Nintendo Switch 3rd Party Controllers

Yes, it is Bluetooth and yes, you pair the controller with the Switch and it behaves just like any official controller. I went with "CSL - Nintendo Switch Pro Gamepad" from Amazon. Not perfect but way cheaper (£19.99) than an official Pro controller.

Thanks for the reply. Did you pair your controller by going to Change Controller Grip/Order ? I have tried that with my 2 gamepads that use bluetooth (for connecting to android) but it doesn't connect to it. I have flight mode off and tried Pro controller Wired Communication on and off. Update controllers is up to date too, so is the system on 9.0.1.

I wonder if your gamepad has something special in the bluetooth specification that allows it to connect to the switch. Both my controllers only say support for Android, Windows and PS3. Android and PS3 must use bluetooth though so it's odd

Yes, change grip / order on the Switch and set the controller in Pair mode (home button) and Bob's you uncle. Would not be at all surprised if there isn't a Switch specific handshake that is needed for the controller to be accepted.

Yeah looks like I need that home button that I don't have, tried every button on mine but nothing. Will order a 3rd party one for now, may eventually get the pro one but it's expensive. Though I'm finding a lot of Nintendo stuff is!

Sorry to butt in, what’s the pro controller used for? I’ve just bought a child the switch, will she need one?

You can use the pro controller to play 2 player games. However some games you can use 2 players with the included 2 joycons. The pro controller is a regular size wireless controller that may be easier to use for some people instead of the joycons, but it's £50+.

I looked on eBay and you can get a compatible "pro" controller for under £20

claire751918/10/2019 16:50

Sorry to butt in, what’s the pro controller used for? I’ve just bought a ch …Sorry to butt in, what’s the pro controller used for? I’ve just bought a child the switch, will she need one?Read lessRead more

Its basically the proper controller for playing games on tv in docked mode, however its not essential and you'll do just fine without it playing with the included joy cons.
However i will say its nice to have the pro controller if your playing games that need precise movement on the analogue sticks because the joy cons are pretty much either full left or no left and not much in between for example, i found some parts of mario and zelda quite alkward to control properly when going over narrow paths or in combat but on the pro controller its much easier to control