ZerkSense5 Brings Wireless DualSense Adaptive Triggers and HD Haptics to Windows via Bluetooth

The important qualification: this is a third-party workaround, not a Windows Bluetooth upgrade, and ZerkSense5’s developer labels it an early alpha. Its documentation confirms that it presents a Bluetooth-connected controller to Windows as a virtual wired DualSense through usbip-win2.

Same illusion, different place to run it​

The hardware approach remains useful context. DS5Dongle turns a Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W or compatible board into a Bluetooth bridge, making the wireless controller appear wired to the host computer. Its documented capabilities include HD haptics, controller-speaker and headset output, and microphone input. Installing its prebuilt firmware involves holding BOOTSEL, connecting the board by USB, and copying a firmware file onto it.

ZerkSense5 moves that bridge onto the PC. According to its developer, Windows sees a USB DualSense with a four-channel audio device, while the application translates controller reports and audio traffic. The repository credits DS5Dongle for Bluetooth and USB protocol details.

That changes the trade-off rather than eliminating it: software avoids another accessory, while a separate hardware bridge can travel between computers. ZerkSense5 instead needs its Windows software and dependencies installed on each machine. That portability distinction follows from the two projects’ documented setups.

What the hands-on report establishes​

Singh’s XDA account describes successfully using wireless adaptive triggers and haptics in games that previously required a cable in his setup. He also reports recording trigger behavior from The Witcher 3 and applying it in Elden Ring.

Those are the author’s observations, not independently reproduced WindowsForum tests. They support a promising practical result—not a guarantee that every game, controller configuration, or Bluetooth adapter will behave identically.

Before trying it on Windows​

The project documents these requirements and installation steps:

1. Use x64 Windows 10 version 2004 or later, or Windows 11, with Bluetooth.
2. Download and extract a release. The framework-dependent package additionally needs the.NET 8 Desktop Runtime.
3. Run ZerkSense5.exe and approve elevation.
4. Install usbip-win2 when prompted. HidHide is recommended to prevent games seeing both physical and virtual controllers; restart after installing it.
5. Pair the controller through Windows Bluetooth settings by holding PS + Create until its light flashes.

The practical appeal is clear: the workaround can remove a hardware purchase from the equation. But “free and open-source” should not be confused with “finished and frictionless.” For now, the sensible framing is an experimental alternative to the Pico bridge—not a universal retirement notice for the USB cable.