One Joy-Con is a perfectly usable little controller: a stick, four face buttons, shoulder buttons on the rail, and a gyro. BetterJoy lets you use a single Joy-Con on PC in vertical mode — which also means one pair of Joy-Cons can become two independent controllers for two players. This guide covers pairing one Joy-Con, switching it into single mode, setting its orientation, and being honest about what a single Joy-Con is and is not good for.
Step 1: Pair the Joy-Con you want to use
A single Joy-Con pairs exactly like one half of a pair — because that is what it is. Hold the Sync button on its rail edge for about five seconds until the LEDs cycle, then add it in Windows Settings → Bluetooth & devices. Our Joy-Con connection guide has the detailed walkthrough, and the BetterJoy package is on the download page if you are starting from zero.
Left or right? The right Joy-Con has the Home button and the more familiar button cluster; the left has the Capture button and a D-pad-style arrangement. For simple games either works; pick the one whose layout suits the game.
Step 2: Make sure it stays in single (vertical) mode
With the Joy-Con shown as an icon in the BetterJoy window, its mode is toggled by clicking the icon: one state joins it with its partner into a single gamepad, the other leaves it as an independent controller. For single play you want it independent — see joining and splitting Joy-Cons for how the toggle works.
If BetterJoy keeps rejoining your Joy-Cons into a pair, set the DoNotRejoinJoycons option in the configuration file. It exists precisely for this use case: using two Joy-Cons separately in vertical mode. It stays off until you turn it on, and each Joy-Con then remains its own controller permanently.
Step 3: Set the orientation
In vertical mode you hold the Joy-Con upright, stick at the top — the natural way to hold it one-handed. BetterJoy lets you change Joy-Con orientation by double-clicking the stick: this flips between the split and joined arrangements, so experiment once at your desk until the on-screen behaviour matches how you are holding it (push the stick up and check the game moves up). Orientation mistakes are the number one reason single Joy-Con control “feels wrong,” and they are a ten-second fix once you know the shortcut.
What a single Joy-Con can and cannot do
Be realistic about the hardware. A single Joy-Con gives you one analogue stick and a limited button set. That is genuinely enough for:
- Party, racing, and platform games in local multiplayer, where each player takes one Joy-Con.
- Simple indie and retro-style games that only need a stick and a few buttons.
- A spare or travel controller for casual play.
It is a poor fit for games that need two sticks or a full trigger set — camera control in 3D games, for example, will fight you the whole way. For those, join the pair or use a Pro Controller.
One trick that stretches a single Joy-Con further: its special buttons can be remapped to keyboard keys. Binding Capture (or SL/SR) to something like a jump, confirm, or menu key effectively adds the button the layout is missing. See remapping buttons in BetterJoy for how.
Two players from one pair
Pair both Joy-Cons, leave both in single mode (with DoNotRejoinJoycons set, if needed), and each player gets a controller. In your game or emulator, the two Joy-Cons appear as two separate XInput controllers — assign player 1 and player 2 accordingly. Both players also get gyro, since each Joy-Con reports its own motion through BetterJoy.
Comfort and control tips for one-handed play
A vertical Joy-Con is light enough to hold for hours, which hides a trap: players grip it tightly because it is small, and their hand tires anyway. Hold it loosely, rest your forearm, and let the stick do the work — you will aim and steer more accurately too. For the right Joy-Con, your thumb rests naturally between the stick and the face buttons; for the left, expect to reach a little more for its buttons, which is why many players assign the left Joy-Con to the less demanding role in two-player games (steering in a racing game, for example, rather than constant button work).
Battery is the other practical point: a single Joy-Con has a small battery and no partner to hide behind. Watch its icon background colour in BetterJoy, heed the low-battery notification, and remember that the second Joy-Con from the pair can be paired and swapped in mid-session if your main one dies — BetterJoy picks up newly connected controllers while it runs.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a single Joy-Con sideways, like a mini NES pad?
BetterJoy’s documented single-Joy-Con mode is the vertical grip, and its orientation toggle covers the split/join arrangements. Treat vertical as the supported way to hold it; sideways play is not the layout BetterJoy is built around.
Does gyro still work with one Joy-Con?
Yes. A single Joy-Con has its own gyro and accelerometer, and BetterJoy passes its motion data on — including to the UDP motion server for emulators.
My inputs are rotated 90 degrees. What is wrong?
The orientation does not match how you are holding the controller. Double-click the stick to flip the orientation, then re-test with the stick.
Where are the other guides?
All of them are listed on the BetterJoy tutorials index.