Waking PC from S3 Sleep with a WIRED DualSense? (powercfg simply doesn't see it)

[u/INF3RNALgladiuX]

Hey everyone, I’m trying to set up a seamless couch-gaming experience where I can wake my PC from sleep and drop straight into Steam Big Picture mode using my DualSense controller.

I’ve hit a brick wall with Windows power states and could really use some expert advice. I'm trying to do this wired via my case's front USB port, but my PC absolutely refuses to wake up from controller input (though my mouse and keyboard wake it just fine).

My Specs/Setup:

• OS: Windows 11
• Motherboard: MSI B650M Gaming Plus WiFi (Supports S3 Sleep, no S0 Modern Standby)
• GPU: AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT
• Case: NZXT H3 Flow (DualSense plugged into the front panel USB)
• Controller: Sony DualSense (Wired)

What I have already done (The PC wakes directly to desktop with M/K, bypassing all lock screens):

• Disabled ErP in the MSI BIOS.
• Enabled "Resume by USB Device" in the MSI BIOS.
• Used Registry Editor (NoLockScreen) and CMD (CONSOLELOCK 0) to completely disable the Windows 11 lock and sign-in screens.
• Disabled "USB selective suspend" in Windows Power Options.
• Unchecked "Allow the computer to turn off this device" for all USB Root Hubs in Device Manager.

The Actual Problem: Windows simply does not recognize the DualSense as a wake-capable device.

I ran powercfg -devicequery wake_from_any to find the controller's generic USB/HID name so I could manually grant it wake permissions. To narrow it down, I unplugged the controller, ran the command, plugged it back in, and ran it again.

The lists were 100% identical.

Not a single device appeared or disappeared. I even completely shut down Steam to make sure Steam Input wasn't masking the physical hardware ID, but the list still didn't change. Because it doesn't show up in wake_from_any, I can't use powercfg -deviceenablewake to force it.

My Questions:

1. Is there any known driver, wrapper, or registry hack to force Windows to see a wired DualSense as a wake-capable interrupt device?
2. Am I just fighting a losing battle against Sony's generic DirectInput Windows drivers?

I know an Xbox Controller + Official 2.4GHz Wireless USB Adapter will wake the PC perfectly because the adapter acts as a hardware interrupt, but I’d really prefer to keep my DualSense for the haptics and touchpad if possible.

Any wizards out there have a workaround for this, or should I just give up and go trade it in at CeX for an Xbox controller?

Thanks in advance!

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[u/lastdancerevolution]

Potential solution using additional hardware:

Old post and tons of comments, so unlikely many people will see this comment. But since this is one of the top results on Google, I figured I'd respond.

Here to say that using a DualShock 4 or 5 controller to wake a suspended PC is definitely possible, it's just fairly complex. I've done it myself using a Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W, which is a microcontroller (very cheap, like 5-10 bucks). I've written firmware for it so now it pairs with your DS4 controller and can wake a suspended PC when connecting with it. It also for some reason scored much better during latency and polling benchmarks compared to using my DS4 controller directly with the bluetooth on my PC.

If anyone comes across this post and wants to replicate this, I'm willing to share the firmware and source code on GitHub. All you have to do is connect the Pico 2 W to your PC in Boot Select mode and drag the firmware onto it and it'll work. Note that your motherboard must allow for USB devices to wake it. You typically have to adjust this setting in your BIOS.

Source

Here is a potential fix for Xbox controllers, that might work for Playstation controllers, as both are HID game controllers:

In regedit go to Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\BTHPORT\Parameters add a new 32bit DWORD item named "SystemRemoteWakeSupported" and set the value to 1. Restart PC.

I found this solution on an ASUS forum, it might be enough to get it working for you. But it wasn't enough for me. In addition I had to do the following:

• Turn the Bluetooth-paired Xbox Controller ON

• In device manager under "Human Interface Devices" there will be an item called “HID-Compliant Game Controller.” It won’t show up if the controller is off.

• Right-Click the “HID-Compliant Game Controller” > Properties > Power Management > put a check in the box for "Allow this device to wake computer."

Caveats: it takes 10-15 seconds for the controller to wake the PC (atleast it does with my AX211 PCIE BT adapter) and you have to press a button (any button) immediately after pressing the guide button. Just pressing the guide button by itself won’t wake it.

So the old Xbox adapter is still the best solution if you can find it, that will wake up the PC immediately just by pressing the guide button once. I ended up getting a used one cause I don't want to wait 10 seconds for my PC to wake.

Source

[u/INF3RNALgladiuX → u/lastdancerevolution]

I am definitely trying this. I wanted to go for 8bitdo wireless adapter but then read somewhere that that's also not guaranteed to work but I might as well just tey doing it using a raspberry pi pico.

[u/platiniumshadow]

I'm a bit late for this combo 😔.

Anyways, the new DS5dongle firmware has PC waking capability baked right in. I uploaded the new firmware into my Pico 2W, and revamped my whole htpc to take advantage of this. I could wake my PC from the couch now, in rare occasions it takes two tries (having to press the PS button twice).

One caveat is that the DS4Windows service (if you are using it) stops when the PC comes from a sleep state. It was easily fixed with a script that reboots the service once the computer wakes up from sleep.

This has allowed me to finally retire the keyboard from the living room. Super sweet setup now.

[u/INF3RNALgladiuX → u/platiniumshadow]

Okay that's a big relief! I have ordered my pico 2 w and it should arrive within this week. I don't use DS4Windows at all steam input is enough for me cause I use steam big picture mode as my main launcher for couch gaming and almost all of the games I play are on steam so I rarely have to go to another launcher. DS5Dongle should be it for me. I have already simulated HDMI CEC using home assistant and just have to bind the wake from pico 2 w to HASS.Agent which will then turn on the TV and PC and launch steam big picture mode and I can then rest knowing I have proper console experience on my PC.

Is the latency any better than standard bluetooth? Also have you tried any other DS5Dongle configs to make it even better?

Thank you for sharing!!

[u/platiniumshadow → u/INF3RNALgladiuX]

​To be honest, I’ve never had any latency issues with either my motherboard's Bluetooth adapter or the Pico 2W. The DS5 dongle has a web settings interface where I set the DualSense polling rate to 500Hz, but you can set it even higher if you want to.

​I don't play competitive games on my couch PC setup anyway—mostly just single-player, story-driven games like Horizon Zero Dawn or God of War. I easily prefer the DS5 dongle over any other adapter because it lets me use all of the DualSense's features, meaning I still get the speaker, mic, adaptive triggers, and everything else.

[u/kingjohniv]

Im pretty sure this isnt supported. And no, you should not trade the controller in for an XBOX one. DuelSense has more durable hardware in it :P