This article discusses how to connect Switch controllers to your Windows PC if you want to use this setup with the emulator or indie game of your choice. You can pair Joy-Cons to any version of Windows, but the drivers work best with Windows 11 and 10.

How to Use Joy-Cons on a Windows PC

To connect your Joy-Cons, your PC must support Bluetooth. Joy-Cons rely on Bluetooth, so without this feature, you can’t connect them. If your PC lacks Bluetooth, you’ll need to add a Bluetooth adapter.

If your PC has Bluetooth, you have two options:

• Use each Joy-Con individually: You will use each Joy-Con in the sideways configuration as a standalone wireless controller. This is good for two player action and retro style games.
• Use the Joy-Cons as one controller: This allows you to use the Joy-Cons together as a single controller, and it’s best for modern games that require two analog sticks.

We’ll guide you through connecting your Joy-Cons to your PC via Bluetooth and using them with BetterJoy. BetterJoy, available for free on GitHub, lets you use your Joy-Cons individually or as a single controller.

How to Connect Joy-Cons to Your Windows PC

To use your Joy-Cons on your PC, you need to connect them first. Simply pair each Joy-Con with your PC via Bluetooth. Once connected, you can proceed to use BetterJoy or any alternative to configure your Joy-Cons for PC games and emulators.

1. Click Start, and navigate to Settings > Devices > Bluetooth, and, if the toggle is set to off (as pictured), click the Bluetooth toggle to turn it on.

2. Click Add Bluetooth or other device.

3. Hold down the sync button on your Joy-Con until the lights start flashing.

   You can find the sync button on the connector rail between the SL and SR buttons.

4. Click Bluetooth.

5. Click Joy-Con (L) or Joy-Con (R) when it appears in the Bluetooth devices menu.

6. Wait for the Joy-Con to connect, and then repeat this process if you also want to pair the other one.

How to Use Your Joy-Cons as Controllers on a PC

Once you have successfully paired your Joy-Cons to your PC, you’ll have to provide some method for the PC to understand the inputs from each controller. There are a lot of solutions to this problem, but we’ll show you how to get things working with BetterJoy. This method allows you to easily switch between using the Joy-Cons as separate controllers or together as a single controller.

1. Download BetterJoy from this GitHub repo.

   Download the most recent version. Use the x64 version if your operating system is 64-bit, or the x86 version if your operating system is 32-bit. If you aren’t sure, check out how to tell if you have Windows 64-bit.

2. Extract the files to the folder of your choice, open the drivers subfolder, and run ViGEmBUS_Setup as administrator. This will launch an install wizard that installs the necessary drivers.

3. After you have finished installing the drivers, return to the main BetterJoy folder and run BetterJoyForCemu as administrator.

4. BetterJoy will recognize your paired Joy-Cons. To use the Joy-Cons as separate controllers, click one of the Joy-Con icons. Doing so will rotate the icons to display the Joy-Cons in a horizontal orientation. To switch back to using them as a single controller, click either icon again.

About Joy-Con Controllers

The Joy-Con consists of two controllers that can be used together. They connect to the Switch via Bluetooth, allowing you to also connect them to your PC for emulator or indie games. When finished, you can reconnect your Switch controllers to your Switch.