This is a Controller Research Guide recommended controller. Learn more.
Members of the community have generally regarded this controller with positive sentiment. Learn more.
This controller's turbo function is not leaderboard legal. View the list of leaderboard legal controllers here.
¶ General Information
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Common Name | 8BitDo Ultimate Bluetooth Controller |
| Model | 80NA01 (manual) |
| Manufacturer | SHENZHEN ONEBITDO TECH CO.,LTD. |
| Leaderboard Legal? |  No |
| Connection Modes | Bluetooth Wireless, 2.4GHz Wireless, Wired USB |
| Battery Bank Capacity | 1,000 mAh |
| Sentiment Power |  |
¶ Overall Sentiment
Members of the community have generally regarded this controller with positive sentiment:
2024: This controller is still very good, but the company outlook and hostility toward DIY controller modification (something they've championed in the past) dampens the ability to fully recommend its products. Also, some users have reported breakages, particularly of the triggers and back paddles.
2022: A veritable Pro Controller killer. It's extremely ergonomic and it's apparent actual thought was put into the design. Get this controller, even if you just use it to play games casually.
¶ Programmability At a Glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Turbo? |  Yes |
| Companion software? |  8BitDo Ultimate Software |
| Custom Button Mapping? | Yes |
| Adjustable Stick Deadzone? | Yes |
| Adjustable Analog Curve? | Yes |
| Macro Functionality? | Yes |
| Can be remapped in Nintendo Switch software? | Yes |
¶ Turbo At a Glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Turbo Button Remappable? | Yes |
| Buttons that can use turbo function | All buttons except PROFILE |
| Adjustable Turbo? | No |
| How to activate turbo function? |  Press "Profile" button to switch to turbo-enabled profile |
| Is there a global turbo reset function? | Press "Profile" button until you return to the same profile you were using |
| "Sanity Check" Indicator? | Yes |
| Advertised Fire Rate (Hz) | Not provided |
| Turbo Time to Live (TTL) | Short |
| All Turboed Buttons on Same Duty Cycle? | Yes |
| Susceptible to "BT Turbo Boost"? ℹ️ | Yes |
you must assign the T button in the 8BitDo Ultimate Software before you can use the turbo function!
ℹ️ "BT Turbo Boost" refers to the behavior exhibited by some third party Nintendo Switch controllers in Bluetooth mode where connecting a Bluetooth audio device to the Switch increases the controller's turbo speed. It is unknown what causes this phenomenon internally.
¶ Detailed Turbo Information
| Mode | Actual Hz | Distance under leaderboard cap |
|---|---|---|
 Bluetooth |
16.6 | Above cap |
| Bluetooth w/ BT Turbo Boost | 21.9 | Above cap |
| Wired USB | 16.4 | Above cap |
preferred modes for Dread speedrunning
¶ Turbo Gold Skip
| Mode | 0 Lock? | 1 Lock? | 2 Lock? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluetooth |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Wired USB | Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
preferred modes for Dread speedrunning
¶ Sticks At a Glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Analog Layout Style | Switch |
| Analog Sensor | Hall effect sensor |
| Stick Circularity Average Error (SCAE) | 8% |
| Advertised SCAE | Not provided |
¶ Stick Assessment
- Hardware: solid feel, rotates smoothly
- Firmware: avoids all the issues with the Pro 2 - sticks are extremely accurate despite the stick circularity leaving a lot to be desired
¶ Buttons At a Glance
This controller has analog triggers. Sliding, morphing, and grappling may be more difficult.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Back Paddles? | Yes |
| Back Paddle Turboable? | Yes |
| Back Paddle Assignable Buttons | All |
| Y Button Shape | Convex |
| Horizontal distance between face buttons (measured in cm from button center) | 2.3 |
| Trigger Type | Analog |
| Actuation force (g) | Not measured |
¶ Button Assessment
- Hardware: ergonomic grip, d-pad is best in class, face buttons may have a softer actuation force than even the Pro Controller
- Hardware: these buttons have Hall effect sensors:
A,B,X,Y,+,- - Firmware: no reported issues
¶ Positive Sentiment
Extremely comfortable and has good face buttons.
General controller response time is ridiculously fast. Face buttons are soft without being mushy. Sticks are extremely accurate. The d-pad is higher quality than the Pro Controller for sure.
The
+and-buttons are Hall effect as opposed to the clicky ones the procon has which makes it easier to pause buffer.
¶ Negative Sentiment
Sure wish the turbo was leaderboard legal!
The body of [the controller] is abnormally large compared to most other controllers; most people would have to strain very hard to mash, making non-turbo users have hand issues quicker.
Poor haptic feedback compared to the Pro Controller.
No NFC support.
The company seems to have developed an open hostility toward any attempts to allow modifications of its controllers and devices. For example, their controllers have not been updated on the
fwupdfirmware service for Linux-based systems for several years due to 8BitDo not providing updated firmware sources, and they have gone without official macOS support for a long time.
[The 8BitDo Ultimate] is AWFUL for this game specifically. The body of it is abnormally large compared to most other controllers; most people would have to strain very hard to mash, making non-turbo users have hand issues quicker.
¶ Autofire Data
This controller's turbo speed was verified on a hacked Switch system with an autofire tester. Learn more.
(images provided by GreigaBeastDS)
¶ Bluetooth
¶ Wired USB (cable length 1m)
¶ Circle Test Video
Coming soon.
¶ Breakages and Defects by Component
Breakages reported through anecdotal consumer use:
| Part | # Units | # Players |
|---|---|---|
| Left Stick | 0 | 0 |
| Right Stick | 0 | 0 |
| A/B/X/Y | 0 | 0 |
| L/R | 0 | 0 |
| ZL/ZR | 1 | 1 |
| L3/R3 | 0 | 0 |
| +/- | 0 | 0 |
| P1/P2 | 1 | 1 |
| Button |
0 | 0 |
| Profile Button | 0 | 0 |
| Pairing Button | 0 | 0 |
| Gyro | 0 | 0 |
| LEDs | 0 | 0 |
¶ Accounts
¶ Breakage Account
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Purchased | December 2022 |
| Breakage occurred | March 2024 |
| Scenario | Intervention |
|---|---|
| Broke P1 button playing Splatoon 3 Salmon Run. Did not start playing games with P1 until around November 2023, so on balance, that's about nine months. | Repair not attempted |
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Purchased | no earlier than November 2022 |
| Breakage occurred | no later than January 2024 |
| Scenario | Intervention |
|---|---|
| I actually recently had one of the triggers breaks [sic] in my ultimate controller | Not provided |