I wanted to follow up on a question that came up in my recent video about the compatibility of 8BitDo controllers with the Switch 2. In that original video I demonstrated how 8bitdo’s latest firmware for many of their controllers was updated to provide Switch 2 compatibility. But I did not answer the question as to whether you could use one an 8bitdo controller to wake the console from sleep like you can with the original Switch.
The short answer, as I demonstrate in this Short, is no.
To test this, I started with my original Switch. I turned on the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 controller, gave it a little jiggle, and sure enough, the console woke up. That confirmed what I expected. Next, I paired the same controller with my Switch 2 to see if it would behave the same way.
After pairing it up, I turned off the Switch 2 to put it into sleep mode and then tried the same trick—turning the controller on and giving it a jiggle. This time, though, nothing happened. The Switch 2 stayed asleep, even after repeated attempts. It turns out that even the official original Switch Pro Controller won’t wake up the Switch 2, so this isn’t just a third-party compatibility issue. You’ll need to press the power button on the console itself to get things going again.
You can find 8bitdo controllers on Amazon (compensated affiliate link)
Disclosure: 8bitdo’s distributor AKNES provided the controller to the channel free of charge. This was not a sponsored video nor did anyone review or approve of this content prior to uploading.