dvdhrm/xwiimote — Issue #3: HOWTO: Troubleshooting XWiimote
Author: dvdhrm
Created: 2011-12-28 13:14:22+00:00
State: open

# Troubleshooting XWiimote

As we are getting several reports from people having problems connecting to their Wii Remote, this is a collection of links to sites explaining the XWiimote software stack.

* [Arch Linux XWiimote Wiki Article](http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/XWiimote): Probably the only resource about the XWiimote tools, yet. It explains how to set up BlueZ and the wiimote plugin under Arch Linux but should apply to other distributions as well.
* [XWiimote README](https://github.com/dvdhrm/xwiimote/blob/master/README): More technical information about the XWiimote software stack. Useful for people who want to develop applications using the XWiimote tools.

The XWiimote tools are still under development. Feel free to open bug-reports, we need all kind of feedback! If you have other useful links, add a comment to this issue.

## Using XWiimote

Following, your can find some short HOWTOs for XWiimote. I recommend reading the [Arch Linux XWiimote Wiki Article](http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/XWiimote) for more detailed non-technical tutorials.

### Connecting to your Wii Remote

Starting with bluez-4.96 Wii Remotes can be connected like any other Bluetooth device. The BlueZ package includes a wiimote plugin which handles all Wii Remote peculiarities for you. The plugin is enabled on Arch Linux by default, other distributions might need to add `--enable-wiimote` to the configure-flags of BlueZ to include the wiimote plugin.

If you cannot connect your Wii Remote, please fill a bug report on GitHub or answer on this issue. Try to include the following information (you may omit it if you cannot find it):

* BlueZ version (something like 4.96)
* Output of `grep wiimote $(which bluetoothd)` or `grep wiimote /usr/sbin/bluetoothd`
* What tool are you using to connect your Wii Remote? (blueman, gnome-bluetooth, ...)
* Output of `cat /var/lib/bluetooth//did` of all your bluetooth controllers (i.e. all directories inside /var/lib/bluetooth)
* Bluetooth address of your Wii Remote (e.g. 00:1E:35:3B:7E:6D) You can find this with `hcitool scan` while putting your Wii Remote into discoverable state (pressing buttons 1+2).

### Using 3rd Party Wii Remotes

We do not own all kinds of 3rd party Wii Remotes which are available out there. However, if you own one which does not work with XWiimote, please open a bug-report and we will figure out how to support it.

### How to change the button mapping

The mapping of the kernel module cannot be changed. However, we are currently working on tools which emulate a mouse/keyboard/controller with the Wii Remote and allow arbitrary button mappings. They may be made available soon.