Emulator

Game Name?
N/A

Game ID? (right click the game in the game list, Properties, Info tab)
N/A

MD5 Hash? (right click the game in the game list, Properties, Verify tab, Verify Integrity button)
N/A

What's the problem? Describe what went wrong.
When following the instructions to connect wiimotes to dolphin, wiimote goes into searching mode and then nothing happens. This is true both with continuous searching on, or using the refresh button.

I have found that I can seemingly connect controllers to dolphin by using the following strategy:

1. Pair them to the OS bluetooth
2. Connect all necessary controllers to OS (all controllers should show P1)
3. Open dolphin > controller screen
4. In OS bluetooth menu, search for new devices
5. Close new device search menu
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 a few times, leaving the new devices window open for a handful of seconds each time
7. Eventually, when closing the new devices window, wiimotes should vibrate and the player lights should distribute Controllers should work in dolphin wii games now

What steps will reproduce the problem?

https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=Configuring_Controllers

following these instructions to connect a real wiimote results in the wiimote not doing anything

Is the issue present in the latest development version? For future reference, please also write down the version number of the latest development version.

Issue is present in: 5.0-16101
I don't know how to update to latest dev version on linux

Is the issue present in the latest stable version?

unsure if present on 5.0

What are your PC specifications? (CPU, GPU, Operating System, more)
see tech specs here: https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck