[!WARNING] No other official website exists for this project besides this GitHub repository (github.com/nefarius/BthPS3) and sites hosted on *.nefarius.at (e.g. docs.nefarius.at, discord.nefarius.at).

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BthPS3

Windows kernel‑mode Bluetooth profile and filter drivers for PS3 peripherals.

Quick start

For end users who just want to use their PS3 controllers on Windows.

1. Check requirements
   • OS: Windows 10 or 11, x64 or ARM64 (see Environment).
   • Bluetooth adapter: must meet the LMP version requirements (see Supported Bluetooth host devices in Environment).
   • Controller: PlayStation(R) 3 peripherals (SIXAXIS/DualShock 3, PS Move Navigation & Motion Controllers).
2. Download the installer
   • Go to the latest release page.
   • Download the current BthPS3 installer (.msi).
3. Install the drivers
   • Close any applications using your Bluetooth adapter or controller.
   • Run the downloaded installer as an administrator and follow the on‑screen instructions.
   • Reboot Windows when prompted.
4. Pair your controller (via companion tools, not Windows UI)
   • Do not use the built‑in Windows Bluetooth pairing dialog for PS3 controllers; it will not work correctly and can interfere with proper operation.
   • Use supported companion tools (such as DsHidMini) and follow the pairing instructions in the project documentation.
   • Ensure the controller is first connected via USB if required, then let the companion tool handle Bluetooth pairing as described.
5. Verify operation
   • Confirm that the driver is loaded correctly and that your controller appears and responds as described in the FAQ.
   • For use in games, consider installing the companion project DsHidMini.

If you run into issues, carefully read the documentation and FAQ before opening a GitHub issue.

Pronunciation

/biː θriː/

About

TL;DR: these drivers allow popular PlayStation(R) 3 gaming peripherals (SIXAXIS/DualShock 3, PS Move Navigation & Motion Controllers) to connect to Windows via Bluetooth without losing any standard functionality.

This set of Windows kernel‑mode drivers extends the standard (a.k.a. vanilla) Bluetooth stack (Microsoft/Broadcom/Toshiba/Intel/...) with an additional L2CAP server service (profile driver) and a Bluetooth lower‑filter driver, gracefully working around the reserved PSMs issue that causes PS3 peripheral connections to be denied on the default Windows stack. The profile driver attempts to distinguish incoming device types based on their reported remote names and exposes their HID Control and HID Interrupt channels via simple bus child devices (a.k.a. PDOs). The profile/bus driver supports both “regular” operation modes (requiring a proper function driver such as a HID minidriver) and “raw” mode (powering the PDO up without a function driver and exposing it to userland) for maximum flexibility and future‑proofing. The PSM filter attaches only to Bluetooth‑class devices and skips attachment if the underlying transport is neither USB nor the Bluetooth Extensibility Transport (BTHX, e.g. BthMini.sys-bound PCIe/UART radios).

The solution consists of the following individual projects:

• BthPS3 – multipurpose kernel‑mode driver: function driver for service PDO exposed by BTHENUM (Microsoft), Bluetooth profile (L2CAP server service), and bus driver for PS3 wireless peripherals.
• BthPS3PSM – lower‑filter driver for Bluetooth host radios (USB via BTHUSB, or non‑USB via the Bluetooth Extensibility Transport/BthMini), patching L2CAP packets and rerouting L2CAP traffic to the profile driver.
• BthPS3CfgUI – userland GUI utility to safely edit driver settings.
• BthPS3Util – userland CLI utility to modify filter‑driver settings.
• BthPS3Installer – WiXSharp-based setup for driver installation and removal.

Licensing

This solution contains BSD‑3‑Clause and MIT licensed components:

• Drivers (BthPS3.sys, BthPS3PSM.sys) – BSD‑3‑Clause
• Installer/Setup (WiXSharp project and assets) – BSD‑3‑Clause
• Userland utilities (BthPS3CfgUI.exe) – MIT

For details, please consult the individual LICENSE files.

This is a community project and is not affiliated with Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. in any way. “PlayStation”, “PSP”, “PS2”, “PS one”, “DUALSHOCK” and “SIXAXIS” are registered trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.

Environment

BthPS3 components can run on Windows 10 version 1507 or newer (x64, ARM64).

Installation

Prebuilt binaries and installation instructions are provided by Nefarius Software Solutions e.U. and are available via the setup. Official support covers Windows 10/11 x64/ARM64 only; issues filed for any other version or architecture will be discarded.

Check out the companion solution DsHidMini for using the controller in games.

How to build

Knowledge of how to build and (test-)sign Windows drivers is required for creating usable builds. This is outside the scope of the project documentation.

Support & documentation

Everything you need to know is documented on the project page. Please read it carefully before considering filing an issue.

Not being able to connect your controller is not a bug report. Read the FAQ and accept what is written there.

     +----------------------+                                +----------------------+
     |    Navigation PDO    +<----------+         +--------->+      Motion PDO      |
     +----------------------+           |         |          +----------------------+
                                        |         |
                                        |         |
                                        |         |
                                        |         |
                                        |         |
+----------------------+          +-----+---------+------+         +----------------------+
|      SIXAXIS PDO     +<---------+ Profile & Bus Driver +-------->+     Wireless PDO     |
+----------------------+          |     (BthPS3.sys)     |         +----------------------+
                                  +----------+-----------+
                                             ^
                                             |
                                             v
                                  +----------+-----------+
                                  | Bluetooth Enumerator |
                                  |    (bthenum.sys)     |
                                  +----------+-----------+
                                             ^
                                             |
                                             v
                                  +----------+-----------+
                                  |     bthport.sys      |
                                  +----------+-----------+
                                             ^
                                             |
                     +-----------------------+-----------------------+
                     |                                               |
                     v                                               v
          +----------+-----------+                        +----------+-----------+
          |      bthusb.sys      |                        |      BthMini.sys     |
          +----------+-----------+                        +----------+-----------+
                     ^                                               ^
                     |                                               |
                     v                                               v
          +----------+-----------+                        +----------+-----------+
          | BthPS3PSM.sys filter |                        | BthPS3PSM.sys filter |
          +----------+-----------+                        +----------+-----------+
                     ^                                               ^
                     |                                               |
                     v                                               v
          +----------+-----------+                        +----------+-----------+
          |       USB Stack      |                        | Vendor transport PDO |
          +----------+-----------+                        | (e.g. iBtPciBus,     |
                     ^                                     |  UART, ...)          |
                     |                                     +----------------------+
                     v
          +----------+-----------+
          | USB Bluetooth dongle |
          +----------------------+

Sources & 3rd‑party credits

This application benefits from these awesome projects ❤ (in no particular order):

• ViGEm Forums - Bluetooth Filter Driver for DS3-compatibility - research notes
• Arduino - felis/USB_Host_Shield_2.0 - PS3 Information
• Emulate HID Device with Windows Desktop
• microsoft/Windows-driver-samples - Bluetooth Echo L2CAP Profile Driver
• Microsoft Bluetooth DDI - Reserved PSMs
• Eleccelerator Wiki - DualShock 3
• Link Manager Protocol (LMP)
• Nefarius' Domito Library
• NUKE Build Automation
• Nefarius.Tools.WDKWhere
• Nefarius.Utilities.Bluetooth
• WixSharp (WixSharp) - managed interface for WiX