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Beware if you're purchasing the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller for the d-pad

schopaia

Member
I use the Wii U Pro Controller and either that controller also has this issue, or Zelda has this issue, because it happens to me fairly often.

I had this on wii u also. It's a fairly unconventional use of the dpad (press and hold), so maybe that's causing the issue. Maybe it was designed primarily for the discreet directional inputs on the joycon?
 

Filter

Member
I love the switch pro controller, but I'm getting this same issue as well.

It'll happen occasionally when I'm playing Zelda, I'll press right on the d-pad and will get an up input instead. But that's not really and issue because it pauses the game, and I thought it could be user error at first.

Tonight I played some puyo puyo Tetris and it had me instant dropping Tetris pieces (an up input) a lot when moving the d-pad quickly.
I've played plenty of Tetris in the past, especially on the DS which also has instant drop, and never had this kind of problem.

It's a bummer because I actually think the d-pad on this controller feels great.

I did some test the other day in the switch input test menu. I've found that if you push and hold right on the d-pad, and then gently but quickly wiggle your finger on that spot, it will occasionally input an UP. Although I hadn't pushed up at all.

I really want them to sort this out. I don't want to be making accidental jumps in street fighter.
 

piratethingy

Self professed bad raider
i dont even know why people need this pro controller. the joycons work great

Honestly I have a controller problem. I can't resist a nice new controller. Nothing better.

I already have an Xbox Elite controller for my PC so I really really didn't need this but I'm dumb so whatcha gonna do
 

ggx2ac

Member
Damnit, so if I have the issue should exchange it? Or is this an issue will all of them?

Supposedly there are some that don't have the problem I highlighted (How can we be sure on a user by user basis?) when I posted the following in the other Switch Dpad thread.

Aside from the Pro Controllers with weird bugs, I can say that the Dpad having incorrect inputs is by design, I just tested my Wii U Pro Controller Dpad and it's no different to the Switch Pro Controller Dpad.

I went to test Super Street Fighter 2 on Wii U and was pressing left and right without lifting my thumb and an incorrect input would happen due to the way the Dpad is designed.

Now, you may be shocked to hear this but there is one Nintendo Dpad I have not had this problem with because I've been playing a game on it over the last week.

The original Nintendo DS Dpad does not have this problem at all and I couldn't do an incorrect input whatsoever, the way that Dpad is designed is that the Dpad feels very tight. If I put my thumb on the points of each direction, I can move it in that direction but it's too hard to move it elsewhere​.

If I press down on the DS Dpad but then move my thumb left and right on the down direction of the Dpad it will be difficult to do so because the Dpad has little movement to the sides of its edges.

And as I said before, the best freedom of movement is in the centre of the Dpad, I could put my thumb on the centre and press left and right with quick presses without lifting my thumb and it will not produce an incorrect input.

However, since both the Wii U and Switch Pro Controllers have a Dpad that is more loose. I can press left or right while pressing down and moving it side to side.

So in summary, Nintendo DS Dpad is tight: doesn't cause you to make mistakes.

Wii U and Switch Pro Controllers Dpads are loose: Can cause you to make mistakes if you don't lift your thumb when pressing the opposite direction.

So, it seems maybe the split Dpad should have been put on the Switch Pro Controller as well because it feels tight and I know I can type fast with it when logging into the eShop but I make mistakes with the Pro Controller.

Hence, a bigger split Dpad on the Pro Controller would have been better and not have caused this issue although this issue is by design and has been around since the Wii U Pro Controller but, it looks like this issue only came up now and not with the Wii U Pro Controller because I bet people are being too sensitive to things with the Switch due to every problem that keeps getting announced. lol
 
After a month of owning my Pro Controller I haven't had any issues with the D-Pad. Been playing a lot of 2D stuff like Neo Geo games and the Puyo Puyo Tetris demo since it was released on the Japanese e-shop and it has always felt fine and responsive to me. Maybe some controllers are suffering from a manufacturing flaw?
 
Yep, this Dpad is horrible, especially for fighting games. I was giving it a test run on Pocket Rumble on Steam to prep for its release on the Switch and I kept getting diagonal upward directions when I'm just trying to move left & right. They definitely should have designed it better because now you're basically not playing fighting games with this thing.
 

ggx2ac

Member
After a month of owning my Pro Controller I haven't had any issues with the D-Pad. Been playing a lot of 2D stuff like Neo Geo games and the Puyo Puyo Tetris demo since it was released on the Japanese e-shop and it has always felt fine and responsive to me. Maybe some controllers are suffering from a manufacturing flaw?

Do you always lift your thumb when moving right to left and the other way around?

I will accidentally press up when moving right to left without​ lifting my thumb on the Pro Controller playing Puyo Puyo Tetris that it causes Tetris blocks to drop when I didn't want it to happen.

Obviously then, the split Dpad is better for action puzzle games.
 
Very common issue with 3rd party controllers. Even the hugely praised 8bitdo SNES30 suffers. It makes fighting games and games that use diagonals a lot almost unplayable. Contra is one of my favorites and has made the otherwise flawless controller useless. I have instead made the wii classic controller my favorite due to it being semiwireless for retro gaming. Im pretty shocked nintendo of all companies would have this issue. Deplorable.
 

AzaK

Member
The whole Switch is so rushed, unfinished and buggy but they nail that advertising so it's selling well.

They won't even come out and admit responsibility.
 

DeVeAn

Member
So I played against my wife in Puyo and 3rd game I lost because hitting right cause 4 blocks in row to drop😑.
This is definitely an issue for games that use a d pad. I'm returning mine. Not paying premium for that.
 

Salmonax

Member
The whole Switch is so rushed, unfinished and buggy but they nail that advertising so it's selling well.

They won't even come out and admit responsibility.

Far be it from me to excuse Nintendo's usual obstinence, but they acknowledged the left joycon issue.
 

NEO0MJ

Member
Just noticed that the Pro controller is back in stock at Amazon. Think they fixed the issue with the new batch or is it better to wait?
 

The Goat

Member
Just received my Pro controller yesterday. Why on Earth is this thing so expensive? It feels really cheap. I hate the trigger feel, and the d-pad issue, if it is an issue, makes it worse. It's a bit too small, but fairly comfortable at least.

Definitely, for me, big step below DS4 and One controller.
 
So far I haven't experienced problems like that, though I've been using it with Shovel Knight exclusively so far and plan to use it with Wonder Boy as well. I want to use it for docked mode pretty much exclusively for Splatoon 2 as well, anyway, amongst other games. Really, it's the amazing feel of the controller in general that makes it worth the purchase for me. I hope Valve will add it to the list of Steam-supported controllers, because that would immediately make it easy for me to use it as my non-Steam Controller controller over the 360/Xbone and PS4 controllers
 

iphys

Member
Just noticed that the Pro controller is back in stock at Amazon. Think they fixed the issue with the new batch or is it better to wait?

I was able to exchange my controller I got at launch last week when my store finally got their first restock, and the D-pad was just as bad if not worse, and not only that both C-sticks were registering the opposite direction after you flick them, which my original controller did not have that issue. I called Nintendo for technical assistance and they seem clueless that people are having these problems with the Pro controller, but I'm going the repair route because I have no faith that they've improved production so I'm not going to bother waiting for my store to get more stock to exchange again. I would honestly suggest waiting a few months in hopes enough feedback gets back to Nintendo for them to correct whatever the issue is with their design or production.
 

NEO0MJ

Member
The problem for me is that I don't live in a country with Nintendo support so if I buy it I'm stuck with it. That's why I was hoping they'd fix the issues by now.
 
Is there any word on when the Hori pad will be out? A Hori Fighting Commander would be even better.

AAJjMkK.jpg
 

ggx2ac

Member
Adding from my last post: http://m.neogaf.com/showpost.php?p=233839756

I also tested the Wii U Gamepad Dpad for Street Fighter 2 but found it is exactly the same Dpad used for the Wii U Pro Controller.

It pretty much reinforces what I said that the reason incorrect inputs happen is because the Dpads on the Wii U and Switch Pro Controllers are both loose by design. They have a lot of space to move around in when you move your Dpad with your thumb in circles.

If you have an original Nintendo DS, the Dpad for that in comparison is tight and works very well which I already explained why in the linked post.

The Switch Pro Controller Dpad isn't the worst Dpad ever if you remember the GameCube Controller.

A fuss could be made over how loose the Dpad is so Nintendo can take notice and probably make a better Dpad for fighting games. Don't know if that would ever happen unless Ultra Street Fighter 2 becomes a multi million seller.

If it did then maybe Nintendo would do it because they've made accessories for Capcom games like the Wii Classic Pro Controller for Monster Hunter Tri and the 3DS Circle Pad Pro for Monster Hunter 3G/4 and Resident Evil Revelations.
 

coughlanio

Member
I will say, the Pro controller is definitely the most solid controller I've spent time with, I'm pretty sure I could put a hole in my drywall with it.
 

kkg1701

Member
Only skimmed the thread so not sure if anyone else noticed the same thing. For me when the pro controller registers up on the d-pad instead of right it's because I press on the upper edge of the right direction. Dunno how to fix that without making the d-pad much stiffer and have no real opinion on if that'd be good or bad.
 

cireza

Member
I only use the Pro Controller and it is perfectly fine. I played Shock Troopers and Waku Waku 7, the d-pad is not an issue for me.
 
Sent mine in, and Nintendo's repair place just put in an order for a new Pro and sent me an empty box back telling me my supplemental order will come back soon (lol).

But the new Pro is just as bad on the dpad, if not worse. The left stick also feels kinda resistance-y on certain edges of the circular gate.

Guess I'm sending it in again... :/
 

Murugo

Member
Played the Puyo Puyo Tetris demo for a bit last night and the d-pad issue caused quite a few unintended quick drops (pressing right also presses up). Planning to send the controller in for repair, but it sounds like they're simply replacing controllers and there's no guarantee that the replacement will be any better.
 

iphys

Member
They renew the warranty every time they replace right? If we're going to have to keep sending the controller in who knows how many times before we manage to get a working one they're going to lose a lot of money on shipping. I have to believe they're eventually going to fix the issue. They've been making D-pads for so many systems for so many years, and never have I seen such a poorly functioning D-pad not even with a third party controller. It shouldn't be that hard to at least give us a D-pad as good as goes into the 2DS when we're paying almost as much just for a controller.
 
I finally used one of my Pros with Blaster Master today. Man, this d-pad is pretty rough. Is there a solution yet?

Other than sending it to Nintendo, there are no current solutions.



How difficult is it to send the controller to Nintendo? Does it cost anything? I live in Canada if it makes a difference.

Puyo Puyo Tetris is pretty much unplayable on the D-Pad in its current state.
 
I had no problem at all with my joycon until the left stick broke on mine and I had to send it in. I just bought a pro controller last night because I'm afraid they will break again when in the joycon grip.
 

iphys

Member
Other than sending it to Nintendo, there are no current solutions.



How difficult is it to send the controller to Nintendo? Does it cost anything? I live in Canada if it makes a difference.

Puyo Puyo Tetris is pretty much unplayable on the D-Pad in its current state.

Someone on Reddit used a spare conductive pad for a Wii U Pro controller D-pad and cut it down and got their Switch Pro controller to work, but I wouldn't risk trying that unless my controller was no longer under warranty.

I'm in Canada and sent mine in to Nintendo, and it's on the way back. They use Purolator and pay the shipping both ways. I live right next to a Staples, so it was easy to ship off, although I worry about how hard it's going to be to pickup if I'm not home when they deliver.
 
This reminds me whats the hold up with the joycon with a d-pad? I know why they did it but for people who dont care to do that should have the option to have a proper d pad imo.
 

iphys

Member
Just got my Pro controller back from repair. They recognized it as faulty and sent me a new one in a new box with just the cable removed from the box. The D-pad is substantially better than the first two in that at least tapping the same direction repeatedly doesn't lead to bad inputs, but I still get bogus inputs going between left/right or up/down, and tapping two directions at the exact same time to register a diagonal only registers the up/down component. Both sticks are faulty too like my 2nd Pro controller was and sometimes register the opposite direction after flicking them. Not sure whether to send it back immediately or wait towards the end of the warranty in hopes Pro controller production improves.
 

Kneefoil

Member
Though I recognize that the D-pad is more sensitive to diagonal inputs than most controllers, I rarely get wrong inputs with my Pro's D-Pad, and when I do, I recognize that I pressed slightly to some other direction as well, so it is usually in fact my fault. In other words, I have the D-pad pressing almost down to a science. However, while playing Puyo Puyo Tetris just now, I got a severe sensitivity issue when pressing right on the D-pad: the console would always read D-right as D-up/right, unless I pressed right on the lower half of the pad, which is very hard to do without also activating D-down.

The problem persisted in the game and console menus. I reconnected my controller to the Switch, the issue was still there. I already gave up and thought the pad was busted and that I should send the controller back to where I got it, or to Nintendo. However, in my frustration, somehow quickly mashing D-pad in random directions for a while managed to fix it. At least for now.

Just thought that was kinda strange. Maybe there was some dust stuck underneath the D-pad that interfered with the inputs, and mashing the pad made the dust go loose and come out from under there? I dunno, but I am a bit worried the problem will reoccur, possibly even worse than it was this time. Glad I got it working again, though.
 

Vitacat

Member
So strange that Nintendo basically INVENTED the dpad, but they generally suck at making them.

The dpad on my DS Lite drove me bonkers (it simply could not read diagonals unless I pressed them really hard).

Best dpad I've used is the Vita, and the Xbox Elite is pretty good. For Zelda sakes, Nintendo, COPY the Vita dpad. For that matter, every company that makes controllers -- COPY THE VITA DPAD.
 

HalfJoey

Neo Member
Happens all the time with mine, not sure if I can send it back or whatever. It's extremely noticeable in breath of the wild, if I'm trying to switch my arrows/shield it will often bring up the powers menu instead (up on the dpad).

Same issue with mine. At first I thought it was just me during combat. Then I pressed the sword menu with intention and it brought up the powers menu. It sucks when it happens during combat.
 
I have a launch pro controller that works 100% of the time. I've never once experienced these issues. Sucks for everyone who has, though.
 

Jams775

Member
I got a new pro controller just last week and it does the same things. Very disappointing. I love the controller otherwise. Been using it with BotW and not looking forward to trying it with puyo puyo tetris.
 

InfiniteNine

Rolling Girl
Got the replacement controller Nintendo sent me after I talked with their CS and it works perfectly! No more unplanned hard drops for my in puyo!
 

iphys

Member
Got the replacement controller Nintendo sent me after I talked with their CS and it works perfectly! No more unplanned hard drops for my in puyo!

Even if you play Tetris and shift pieces to the wall and tap them back one column? I'm on my 4th controller, and I've yet to get a D-pad that doesn't have this issue of often hard dropping when you reverse direction, although the first 2 were substantially worse in that you could just tap the same direction a couple times and get the wrong inputs.

The D-pad I have now is good enough for most games I could accept that it's just not great for Tetris if the C-sticks at least worked, but if you release them to let them recenter to try to do quick tapping movements, they register the opposite direction by mistake frequently and cancel out your taps. The Joy-Con sticks are better, which shouldn't be the case that you're better off with a sideways Joy-Con than a Pro controller. My first Pro controller actually had working sticks, so maybe if I keep sending it back to Nintendo enough times I can eventually get a controller with working sticks and a D-pad I can live with.
 
Got the replacement controller Nintendo sent me after I talked with their CS and it works perfectly! No more unplanned hard drops for my in puyo!


I have this same issue in Puyo Puyo Tetris. I bet Nintendo is tired of my Switch related returns even though I am still under warranty, but there hardware quality hasn't been the best this go around.

I may return the Pro Controller for repair or attempt the mod that the poster suggested in this thread. It seems that repairs or exchanges from Nintendo are hit or miss judging by some of the replies on here.

So far I have sent in 1 left Grey Joy-Con (weak wireless signal) , left and right neon blue Joy-Cons. The plastic latches that locks them onto Switch chipped off enough that they would no longer stay locked onto the Switch. You no longer had to push the button to slide them off Switch. Just watch that Giant Bomb video with Jeff Gerstmann and you'll get an idea what I am taking about.

I also had a bent dock that put scratches on my screen protector.

Over the past weeks I have sent them all to Nintendo's repair service in New York. So far my left Grey Joy-Con with signal issues is still out. I hope it truly gets fixed, because although Nintendo fixed my 2 Joy-Cons with chipped latches the repair service returned the same dock back to me still bent.

After that I did the hair dryer hack with a book and fixed the dock myself. I figured they would get me a new one, but it was a no go for whatever reason. Instead of calling and bitching about it I took matters into own hands and fixed it myself. It's now bent outward enough that I am not worried about scratches on my screen protector or Switch. Plus I also bought a dock cozy to protect even further.
 

iphys

Member
I just sent my 4th Pro controller back to Nintendo. The C-stick problem I feel like they could probably fix with just a system update to increase the deadzone, but if a new controller is having issues with that what does that say for the future when the sticks actually start to get looser from use? The D-pad I tried to give the last one a chance since it only seemed to be misdropping about once a minute in Tetris, unlike earlier ones that misdropped half the pieces, but then it actually somehow got stuck registering down and soft dropping all my pieces (in 40 lines mode, which I know is low gravity) even while it continued to let me move the pieces left, right, and hard drop them, so I know the D-pad wasn't physically locked in the down position that whole time. Maybe it was actually the C-stick suddenly registering down for no reason, I don't know: I'm just flabbergasted with this controller at this point.

I got the NES30 Pro to use instead. It doesn't feel as ergonomic in the hands, but at least the D-pad and sticks actually work a lot better, and for third party it's surprisingly good. Not sure what is going to happen with my Switch Pro, but I asked Nintendo not to just send me another defective one and to actually fix it if that's even possible.
 

me0wish

Member
Meh they told me I have to talk to Nintendo first. Then gave me a link to NoA. Nintendo Japan doesn't seem to, as far as I can tell, have english support.

Guess Im calling NoA and begging them to fix this.

I've told Amazon Japan that it's a known issue and referred to their reviews, and told them that my country isn't supported by Nintendo. They accepted my return and now I have functional joycons.

I don't think that they'll fix the dpad on the pro due to not nearly enough people complaining about it.
 

Nerrel

Member
Adding from my last post: http://m.neogaf.com/showpost.php?p=233839756

I also tested the Wii U Gamepad Dpad for Street Fighter 2 but found it is exactly the same Dpad used for the Wii U Pro Controller.

It pretty much reinforces what I said that the reason incorrect inputs happen is because the Dpads on the Wii U and Switch Pro Controllers are both loose by design. They have a lot of space to move around in when you move your Dpad with your thumb in circles.

I don't think that's the issue. I have two Wii U Pros and both have the same wiggle room the Switch Pro does- you can rock up and down easily while holding right or left- yet they don't register diagonal input nearly as easily. My launch Wii U Pro doesn't register up at all when rocking up and down. You really have to deliberately press on the upper part of the cross to register input there. My other U Pro does register diagonal input when rocking, but only when you're rocking very far upward. There's a good range of wiggling before it registers "up" so it doesn't happen much by accident. The Switch Pro is way different in that any rocking will register an up or down press. It's basically unusable for anything other than menu navigation.

Given that all 3 Dpads move the same way but register input differently, I wonder if it has something to do with the circuit board or conductive pad. I don't think it's the looseness itself that's the problem.
 

iphys

Member
I don't think that they'll fix the dpad on the pro due to not nearly enough people complaining about it.

So they're going to pretend like nothing's wrong because 95% of people haven't noticed yet or just don't care, and those of us that keep complaining they just keep sending us new defective controllers forever? I wonder even what the legality of that is. They'd probably be required to refund our money if they're never going to actually fix the controller.
 

Nerrel

Member
I got my Pro controller back from Nintendo's repair service today. Like most others have reported, they just swapped it out for a new controller and shipped it back without any real effort to check if that one also suffers from the problem. The good news is that this replacement is rock solid when it comes to the right blade of the cross; I can rock it as much as I want with no unwanted inputs. The bad news is that the other three directions still register diagonals crazily easily. It's still an improvement, but I'm giving up hope of this ever being acceptably fixed. Maybe some day Nintendo will change their manufacturing to correct the issue, but even then current Pro owners would have to shell out another $70 for it.

I tested Super Metroid and wall jumps weren't really a problem. The Pro I sent in was awful for them, with Samus regularly aiming up and breaking out of the flips, so if nothing else I did get something out of my repair attempt. If anyone else wants to try sending theirs in (you really should, considering how expensive it is), make sure you specifically request that they test a replacement for the same problem before sending it, because they won't do it otherwise.

Such a blight on a damn good controller. I never thought I'd be able to say that I'd take a Microsoft D-pad over a Nintendo one.
 

iphys

Member
Well, technically if you just keep sending back the replacement till they fix it, the warranty never runs out, so I'm not sure why it would be necessary to fork out another US$70 if they ever do fix the problem. Everyone should just keep sending them back to force them to actually do something about the problem.
 

jchap

Member
Got mine back for the second time from Nintendo today. First thing I do is go to the input test feature in the menu. Press left and it registers as up.

Great.

I'm considering just trying to mod it to work myself
 
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