[Bug]: Gyro (Motion Sensors) Not Detected

[gzeronone]

Describe the bug

Polaris support report

This report was generated locally from a redacted Polaris support bundle. Nothing was submitted automatically.

Environment

• Polaris version: 1.3.4
• Distro: linux
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti
• Driver: unknown
• Session/compositor: wayland / unknown
• Client: Odin Portal (Odin Portal)

Stream evidence

• Launch mode: Private Stream
• Encoder: cuda
• Capture: gpu_native — headless_extcopy_dmabuf
• Capture device: /dev/dri/renderD128
• Wayland main device: /dev/dri/renderD128
• GPU-native probe: headless_extcopy[result=not_attempted, attempted=no, cached=no]; windowed[result=not_attempted, attempted=no, cached=no] — selected none, fallback none
• Active stream: yes, 32.6 FPS / 60.0 target, 162518 kbps, 0.00% loss, 2.3 ms encode

What Polaris thinks happened

Needs attention

Primary issue: frame_pacing

Suggested safe action: none (non-destructive)

Fix My Stream checklist

• Connection: pass — Live telemetry is connected and a stream is active. Next: Keep this page open while reproducing the issue.
• Packet loss: pass — Packet loss is 0.0%. Next: Network is not the loudest signal right now.
• Capture path: pass — Capture is reported as GPU-native. Next: Keep display pairing as-is unless the stream feels wrong.
• Encoder pressure: pass — 2.3 ms encode time leaves headroom. Next: Encoder pressure is not the loudest signal right now.
• Auth / pairing: pass — No recent auth or pairing errors stand out in the current log window. Next: If the client cannot connect, export diagnostics right after the failed pairing attempt.
• Logs: warning — 7 recent warning/error groups are visible. Next: Copy recent issues or export anonymized diagnostics for support.

Doctor evidence

• streaming: A stream is active.
• capture_path: True-headless DMA-BUF capture is active; frames stay GPU-resident through the encoder path.
• encoder: Encode timing is reported by stream telemetry.
• packet_loss: Packet loss reported by current stream telemetry.
• frame_pacing: Frame jitter, duplicate/drop ratios, and target FPS gap classify pacing risk.

Recent warnings/errors

• [2026-08-03 19:48:03.622] Error: "/usr/share/polaris/shaders/opengl/Scene.frag": (4x)
• [2026-08-03 19:48:03.622] Error: "/usr/share/polaris/shaders/opengl/Scene.vert": (4x)
• [2026-08-03 19:48:03.622] Error: "/usr/share/polaris/shaders/opengl/ConvertY.frag": (4x)
• [2026-08-03 19:48:03.622] Error: "/usr/share/polaris/shaders/opengl/ConvertUV.vert": (4x)
• [2026-08-03 19:48:03.622] Error: "/usr/share/polaris/shaders/opengl/ConvertUV.frag": (4x)
• [2026-08-03 19:48:03.139] Warning: Gamepad 0 is emulating a DualShock 5 controller, but the client gamepad doesn't have a touchpad (2x)
• [2026-08-03 19:48:03.139] Warning: Gamepad 0 is emulating a DualShock 5 controller, but the client gamepad doesn't have motion sensors active (2x)

What I already tried

Not provided yet.

Steps to reproduce

Set DS5 game pad in Polaris and enable motion sensors active in Nova.

Install source

GitHub Releases

Nova version

v1.3.3

Android device

Odin Portal 2

Host software

Polaris

Host version and OS

v1.3.4 / CachyOS / Kernel: Linux 7.1.6-1-cachyos

Issue area

Input / controller / gyro

Expected behavior

When activating Motion Sensors in Nova settings, making sure DS5 controller is being passed through on Polaris, I expect gyro to be detected.

Comparison with another client

No response

Relevant log output

Screenshots or recordings

No response

Additional context

No response

[papi-ux]

Thanks for attaching the full Polaris support bundle, that pinned it down fast!

The line that matters here is this one:

Gamepad 0 is emulating a DualShock 5 controller, but the client gamepad doesn't have motion sensors active

That's Polaris saying Nova never advertised motion sensor capability when your controller arrived, so the DS5 emulation has no gyro to pass along. The host side is fine, the gap is on our end, and I think it's a settings one.

Nova has two motion settings that do different things:

1. "Allow use of gamepad motion sensors" is on by default, and only covers sensors built into the controller itself. Most handheld built-in gamepads don't report sensors that way, and I suspect the Portal 2 is one of them;
2. "Emulate gamepad motion sensor support" is off by default, and is the one that feeds your handheld's own accelerometer and gyroscope to the host as if the pad had them.

If the switch you flipped was the first one, it was already on and wouldn't have changed anything. Please try the second when you can! Both are under Settings > Input & Controllers, but that section only shows its first three items until you expand it, so they're easy to miss.

Two things to expect once it's on:

1. it only applies to the first controller
2. your pad may show up as a PlayStation controller on the host, which is expected, and is how the gyro gets through.

If that doesn't do it, could you send a screenshot of Settings > Advanced > Debug Info? It lists every detected input device and whether it reports an accelerometer / gyroscope, which will tell me for certain whether the pad has no sensors or something weird is going on.

One more thing worth ruling out: if the Portal 2 doesn't declare accelerometer or gyroscope as system features, Nova currently hides both of those fallback checkboxes entirely. So if you can't find "Emulate gamepad motion sensor support" in that section at all, pleeasee tell me, because that's our answer and it's totally on me to surface it better! Thanks again!