Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- December 31, 2023, was initially the deadline for switching Stadia controllers to Bluetooth mode.
- Google has now tacked on an additional year to that deadline.
- To switch to Bluetooth, you’ll need to use the web-based tool on the Stadia website.
At the beginning of this week, we warned you that there were only a couple of weeks left to switch your Stadia controller to Bluetooth. If you haven’t made the switch already, you can let out a sigh of relief because Google is giving you more time.
Before Google announced the shutdown of Stadia, it gave its Stadia controllers a new lease on life by giving the gamepads a Bluetooth mode. This would make the device compatible with phones, PCs, and other gaming platforms. But to enable Bluetooth mode, you had to connect your controller to a PC and use Google’s web-based tool to activate the feature.
Initially, Google chose December 31, 2023, to be the cutoff point when owners would no longer be able to switch the hardware to Bluetooth mode. However, it appears the tech giant is giving even more leeway by extending the deadline to December 31, 2024, according to the Stadia website.
The process to switch to Bluetooth is fairly simple and the tool provides step-by-step instructions. After the process is done, the controller will start using Bluetooth Low Energy connections. The change is permanent and the gamepad will lose features that are exclusive to its Wi-Fi connectivity, like wireless passthrough audio. But losing those features is better than not being able to use the controller at all.
If you cannot remember if you performed this step, there is an option to check if your controller has the latest Bluetooth patch. This can be done by also plugging the controller in to a PC and heading over to the Stadia site.
