work on Apple TV.
Such a fun game to play with a partner. It has a great story… My GF and I made it pretty far but she just doesn’t have the controller skills to manage a certain boss fight later game. I’m trying to get her to play other games to get some practice. I’d really like to finish it.