How to Pair Your Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons with a Windows 11 PC
Thinking of linking your Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons to a Windows 11 PC? It can be a bit tricky at first, but it’s completely doable—and once set up, opens up a whole new range of gaming options. Just a touch of patience often does the trick.
First off, make sure Bluetooth is switched on. Sounds simple, but if your PC doesn’t have Bluetooth functionality, this process can’t get off the ground. To check, press the Windows key, then go to Settings. Tap on Devices, and you’ll see an option for Bluetooth & other devices. Turn that Bluetooth toggle to On. If you prefer a quicker route, open the Action Center by clicking the network, volume, and battery icons in the bottom right corner—look for the Bluetooth icon there.
What if Bluetooth still isn’t working? You can verify it’s active via PowerShell. Open PowerShell and type:
powercfg /list
This shows your power plans, but unfortunately doesn’t give a direct command to activate Bluetooth. If you’re having trouble, check the Device Manager. Right-click the Windows key, select Device Manager, find the Bluetooth section, and ensure your Bluetooth adapter isn’t disabled. That often causes the connection hiccup.
Next, prepare your Joy-Con. If you’ve used it with your Switch recently, detach it first. Find the tiny black sync button on the Joy-Con (usually near the shoulder button) and hold it until the LEDs start flashing—that’s the green light indicating it’s searching for a device.
With your Joy-Con in pairing mode, head back to Windows Bluetooth settings. Click on Add Bluetooth or other device, then select Bluetooth. Windows will now scan for nearby devices. Within moments, your Joy-Con should appear—likely listed as just Joy-Con or maybe Joy-Con (L). If there’s more than one in pairing mode, they might show up separately—pair each one individually.
Tap the Joy-Con name that appears. Your PC will start connecting, and if all goes well, you’ll see a message confirming the connection. It should now show as Connected in the Bluetooth menu.
To ensure everything’s spot-on, double-check in Device Manager that it appears under either Human Interface Devices or Bluetooth. If you see warning icons, the connection might not be fully successful.
If the Joy-Con refuses to connect, try re-pairing it or restarting the Bluetooth service. To do this in PowerShell, run:
Get-Service bthserv | Restart-Service
A quick restart like this often sorts out stubborn connections.
Once set up, these controllers can make gaming on your PC a lot more comfortable. For better compatibility and customization, programs like DS4Windows or BetterJoy can help—Windows often treats Joy-Cons as standard input devices, but these tools let you tweak controls and optimise performance.
In short, connecting Joy-Cons isn’t complicated, but it can take a couple of tries. Just remember to turn on Bluetooth, put your controllers in pairing mode, and double-check your settings if things don’t go smoothly.
Checklist:
– Bluetooth enabled?
– Joy-Con in pairing mode?
– Detected in Bluetooth settings?
– Successfully connected?
Hopefully, this saves someone a few hours of frustration!