
Sony's DualSense controller for the PS5 is a great choice for PC gaming too, thanks to its comfortable symmetric layout, long battery life and precise inputs. However, you normally have a choice: embrace the freedom of a wireless Bluetooth connection or connect it up with a USB cable to make use of the adaptive triggers and haptic feedback built into many Sony PC ports.
Now, thanks to the DS5Dongle project by enterprising developer awalol, you can turn a $16/£14 Raspberry Pi Pico 2W into the ultimate PS5 wireless dongle for PC, combining low-latency wireless with the adaptive triggers that set the DualSense apart from past PS controllers.
The dongle essentially sits in the middle of the DualSense and your PC, connecting to the gamepad via Bluetooth and telling your computer that a wired DualSense is connected. That also makes it easier to use the controller in games like Days Gone, where the DualSense normally isn't supported in Bluetooth mode without extra software shenanigans. Even the 3.5mm jack works as it would wired.
It's likely that you're paying a slight (~1ms) latency penalty here versus a wired connection, but a recent update to the project added 1000Hz support, which minimises the difference between the dongle and a direct connection.
To get started, you can read the English instructions for the project on Github. It looks very straightforward - just connect the Pico 2W to your PC via USB, drop the firmware file into storage and put the DualSense into Bluetooth pairing mode. Once it's connected, the DualSense turns up as a wired controller in Windows, and you're good to go.
You can use the Raspberry Pi as-is, but you can also 3D print a case for it to make it look cleaner - thanks to /u/SlogikX for the link and the photo above.
It's possible that these features will eventually appear in software like DualSenseX, but at present this is the only known way to get all of the features of the controller working wirelessly on PC.
Will you give this a try? Let us know in the comments below. I've got a Raspberry Pi 2W on the way, so I'll let you know how it goes! This could be the ultimate upgrade for a living room PC - as long as you wouldn't prefer the Steam Controller.




