PS3 Controller Setup - UUID number not displaying after connect successful

Hi there!

I folowed the instructions and had no problems until I got to this part:

We need to use the connect command with the MAC address shown, in our example:
connect 38:C0:96:5C:C6:60
You are trying to get the Bluetooth to try a connection and get a UUID number.
This may take several attempts, you can repeat the command using ↑ then ENTER.
When it works you should see something like this:
Attempting to connect to 38:C0:96:5C:C6:60
[CHG] Device 38:C0:96:5C:C6:60 Modalias: usb:v054Cp0268d0100
[CHG] Device 38:C0:96:5C:C6:60 UUIDs:
00001124-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
00001200-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
Failed to connect: org.bluez.Error.Failed

After it connects I see this:
[CHG] Device 01:A2:88:78:63:25 Connected: yes

But nothing happens after that. It will eventually disconnect, then I'll reconnect and after about 10 tries I decided to get on the forum to look for an answer. Any idea what mighy be the issue?

piborg's picture

From memory you need to see the UUIDs to get past this point:
[CHG] Device 38:C0:96:5C:C6:60 Connected: no

Since you are already getting Connected: yes I believe that you are already past this point.

You should be able to continue from the next step (trust) and it should be fine.
It is possible the PS3 controller is already connected properly, you may be able to skip to the reboot stage already.

Hi !

I have the same problem here. The UUIDs: never appear. When I continue with the trust step it says:
[CHG] Device A0:E3:00:2C:C6:56 Trusted: yes
Changing A0:E3:00:2C:C6:56 trust succeeded
but the PS3 controller won't connect :-(

piborg's picture

Since the trust command worked then there is no need to see the UUIDs.
They are only required for the trust command, the fact it has worked suggests that they are either not required, or the Raspberry Pi has already stored them.

What is actually happening when you try and connect the PS3 controller.
In particular:

  1. What do the LEDs on the front of the controller do?
  2. Are you using Raspbian Jessie or Wheezy?
  3. What does ls /dev/input/js* output after trying to connect?
  4. Have you used sixad to connect the PS3 controller before this?

1. All LEDs flash.
2. Jessie
3. No joystick
4. Yes! I have done all steps from here : https://www.piborg.org/rpi-ps3-help

>> Once you have logged back in press the PS button to test the connection.
The LEDs should briefly flash, then just one LED should remain lit. <<

This will not work for me. All LEDs flash. When I connect the USB cable the LEDs stops flashing and one LED remain lit. I can use the PS3 controller without problem but with the cable connected :-(

piborg's picture

We only recommend using sixad with Wheezy, we found it was very unreliable getting it to work correctly when using Jessie.

My guess is that if you went through both the Jessie and Wheezy instructions on that page and the two methods are interfering with each other.
I would suggest trying to disable sixad and see if the problem goes away:

sudo sixad --stop
sudo sixad --boot-no
sudo reboot

Then try connecting again.

It is also possible that the pairing might need to be repeated.
This usually happens if you plug the controller into a PS3 to charge, causing the controller to pair with the console.

I made a new setup with Wheezy without luck. But I think the problem is my PS3 controller.
Bought as genuine Sony PS3 controller on ebay but its a Chinese fake :-(

piborg's picture

That is a bit of bad luck :(

Usually the fake controllers work okay, but the button arrangement is different.
i guess in this case the controller behaves in such a way that it does not appear the same on the Bluetooth.

As a last ditch suggestion have you tried leavig the controller to charge overnight?
We have seen a few controllers misbehave like this and the problem went away after it was fully charged up first.

Murphy's law ...
... Whatever can go wrong will go wrong. :-)

I will try to charge overnight. Did the lights stop blinking when it's full charged ... ?

piborg's picture

From memory the LEDs blink while charging, then they stop blinking when fully charged.

We have found that the mobile phone style wall chargers may not work properly as chargers.
Plugging the controller into a PC USB socket has worked every time for us though.

We did have a completely flat controller that had to be left in for a while before the blinking started.

48h charging didn't help :-( and never stop blinking ...
So I bought a new cheap one in the local store. http://www.gioteck.com/controllers/vx-2/
Works nearly perfect. I have to change the settings for the joystick.
Left and right stick works fine. Slow and fast turn has no function. ( or I have to find the button :-)

piborg's picture

That's great to hear :)

I know when we have tried non-Sony controllers before they worked, but many of the buttons were not the same.
You can either play around until you find the buttons which do the tank steering and the slow speed mode, or change the script to work with the correct buttons.

To find out which number the buttons use you can run:
jstest /dev/input/js0
When you press the button one of the values should change from off to on.
The nuumber to the left of the off/on is the value to put in the script.

Thats already changed, was easy :-)

Next step should be to put in some extra function.
Like:
- Turn on/off lights.
- integrate ultrasonic module ...

I think i'ts a great way of learning Python :-)
I’ll be amazed at how easy it was to pickup some basics with your help. Thanks again !

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