Once the Stadia service goes down on January 18th, 2023, this controller is useless. That is, unless you turn on its Bluetooth mode before the end of the year. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Google is turning off its Stadia cloud game streaming service on January 18th, 2023, but it’s giving the wireless Stadia controller a second chance as a Bluetooth controller that can be connected to PCs, Macs, phones, and presumably other devices, too. The change won’t happen automatically; it’s a manual process that can’t be reversed. What’s more, you only have until December 31st, 2023, to do the switch, and after that date, any unconverted Stadia controller you have will just be a gamepad-shaped paperweight.
I’m going to walk you through the process for converting your Stadia controller by using Google’s browser-based tool.
Charge your controller, plug it in, and open the tool
Make sure your controller is charged above the 10…