How To Switch Your Stadia Controller To Bluetooth (And Why You Need To Act Fast)

Former Google Stadia customers are probably still feeling the sting of betrayal. If you don't know, Stadia was the search giant's short-lived foray into the video games streaming space, an increasingly crowded market that may be the future of gaming. Subscribers were sent a physical controller which could be connected to a TV, Chromecast, or another supported device to play games over the internet. 

When it launched, SlashGear's Eric Abent gave Stadia a hard pass, predicting a high likelihood it wouldn't last. Those concerns were echoed in our full Stadia review. Sure enough, as part of a frustrating trend of canceled Google products, the company pulled the plug on Stadia. Game over. Subscribers enticed by the promise of affordable gaming without an expensive console or PC were left holding not a bag, but a controller.

If you're one of the reportedly few folks who got taken for a ride by Stadia, here's a PSA — your Stadia controller will soon be defunct, and you've got a limited window to rescue it. After launching in 2019, Google was reportedly unhappy with the number of users who signed up for Stadia. Rather than nurturing the project, Google did what it tends to do in these situations and sent it to meet the firing squad in January 2023. Subscribers got to keep their controllers and were refunded for them, along with the cost of games and DLC. 

However, the controllers aren't useful without Stadia, so Google released a tool to convert them into generic gamepads. There's a deadline to convert yours, though. Here's how to do so, and what you need to know.

By now, it's well known that Google often cancels useful products that users come to rely on. From Google Podcasts to Google Play Music, many users of the search giant's services have been burned when the company abruptly closed them down. However, Stadia stands out from the pack by being one of the rare Google products that came with a physical item  — that controller. It's a pretty decent controller, but you won't be able to use it much longer unless you go to a special Google website and convert it to a generic Xinput controller.

The Stadia controller was designed to work over Wi-Fi, as Google believed this would cut down on input lag, but PCs and game consoles need controllers to work over Bluetooth. So, Google released a tool to let owners switch their gamepads over to a standard Xinput (Xbox style) Bluetooth controller. Originally, Google planned to deprecate the conversion tool, along with any controllers not yet switched over, at the end of 2024. However, that webpage has been updated to state that the conversion tool will remain available for yet another year, extending your window to rescue any Stadia controllers in your possession through the end of 2025.

Switching your controller to Bluetooth is permanent, but that's fine, as the controller will otherwise be useless. Once you've gone through the process, you can use the Stadia gamepad with any device that supports generic controllers.

To convert your Google Stadia controller into Bluetooth mode, you'll need several things, beginning with the fully controller itself. You also need a USB-C cable, a Mac or PC with the latest version of Google Chrome installed, and an internet connection. With everything gathered, follow these steps.

1. Connect your controller to your computer with the USB cable.
2. Go to https://stadia.google.com/controller/ and click on Switch to Bluetooth mode. You do not need to be signed into a Google account. From here, you can continue to follow our guide, or simply let Google's tool guide you.
3. Click the Start button and agree to the terms of service by checking the box and then clicking Start.
4. Click on Allow Chrome to Verify. A dropdown menu will appear, and your controller should show up there. Click the controller to highlight it, then click Connect.
5. You should be prompted to take a series of actions with the controller: unplug your controller, hold down the options button (the one with three dots) while plugging it back in, and finally, press the options button, Google Assistant button, A, and Y all at the same time. On MacOS, a popup will appear  — click allow.
6. Click Next Step.
7. Click Allow Chrome to download, then select SP Blank RT Family from the ensuing popup, and click Connect. The software will download, which may take a minute. When the screen says Download complete, click Next step.
8. Click Allow Chrome to install, then click on USB COMPOSITE DEVICE from the popup and click Connect. The firmware will install. Do not unplug the controller or turn off the computer. Once it installs, you're good to go!

Once you've converted your Stadia controller to Bluetooth mode, you can use it like a regular Xinput controller. It's a pretty nice controller, with precise sticks, tactile buttons, and a PlayStation style layout despite running on the more universal Xinput standard. It has a decent haptic motor for rumble effects, and fits comfortably in most hands. It can be used with a PC, iOS, or Android device just like any other controller you might own. You can connect it to a device either with a USB-C cable, or by pairing it with Bluetooth.

To connect the Stadia controller to a device with a USB-C cable, simply plug it in and the device should immediately recognize it. To connect via Bluetooth, press and hold Y and the Stadia button (located between the joysticks) for two seconds to enter pairing mode. The status light will flash orange. Next, navigate to the Bluetooth pairing menu on your device and select it from the list of available devices. The device name should begin with "Stadia," sometimes followed by a string of seemingly random numbers and letters. Once paired, the light on the controller's Stadia button will turn solid white.

If you have any issues, you can reboot the controller by holding the Stadia button until it turns off, then pressing it again until it turns on. If problems persist, you can reset the controller by pressing the Google Assistant and Capture buttons at the same time for six seconds until it resets. You will feel vibrations confirming the reset.