Another reconnection issue...

[JabberwockPL]

It seems the issue has reappeared, in spite of me having the latest version (with the [https://github.com//pull/257] fix). On first connection everything works, after resetting it cannot reconnect again... One curious thing is that it seems that it actually does reconnect, as the gamepad is seen both in BT devices and in game controllers window, but it drops the connection after a few seconds. What can I do to help debug it?

I was testing with Single Button, to make sure my code does not introduce any problems.

[QuiNz0r]

Same for me. Any help? Esp32-c3 espressif. Testing gamepad example on windows 11: first connect fine. Remove power of esp: power on again: reconnect loop

Update: tested with a different esp32-c3 clone on another win 10 machine and it works flawlessly wtf. My windows 11 has no internet and a usb BT stick while my working machine has onboard BT and internet.

Driver/hardware issue?

Update2: if I let it fight for like 5-10 reconnects it actually establishes a connection and works 🤣 super annoying tho

[QuiNz0r]

Oh btw because last time it was something with Windows notifications: I don't get any Windows notifications when it's connecting on my win11 machine. I get them on my win10 machine where it works.

[LeeNX]

I don't use Windows much and with BLE Gamepads even less, so I don't have much info or help on the Windows side, but one could turn up the logging and debugging in the ``sketch``` and trying to see if it's the BLE device or Host that is kicking or not showing info.

I use the Arduino IDE very little, so I am not sure where to bump the debugging logs, in PlatformIO you can setup per project and even per ESP32 chip. In your platformio.ini

[env:lolin_c3_mini]
platform = espressif32
board = lolin_c3_mini
; change microcontroller
board_build.mcu = esp32c3
; change MCU frequency
#board_build.f_cpu = 160000000L
framework = arduino
build_flags = 
  -D ARDUINO_USB_MODE=1
  -D ARDUINO_USB_CDC_ON_BOOT=1
  -D CORE_DEBUG_LEVEL=5
  -D BLE_GAMEPAD_DEBUG=1
monitor_speed = 115200
upload_speed = 115200
lib_deps = 
#	lemmingdev/ESP32-BLE-Gamepad@^0.7.3
#	h2zero/NimBLE-Arduino@^2.3.6
	lemmingdev/ESP32-BLE-Gamepad
	h2zero/NimBLE-Arduino

The build_flags are the part I use.

Other things to try and document, is what versions of the framework, lemmingdev/ESP32-BLE-Gamepad and h2zero/NimBLE-Arduino.

What I don't know if we could really help with, is what version of Windows, drivers or BlueTooth hardware is a problem or show this problem. I hope we can find some info that can help with this problem, please let us know your progress.

Maybe a running project could be useful - https://gitlab.com/leet/ble-gamepad-collection/-/tree/main/platformio/esp32blegamepad-blink-test-hid-output?ref_type=heads

[QuiNz0r]

Sorry I can only use arduino IDE.

New finding: With the last version before the NimBLE switch, it works flawlessly.
Is there a way to use the newer versions of this lib without NimBLE?

[QuiNz0r]

I don't use Windows much and with BLE Gamepads even less, so I don't have much info or help on the Windows side, but one could turn up the logging and debugging in the ``sketch``` and trying to see if it's the BLE device or Host that is kicking or not showing info.

I use the Arduino IDE very little, so I am not sure where to bump the debugging logs, in PlatformIO you can setup per project and even per ESP32 chip. In your platformio.ini

[env:lolin_c3_mini]
platform = espressif32
board = lolin_c3_mini
; change microcontroller
board_build.mcu = esp32c3
; change MCU frequency
#board_build.f_cpu = 160000000L
framework = arduino
build_flags =
-D ARDUINO_USB_MODE=1
-D ARDUINO_USB_CDC_ON_BOOT=1
-D CORE_DEBUG_LEVEL=5
-D BLE_GAMEPAD_DEBUG=1
monitor_speed = 115200
upload_speed = 115200
lib_deps =

lemmingdev/ESP32-BLE-Gamepad@^0.7.3

h2zero/NimBLE-Arduino@^2.3.6

lemmingdev/ESP32-BLE-Gamepad
h2zero/NimBLE-Arduino

The build_flags are the part I use.

Other things to try and document, is what versions of the framework, lemmingdev/ESP32-BLE-Gamepad and h2zero/NimBLE-Arduino.

What I don't know if we could really help with, is what version of Windows, drivers or BlueTooth hardware is a problem or show this problem. I hope we can find some info that can help with this problem, please let us know your progress.

Maybe a running project could be useful - https://gitlab.com/leet/ble-gamepad-collection/-/tree/main/platformio/esp32blegamepad-blink-test-hid-output?ref_type=heads

everything newest version with default gamepad example.

[LeeNX]

There was some work on having both libraries supported, but was not completed - #196

With even espressif/arduino-esp32#9878 which looks like espressif/arduino-esp32 is moving toward NimBLE-Arduino as been the default BLE stacking, did not seem worth spending more effort on a stack that was becoming less relevant.

I am sure updated working PR(s) would be accepted, I don't believe anybody else is working on this as a feature.

If this is for a once-off project, that does not need any of the newer features, I think Windows 11 reconnection issue is solved, but if there is a bug(s) in any part of the stack we could try and resolve, we would need more debugging info, as I don't have this problem and not aware of anybody that I could work with to try and make any progress.

A little searching and I see you can increase the debug level

To set the Core Debug Level:
Open the Arduino IDE.
Select your board from the Tools > Board menu (e.g., "ESP32 Dev Module").
Navigate to Tools > Core Debug Level and choose the desired level of debugging output.
This setting is particularly useful for troubleshooting issues with the underlying Arduino core functionality when developing for ESP-based boards. Remember that higher debug levels (like Debug or Verbose) can generate a large amount of output, potentially affecting performance or making it harder to find specific information.

As for version details, I would suggest listing the version numbers or if there is no version details, you could list the git commit hash. Would making replicating the environment with the fault easier. Using the idea of the latest of something might not be the same for all build environments.

[wipmate]

I was just encountering a similar issue, in my case I had to enable the NimBLE flag BT_NIMBLE_NVS_PERSIST to make bonding persistent across device reboots. I am using ESP-IDF though, so I am not sure whether this solution is applicable to the Arduino IDE at all.