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Original Steam Link Hardware – DualSense CFI-ZCT2W (V6) Bluetooth Reconnect Bug
Hello,

I would like to report what appears to be a Bluetooth compatibility issue between the original Steam Link hardware and the newer PlayStation 5 DualSense controller.

Steam Link

- Device: Original Steam Link hardware
- Firmware: Beta Release 924

Controllers Tested

Controller 1 (Works Correctly)

- Model: CFI-ZCT1W
- Result: Works perfectly over Bluetooth. Pairs, reconnects, wakes the Steam Link, and all inputs function normally every time.

Controller 2 (Problem)

- Model: CFI-ZCT2W
- Internal revision: V6 (serial begins with E6620)
- Firmware: Updated to the latest available version.
- Purchased new from Amazon.

Problem Description

The CFI-ZCT2W controller pairs successfully the first time and works normally.

After turning the controller off and reconnecting:

- The Steam Link wakes up correctly.
- The Steam Link reports the controller as connected.
- The controller LED indicates it is connected.
- However, no buttons, analog sticks, triggers, or touchpad respond.
- The controller is completely unresponsive until it is connected via USB-C.

Troubleshooting Already Performed

- Removed and re-paired the controller.
- Factory reset the controller using the rear reset button.
- Updated the controller firmware.
- Updated the Steam Link to Beta Release 924.
- Tested with only one controller paired.
- Confirmed USB-C connection works immediately.
- Compared with an older CFI-ZCT1W controller, which continues to reconnect perfectly over Bluetooth under identical conditions.

Expected Behavior

The CFI-ZCT2W controller should reconnect over Bluetooth and function normally after waking the Steam Link, just as the older CFI-ZCT1W controller does.

Actual Behavior

Bluetooth reconnect appears successful, but no controller input is received until the controller is connected via USB.

Because the older DualSense works flawlessly on the same Steam Link with the same firmware and settings, this appears to be a compatibility issue specific to newer CFI-ZCT2W/V6 DualSense hardware.

Thank you for taking the time to investigate this issue.
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Showing 1-6 of 6 comments
_I_
Aug 10 @ 3:14am 
can you post the usb vid/pid of the controller that works and one that does not work?
#1
Packetdancer  [developer]
Aug 10 @ 1:12pm 
My initial gut reaction is that the newer DualSense may be using data length extensions.

The OG Link hardware is so old the Bluetooth stack cannot be updated to support some of the newer Bluetooth features; it's the reason the newer Steam Controller needs to use the puck to connect rather than Bluetooth. (As the newer Steam Controller *also* uses Bluetooth DLE.)

That said, yeah, if you can get the VID/PID, it'll help get ahold of one for testing purposes. *Hopefully* I'm wrong and it's just a minor protocol change...
#2
_I_
Aug 12 @ 9:13am 
thats part of the bt rev
the link has an old bt module, the controller should be using the older bt standard
#3
Packetdancer  [developer]
Aug 14 @ 3:48pm 
Originally posted by _I_:
the link has an old bt module

Oh, trust me, I am *very* well aware. But the original DualSense uses Bluetooth 5 (e.g. BLE), rather than the really old legacy Bluetooth functionality. Which makes me wonder if the new DualSense is using Bluetooth extensions the old one did not... like data length extensions, because it would be beneficial to the DualSense. (Just like it was to the newer Steam Controller.)

Anyway, I have one of the newer DualSense controllers en route, so next week I can poke at the controller to see what changed instead of just taking guesses. :)
#4
Packetdancer  [developer]
Aug 24 @ 11:32am 
Originally posted by ImCrazyOne:
I would like to report what appears to be a Bluetooth compatibility issue between the original Steam Link hardware and the newer PlayStation 5 DualSense controller.

Okay, I got ahold of a CFI-ZCT2W -- good news is that it doesn't seem to use Data Length Extensions, which means there's no reason it shouldn't work with the OG Link! So my fear that it was not doing DLE for the first session after pairing and then was trying to use it for later connections (which, sadly, I have seen at least one controller do) is unfounded.

The bad news is that I cannot reproduce your issue at all.

I've tested currently with it out-of-box (no firmware updates), and it works fine with the OG Link. I paired, powered off the controller, powered it back on, and it connected and worked fine.

I then powered off the link, waited, and turned the DualSense back on, and it properly woke the Link.. though the DualSense then promptly powered off, but that was because I had not noticed it was out of charge. When I connected it to a wall outlet (not the Link) to get power, it connected and stayed connected just fine.

A second one is on the way, so we'll leave the second one on out-of-box firmware, and I'm going to take this one home tonight to connect to my PS5 to update to the latest available firmware, and then I'll see if the behavior differs at all.
#5
Packetdancer  [developer]
Aug 25 @ 2:25pm 
After updating the CFI-XCT2W firmware, I see that when I wake-on-Bluetooth the OG Link, the DualSense's connection times out before the Link finishes booting enough to connect. It seems like it's waiting a WAY shorter time than it did on the original out-of-box firmware.

However, once the Link finished booting, turning the DualSense back on connected and worked just fine. So I can't reproduce the issue as described (though I can reproduce part of it).

I wonder if there was a firmware between the out-of-box one I first tested with and whatever the PS5 installed on the controller last night, which had some sort of weird connection timeout issue.

Can you check if there's a newer firmware for the CFI-ZCT2W than the one you're using, and if so, see if you still see the problem?
#6
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Steam Link > General Discussions > Topic Details
Date Posted: Aug 7 @ 10:00am
Posts: 6
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