Auto-device not working

Submitted by agusluc88 on #1

Hi,

I'm using the 8bitdo controllers on Windows (both server and client) with the latest version of virtualhere. I'm glad to see the support for them as been improved, those updates are very welcome and they work perfectly now even with 2 controllers connected at the same time, but the auto-device and/or auto-port feature for them to connect automatically is not working. For what i can see it resets constantly, so i'm guessing is related to the clunky behaviour of firmware switching in these controllers. Is there anything we can do make the auto connect feature to work with them? having to always have a mouse/keyb at hand to manually connect kinda kills the couch experience.

Thanks!

Submitted by Michael on Mon, 2026/07/27 - 13:06

#2

In the client right click on USB Servers->Advanced Settings->Auto-Use tab

Can you change the Auto-Use Retry Delay to e.g 5 seconds

That might give it time for the 8bitdo to reboot itself and load its firmware. The default is 2s which might not be enough

 

 

Submitted by agusluc88 on Tue, 2026/07/28 - 01:51

#3

Hi Michael, 

Sadly it didnt work, tried different values for both the auto-use and auto-use retry delay but nothing worked. What i noticed is that the auto-use options gets clear/forgotten by the client after the controller connects. The behaviour i'm noticing is the following:

1 - With the controller docked on the charging base (that has the 2.4gz dongle inside it) it shows on the client as "Ultimate 2". I don't connect this device with virtualhere because there is no need for it since it's just charging. Once i pickup the controller, it turns on and the "Ultimate 2" device disappers from the clients and a new device named "8bitdo ultimate 2c controller" shows up.

2 - I click on "auto use device" and the client connects once, disconnects after ~1sec and then it re-connects and stays connected. At that point the controller works just fine but the client already cleared the "auto use device" flag, basically seems that after that initial re-connection the client resets the device settings regarding auto connect.

I also tried to toggle the "auto use device" again once the device is already connected and working, but it also resets the next time i pick up the controller. Same behaviour is observed using "auto use port".

Submitted by Michael on Tue, 2026/07/28 - 07:46

#4

Can you try to use the device via virtualhere then paste in the client System Log (Right click USB Servers->System Message->Copy to Clipboard -> Paste here)

Submitted by agusluc88 on Tue, 2026/07/28 - 13:07

#5

Client logs (looks pretty empty, do i need to set the log level somewhere? i did connect the device)

2026-07-27 23:54:46 INFO  :VirtualHere Client 6.0.1 starting (Compiled: Jun 15 2026 15:32:24)
2026-07-27 23:54:46 INFO  :Client OS is Windows 11 (build 26200), 64-bit edition
2026-07-27 23:54:46 INFO  :Using config at C:\Users\agust\AppData\Roaming\vhui.ini
2026-07-27 23:54:46 INFO  :Administrator mode
2026-07-27 23:54:46 INFO  :IPC available at \\.\pipe\vhclient
2026-07-27 23:54:46 INFO  :Auto-find (Bonjour) on
2026-07-27 23:54:46 INFO  :Auto-find (Bonjour SSL) on
2026-07-27 23:55:12 INFO  :Drivers are up-to-date
2026-07-27 23:55:12 INFO  :Connected to the VirtualHere Client Driver (Version 2)


 

Submitted by Michael on Tue, 2026/07/28 - 13:34

#6

Sorry i forgot to say, Turn on the Auto-Use option . See if it logs extra messages then.

Submitted by agusluc88 on Tue, 2026/07/28 - 14:32

#7

Nope, nothing new on the logs

Some patterns i noticed:

1: Auto-Use Device -> connects -> disconnects -> reconnects -> device works but Auto-Use wont work next time

2: Auto-Use Device -> connects -> disconnects -> reconnects -> Enable Auto-Use again -> device works and Auto-Use works as long as i dont restart virtualhere's client. If i restart the virtualhere client, auto-use device stop working again

The disconnect -> reconnect it's automatic, it does this every time with these controllers. The auto-use works fine with other devices (e.g logitech g932 wheel)

Submitted by Michael on Tue, 2026/07/28 - 15:03

#8

What about "Auto-Use all on this Server"?

Submitted by agusluc88 on Wed, 2026/07/29 - 07:32

#9

same result, logs not showing any additional error/debug lines.

Submitted by agusluc88 on Wed, 2026/07/29 - 12:05

#11

that worked great Michael, thanks! now the auto-use works even across client reboots. 

I will keep using this one for now, do you plan to merge this changes into the main release with maybe a toggle on the settings to force the auto-use?

Submitted by Michael on Wed, 2026/07/29 - 16:16

#12

I will add it in the next build of the client...