• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Series x controller buttons make loud clicking noises

Markio128

Markio128

Member
So I was just enjoying a game of Tetris Connected on the Series X when it suddenly dawned on me that the d-pad and a,x,y,b buttons of the controller make an horrendous clicking noise. I've had to stop playing the game because it was seriously beginning to annoy me. I don't think I noticed before because I was mostly using the control sticks and triggers. Do I have a dodgy controller or is it meant to sound like a digital drum machine?
 
I don't have that controller, but sometimes using a can of air to blow around the buttons fixes this issue. Give that a try or maybe resort to taking it apart to check.
 
I've only had the controller/console a week or so and I haven't spilt anything on the controller. When playing Forza H 4, I haven't noticed because I only press the face buttons in the menus occasionally. Tetris was a nightmare of clicky proportions and I can't even imagine playing a fighting game.
 
Fredrik said:
I like the clickety-clack noise, makes the directions feel more precise, similar to arcade machines, Tac-2, etc.
🤷‍♂️
Click to expand...
Fair enough. I suppose I would expect that with an arcade stick, but not a standard controller. I'm trying to remember if the OG xbox controller was the same?
 
The face buttons are pretty clicky, about as loud as my ps4 controller face buttons.

dpad is more clicky on the xbox controller though.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I was wondering why no one mentions this. It's so annoying. The D-pad is the worst, but all 4 face buttons do it too.

You don't hear a sound out of the DualSense or basically any other controller. The Series X controller sounds like annoyingly loud cheap plastic.
 
The face buttons are clickier than an old Xbox One controller I have and the Dpad is MUCH clickier to the old one. I like them though.
 
Oh yeah, they are quite noisy. I have no problem with it, buts really noticeable compared to Xbox One controller version.
 
Yeah, the series x compared to the ps5 seems built to last but the face buttons on my launch series x controller are horribly clacky sounding. Build quality is important to me but id like something a little quieter as well.
 
How about the worst feature on the XSX controller: the share button. Once you accidently hit it(and you will, A LOT), it'll try uploading a screenshot and will then interrupt your gameplay like 5 minutes later saying it's uploaded. If you hold the Xbox button after the first notification you get saying "Screenshot saved" or whatever, you can cancel the upload so nobody has to see your stupid picture. BUT, it'll still give you another notification in 5 minutes saying upload failed.

The cool part is, you can change the the button mapping in EASE OF ACCESS setting to make it so you need to HOLD the share button to upload a screenshot. However, changing the button mapping for the share button doesn't actually save when you leave the menu. So it's literally an option, at the top of the button mapping screen, that you can change but will have no effect AT ALL. It doesn't work. Pretty neat Ease of Access there Microsoft.

And the controller is a little smaller than the previous gen version which also sucks.

What the fuck Bill Gates, fix yo shit

Embarrassed Breaking Bad GIF
 
Last edited:
I know one thing for sure, I'll be wearing headphones the next time I play Tetris. The music is sooo good and spoilt immensely by the clicking sounds.
 
ArtemisClydeFrog said:
How about the worst feature on the XSX controller: the share button. Once you accidently hit it(and you will, A LOT), it'll try uploading a screenshot and will then interrupt your gameplay like 5 minutes later saying it's uploaded. If you hold the Xbox button after the first notification you get saying "Screenshot saved" or whatever, you can cancel the upload so nobody has to see your stupid picture. BUT, it'll still give you another notification in 5 minutes saying upload failed.

The cool part is, you can change the the button mapping in EASE OF ACCESS setting to make it so you need to HOLD the share button to upload a screenshot. However, changing the button mapping for the share button doesn't actually save when you leave the menu. So it's literally an option, at the top of the button mapping screen, that you can change but will have no effect AT ALL. It doesn't work. Pretty neat Ease of Access there Microsoft.

And the controller is a little smaller than the previous gen version which also sucks.

What the fuck Bill Gates, fix yo shit
Click to expand...
You can disable all of this.
 
ArtemisClydeFrog said:
How about the worst feature on the XSX controller: the share button. Once you accidently hit it(and you will, A LOT), it'll try uploading a screenshot and will then interrupt your gameplay like 5 minutes later saying it's uploaded. If you hold the Xbox button after the first notification you get saying "Screenshot saved" or whatever, you can cancel the upload so nobody has to see your stupid picture. BUT, it'll still give you another notification in 5 minutes saying upload failed.

The cool part is, you can change the the button mapping in EASE OF ACCESS setting to make it so you need to HOLD the share button to upload a screenshot. However, changing the button mapping for the share button doesn't actually save when you leave the menu. So it's literally an option, at the top of the button mapping screen, that you can change but will have no effect AT ALL. It doesn't work. Pretty neat Ease of Access there Microsoft.

And the controller is a little smaller than the previous gen version which also sucks.

What the fuck Bill Gates, fix yo shit

Embarrassed Breaking Bad GIF
Click to expand...
I don't actually mind the smaller controller to be fair - it feels quite nice and comfy to hold. I just wish the racket the buttons make didn't invade my space so much haha
 
ArtemisClydeFrog said:
How about the worst feature on the XSX controller: the share button. Once you accidently hit it(and you will, A LOT),
Click to expand...
This has happened literally zero times for me and I've got pretty big hands.
ArtemisClydeFrog said:
it'll try uploading a screenshot and will then interrupt your gameplay like 5 minutes later saying it's uploaded.
Click to expand...
How does it interrupt anything? The game doesn't pause, it's just a notification, like if someone sends you a message.
 
Yes the series X controller is super clicky loud. I have two and both are like that. It's like they were going for a mechanical keyboard sound. The controller is great but the clicking is ridiculous.

Dualsense buttons are quiet but the vibration motors and triggers make weird sounds all the time.
 
Markio128 said:
So I was just enjoying a game of Tetris Connected on the Series X when it suddenly dawned on me that the d-pad and a,x,y,b buttons of the controller make an horrendous clicking noise. I've had to stop playing the game because it was seriously beginning to annoy me. I don't think I noticed before because I was mostly using the control sticks and triggers. Do I have a dodgy controller or is it meant to sound like a digital drum machine?
Click to expand...
Absolutely disgusting.
Kevin Durant No GIF
 
Captain Toad said:
I was wondering why no one mentions this. It's so annoying. The D-pad is the worst, but all 4 face buttons do it too.

You don't hear a sound out of the DualSense or basically any other controller. The Series X controller sounds like annoyingly loud cheap plastic.
Click to expand...
Lol I think it sounds sturdier and of higher quality. Silent controllers feels like mushy baby toys to me, makes me use more force for no reason just because I don't get any feedback. Reminds me of ZX Spectrum rubber keys. Can't deal with that. The noise is a plus. I would prefer metal to be honest *cling* *clang* arcade machine buttons 👌 I have a super clicky sturdy keyboard for my PC too, love it 😍
 
Apparently most people like clickiness on buttons. Silent buttons would be terrible but yeah that d pad definitely has some bite.

Lol they actually had it in one of the promo video before launch.
 
Reizo Ryuu said:
This has happened literally zero times for me and I've got pretty big hands.

How does it interrupt anything? The game doesn't pause, it's just a notification, like if someone sends you a message.
Click to expand...

I play a lot of Fallout recently so the start button opens my map. If you're in a game that you don't use the start/back buttons very much then yeah, this won't happen.

The interruption is a notification for something that you don't need to be notified for, which I know realize I can turn off.


cireza cireza Thanks, I turned Capture notifications off in Preferences>Xbox Notifications, and turned off the share button in Preferences>Capture and Share.

With those changes, if you hit the share button it will now come up with an error. So to eliminate that you gotta uncheck the "System" notifications.

That's pretty neat how they have so many options to turn off certain notifications, didn't really mess around with that before. The problem now is if you have the notifications disabled, if you accidently hit the button it will do the screenshot or video without telling you. So it'll be like playing Madden games where you have a million videos you didn't take that are just automatically uploaded. And you can't just remap the share button like it says you can, the option just doesn't work.

It's definitely some first world problems but man this shit is annoying. Not sure what was wrong with the old way of doing it on the Xbox One with pressing Xbox Button and then X or Y if you wanted a screenshot or video. Worked pretty quickly.
 
Reizo Ryuu said:
I recently played through outer worlds, you're constantly pressing/holding the view button to bring up the map/inventory, and the menu button to save/load.
Zero times.
Click to expand...

Neat, I'm just trying to figure out a way to change the button completely and have that setting saved, like the settings say you can.
 
100% true for Series S. Mine is less than a week old.

Switch joycon, Switch pro controller, and DS5 are all completely silent. My Series S controller clicks like bubble wrap and its loud, on every button, on the d-pad as well.

OP is telling the truth. The controller is honestly nice, but the clicking feels very cheap and is actually loud and annoying. My girlfriend complained about it from the next room over, with the door shut.
 
Love the click of the dpad, reminds me of the Vita.

It's the most satisfying dpad I've used on a home console. I've always found Nintendo's to be squishy, and previous Xbox attempts pretty poor. Sony's dpads have always been very satisfactory though.
 
Last edited:
Markio128 said:
I'm unsure if you are stating that my comment is disgusting, or that the meditative splendour of Tetris being obliterated by clicking noises is disgusting haha.
Click to expand...
The latter, hate the clicking noise.

Could be that on console I always have my sounds through AVR and surround speakers and can hear the disgusting clicking sound.

On PC I have always a headset and tend to go for more silent mechanical switches.
 
Last edited:
Punished Miku said:
100% true for Series S. Mine is less than a week old.

Switch joycon, Switch pro controller, and DS5 are all completely silent. My Series S controller clicks like bubble wrap and its loud, on every button, on the d-pad as well.

OP is telling the truth. The controller is honestly nice, but the clicking feels very cheap and is actually loud and annoying. My girlfriend complained about it from the next room over, with the door shut.
Click to expand...
Did she actually complain? That genuinely made me laugh. My missus was having a nap on the settee whilst I was playing Tetris and I was so worried about waking her.
 
Reizo Ryuu said:
If the controller bothers you that much, you can just use the xb1 controller instead you know?
Click to expand...

Oh I know, I just have two of the new ones and the XB1 controller I have is pretty shitty. Not gonna buy a new one. I've learned to live with it, but it's still frustrating that we're given the option but we can't actually choose.
 
Xbox controllers have traditionally annoyed the hell out of me. Because of clicky buttons, and I've got many posts saying as much. It's the worst thing about the Steam Controller and the main reason I don't use it often.

I got my hands on a demo Series X controller in a shop, and it didn't seem too bad. I was tempted, especially for pairing it to PC with the wireless dongle for a connection superior to Bluetooth. But then I got home and picked my DS4 back up, and I was reminded of how much better the DS4 is for me. The controller isn't so insecure in its feelings that it makes itself heard, it's content to let the result of your input speak for itself. Plus there's the touchpad, which in the right scenario opens up a lot of options.
 
I got my series x brand new last week and I can confirm you're not alone cus the dpad and analog sticks can sound really loud and clicks compared to my dualsense
 
THEAP99 said:
I got my series x brand new last week and I can confirm you're not alone cus the dpad and analog sticks can sound really loud and clicks compared to my dualsense
Click to expand...

the dpad uses metal dome switches, hence the clicking noises. but the ABXY buttons shouldn't be any louder
 
I actually prefer the tactile feel of the dome switches to the rubber membrane. I've always preferred more feedback from my devices though, it's one of the biggest reasons I can't stand using touchscreens.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Sony patents controller with deformable buttons that lets you twist, pitch, and feel games.
12
241
Exentryk replied
LTTP: Stalker 2 (Xbox Series X)
7
293
EverydayBeast replied
LTTP: Splinter Cell Conviction via Series X
35
490
RedC replied
Xbox Series X / ROG Ally Combo
44
1K
FudgeIt replied
Sony Patent Teases Adaptive Touch Controller With No Physical Buttons For PS6
Rumor Hardware  2
88
2K
MiguelItUp replied
Top Bottom