8BitDo controller test. Which mode it is in.
Most 8BitDo controllers have several modes, chosen by a switch or a button held at power-on, and in some of them the pad presents itself as another maker's controller. The browser then lists it under that maker's number, which is the quickest way to tell which mode it is in. This page reads that number, links to what the browser can do in that mode, and measures how often the pad's data arrives.
One check · Five seconds a reading
Asks for: A controller, and a button press. It runs in its own window and nothing leaves this page.
In short
8BitDo controller test: the answer first
The quickest way to see which mode an 8BitDo controller is in is the vendor number the computer sees: 045e when it presents as an Xbox pad, 057e in Switch mode, and 8BitDo's own 2dc8 in its own modes. This page reads that number, then measures the pad's update interval and drift.
Reading your result
- The number changes with the mode
- Change mode, reconnect, press a button, and the vendor number on the page changes with it.
- WebHID depends on the mode
- In some modes the pad is a HID device and appears in the WebHID list; in a mode that presents as a wired Xbox pad it may not.
- Receiver or cable
- The receiver is a link of its own. Measure on each and compare.
What it measures
Measured here, not assumed.
- The mode, from the number
- 8BitDo's own vendor number, 2dc8, means the pad is in one of its own modes. Microsoft's 045e means it presents as an Xbox pad, the usual X-input mode on Windows; Nintendo's 057e means its Switch mode. The page shows the number and the family it matches.
- Gamepad API interval
- Every change of Gamepad.timestamp while you roll a stick for five seconds, capped by Chrome and Edge's 4 ms polling.
- WebHID report interval
- Where the pad is a HID device in its current mode, Chrome and Edge list it and the page counts its own reports. In a mode that presents as a wired Xbox pad it may not be HID, and will not appear.
- Drift at rest
- The gamepad tester's reading, against our 8 percent dead zone.
If it fails
The usual failures, and what fixes each.
- Buttons are mapped wrongly in a game
- Switch the pad to X-input mode, which most PC games expect. The button or switch for it is in the model's manual on 8BitDo's support site; the page confirms the change when the vendor number becomes 045e.
- Not seen at all
- Some modes are for other systems. Change mode, reconnect and press a button on the page. Update the firmware with 8BitDo's Ultimate Software or Firmware Updater if the pad still does not appear.
- Drifts or reads off centre
- Many 8BitDo models offer stick calibration in their software or by a button combination in the manual. Calibrate, then read drift again here.
Where a browser stops
What it cannot tell you.
- The model name. Product numbers differ by model and mode, and the page does not keep a table it cannot source; it shows the numbers as given.
- The 2.4 GHz receiver's own mode, which is set on the receiver and may differ from the pad's.
- Input lag, which needs a camera or a photodiode.
Privacy
Nothing leaves this page.
The camera and microphone are read on this page and stopped as soon as they have been measured. The clip you can play back lives in the browser's memory and is discarded when you leave. The location check discards the position. The internet test sends random bytes to this site and nothing else. The result is stored nowhere unless you ask for it by email, and then only the fact that an email was sent is kept.
Questions
8BitDo controller test, answered
- How do I know which mode my 8BitDo controller is in?
- Open the test above and press a button. If the vendor number is 045e it presents as an Xbox pad (X-input); 057e is its Switch mode; 2dc8 is one of 8BitDo's own modes, such as D-input.
- Which 8BitDo mode is best on a PC?
- X-input is what most PC games expect, because it presents as an Xbox controller. D-input can expose extra buttons to software that reads them.
- Does the receiver change the polling rate?
- It can: the receiver is its own link. Measure with the pad on the receiver, then on a cable, and compare the two intervals.
- Why does my 8BitDo show up as an Xbox controller?
- In X-input mode it presents itself as one, so games that expect an Xbox pad work without setup. The vendor number on this page confirms it.
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