Steel series Stratus Duo, how to make it work on iphone SE with os version 17

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Level 1

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Steel series Stratus Duo, how to make it work on iphone SE with os version 17

Used to be that apple wouldn’t allow normal gamepads to work, and while I could connect my gamepad to my other iphone (an XR), it wouldn’t work properly, which I found out was because apple handled gamepads differently to make sure people only used apple products.

But I found out that apple has now made it so normal gamepads can be used with iphone since os version 16.

So I tried connecting my gamepad, but it disconnects immediately after connecting.

Is this a resolvable issue? If so, how?

iPhone SE, iOS 17

Posted on Nov 20, 2024 9:56 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Jeff Donald

Level 7

25,365 points

Nov 20, 2024 2:32 PM in response to HikariHitomi

Apple doesn’t make a controller. But if they did, the answers lie with the manufacturer of your controller. Devices that are compatible with iPhones basically need to be plug and play. They either work or they don’t when you plug them in. Many need an app the manufacturer develops to make their devices compatible if they aren’t plug and play. Does the manufacturer of your controller make an app?

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Answer 2

Nov 20, 2024 2:44 PM in response to HikariHitomi

Sorry, but you need to reach out to the manufacturer of this controller. It's not owned by Apple. Apple has no control over what it is compatible with or not compatible with. And we are all users here on this user to user onoy forum, so we have no way to make it work with your iPhone.

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Answer 3

Nov 21, 2024 5:22 PM in response to HikariHitomi

Well good for you. Since you seem to know more than we do, we'll be interested to see how you resolve this. I do have to wonder however, since you clearly get this better than we do, WHY do Xbox and Playstation BOTH have an App for iPhone, whereas Steel Series doesn't? It couldn't possibly have anything to do with that could it?

Best of luck in your pursuit of this.

Ps: iPhone isn't a computer like a Windows or Mac computer is. It is a smart phone, which is controlled by iOS, which is a walled garden operating system. So no, things you may be able to plug and play on a computer, won't necessarily run on an iPhone. But then what do I know?

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Answer 4

Nov 20, 2024 10:18 AM in response to HikariHitomi

From what I can read by going to the manufacturer directly, is they designed this device to work on Android and Windows. It doesn't appear they designed it to work with iOS. And since Apple doesn't own them or have any influence over what platforms this device supports, you'd need to contact the manufacturer to see if they have any plans to make their device compatible with iOS devices.

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Answer 5

Katana-San

Level 9

69,625 points

Nov 21, 2024 6:11 PM in response to lobsterghost1

Hello~ Excellent explanation and technically on point!! Thx!!🙏🏻🙏🏻

~Katana-San~

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Answer 6

Jeff Donald

Level 7

25,365 points

Nov 21, 2024 6:13 PM in response to HikariHitomi

So why doesn’t my Microsoft mouse work on my iPad as you suggest it should? Yet I have a Belkin mouse and an off brand no name Chinese mouse does work?

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Answer 7

HikariHitomi Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 20, 2024 2:23 PM in response to lobsterghost1

Well that’s generally not the issue. First, at the time it came out was before ios 16, which means at the time, apple was exclusively using their proprietary gamepad scheme. Second, xbox controllers were also not compatible with apple for the same reason but now those old xbox controllers are supposed to work and they certainly didn’t get any update. Near as I can tell, there is the standard bluetooth protocol used by basically everyone except apple, and now apple has adjusted to accept this otherwise universal scheme.

But third and most importantly, previously, the gamepad could connect and maintain a solid connection, it’s just that the phone would not read all the input channels (at the time apple controllers split the inputs across separate connections), But now, the phone just kicks the connection entirely, meaning the issue is about the connection which previously worked, and not about reading input channels which was the issue before.

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Answer 8

HikariHitomi Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 21, 2024 4:45 PM in response to lobsterghost1

You guys don’t seem to understand how computers work. First, bluetooth has a set of protocols, think of it like a language. If apple wants their device to use bluetooth, they have to use the bluetooth language. Anything running on bluetooth doesn’t need to know anything about apple to make a bluetooth connection (what apple does with that connection once made is a different issue).

After making a connection is then communicating between a device and an os, and this communication happens with an api, which is basically like another language.

Apple used to require their own api only, which is what manufacturers before used when making apple “compatible” controllers.

Now that apple allows xbox and playstation controllers though, works not because the controller manufacturers added apple api, but because apple added the standard api that everyone else uses. Xbox didn’t go around changing everybody’s old controllers to make them suddenly work. Apple just added the api everyone else uses to their os.

This means that no, it’s not a manufacturer issue. If it was, old xbox controllers would not work either.

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