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Finally, the pairing process is straight up laughable. Connect the controller to your puck to try to pair it, and it prompts you on screen to confirm? How am I supposed to agree to pair it if my controller isn't paired in the first place??
Who doesn't have a cheap-ass mouse or keyboard for stuff like this?
They've released a couple firmware/steam updates for people having doubled inputs, so definitely make sure you have those all installed. A new firmware update for the controller was released last night.
Under Controller>Advanced settings in steam big picture mode, you can try forcibly updating all hardwired controllers.
You shouldn't be having any signal issues at that range, so you either have something defective or some really bad signal interference. I'm leaning towards something being defective, because my puck doesn't have line of sight, is immediately next to a router and a bunch of bluetooth devices, and hasn't had any connection issues. You also mentioned the issues happening while wired, which definitely suggests a controller issue and not a connection problem.
The wireless connection uses 2.4GHz, a range that can get very crowded, especially in tight urban spaces. This could explain the bad connection you have, the signal just drowns in all the noise and interference. Bad shielded electronic installations could also produce a lot of noise over a broad spectrum. If this is the reason for the bad connection then Valve can't do much against it.
You could try using something like WiFi Analyzer on Android - this will give you a bunch of ways to visualise the number of networks, their frequency, and channels that are being used. At the very least it'll give you a good idea in how busy the area around you is.
So with a similar distance, my controller fluctuates between "ok" and "weak" reported connection strength. However, I haven't experienced it ever dropping or doubling an input, so I don't think that part is normal behaviour. Can even use it from the next room, with a solid wall in-between.
Have you tried different USB ports? My controller initially had some (different) issues when the puck was in the "wrong" USB port.
I haven't noticed any dropped inputs or anything myself (also bazzite, though I rarely use big picture mode).
To pair the on screen instructions said to connect the controller with a cable separate from the puck. Just connecting it to the puck didn't work.
(Also I don't really see the issue with needing to confirm on the device. Surely you had a way to control it before this controller arrived?)
No, the prompt won't respond to non keyboard input devices. You have to click with a mouse or keyboard.
There should really be a timeout confirmation, you know, like most prompts of this sort. It's a pretty big design flaw imo.
Disclaimer: the last time I used a controller was more than 20 years ago on a PS1, so this might be entirely user error.
I've been playing some Vampire Crawlers with the controller and sometimes the sticks act weird. In the game you move around a maze, using the left one to move and the right one to turn, except sometimes the character moves when I meant to turn and vice versa, as if the two inputs got mixed up?
Again, it's possible it's me fucking up, but I'm putting it out there in case someone else noticed something similar.
Do you use a configuration that mixes gamepad with mouse or keyboard input, like "Gamepad with Mouse Trackpad" or something like that? Some games can't handle those configurations, causing some strange behaviours.
I honestly have no idea. I just got the controller and I haven't been tinkering with settings or anything, but I'll take a look. Thanks!
Did you upgrade its firmware?
Yes. Updated the puck, the controller, and Bazzite. Both Bazzite and Steam on their respective Beta branches.