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Wii Controllers

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hifihedgehog edited this page Jun 19, 2026 · 2 revisions

Wii Controllers

Pair a Wii Remote, Nunchuk, Classic Controller, or Wii U Pro Controller over Bluetooth and map it like any other pad.

The Pair a Controller dialog scanning for a Wii controller

Windows cannot pair a Wii controller on its own. The controller's Bluetooth PIN is six raw bytes, not a typed string, and the right bytes depend on which sync button you press. PadForge runs the whole handshake with a Win32 Bluetooth flow, so you pair from inside the app.

Pairing a Wii controller

  1. Open the Devices page.
  2. Click Pair, next to Refresh. The Pair a Controller dialog opens.
  3. Leave Controller Family on Nintendo Wii (the only entry today).
  4. Press the red SYNC button under the battery cover on the back of the controller.
  5. The controller appears in the found-controllers list while the progress ring spins. Select it and click Pair.
  6. On success, Cancel becomes Done. Click it to close.

Pressing SYNC bonds the controller. You pair once, and it reconnects on any button press afterward.

Temporary pairing

Check Temporary Pairing (Hold 1 and 2) before you scan, then hold the 1 and 2 buttons instead of pressing SYNC. This pairs for the current session only. It does not bond the controller, so you re-pair the next time.

Supported controllers

PadForge reads all four forms through SDL's hidapi_wii driver. Each maps as a normal pad on the Mappings tab.

Controller Layout
Wii Remote / Wii Remote Plus 11 buttons on the MISC slots (the remote has no face buttons): A, B, 1, 2, +, -, Home, and the four D-Pad directions.
Wii Remote + Nunchuk The same 11 MISC buttons, plus the Nunchuk stick on Left X/Y, the C button on Left Shoulder, and the Z button on Left Trigger.
Classic Controller Standard gamepad layout.
Wii U Pro Controller Standard gamepad layout.

Attach or detach a Nunchuk while the remote stays connected and PadForge re-identifies the controller without a restart.

Motion

The Wii Remote's accelerometer and the Wii Motion Plus gyro flow through the same sensor pipeline as any other motion pad. Gyro-to-mouse, gyro-to-stick, and motion mapping all work. See Gyro for calibration, sensitivity, and the engage controls.

Not yet supported

These Wii features are out of scope for 3.5.0. They are tracked in issue #146 for a later release:

  • The IR camera as a mouse or right-stick pointer.
  • The Wii Remote speaker as a feedback channel.
  • The Wii Balance Board as an input device.

Requirements

  • A Bluetooth radio. The Wii controller connects over Bluetooth, so the PC needs a working adapter.
  • PadForge runs elevated. The Windows Bluetooth stack writes the link key itself, so nothing touches the registry.

Related pages

  • Devices: the Pair button and the paired controller's device card.
  • Gyro: tune the Wii Remote's motion sensors.
  • Driver Management: HIDMaestro and HidHide driver setup.

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