Gamepads making involuntary movements in Emulation Station

[Rion]

@dankcushions said in Gamepads making involuntary movements in Emulation Station:

with my ibuffalo pads i "fixed" this issue by connecting them via a powered usb hub. i think for them specifically the issue is caused by electrical inteference or something like that.

Have you tried this?

/boot/config.txt

max_usb_current=1

sets the available current over USB to 1.2A (default is 600mA.

Would this solve your problem without connecting the iBuffalo controllers to a powered usb hub?

[obsidianspider]

I just ran the Raphnet Fix on my Genesis Pi and it appears to have fixed my iBuffalo ghost input issues. I'm going to let it sit a while longer on the EmulationStation menu to confirm, but all signs are positive.

Edit: Never mind, after a few minutes, it had a ghost input.

I updated /boot/config.txt as @Rion suggested. I'll report back about if the ghost input returns.

Edit 2: iBuffalo ghost inputs still present after the Raphnet fix and after updating the config.txt file to have up to 1.2A

[Dochartaigh]

I can confirm I've had this issue with no less than 6 brands of controllers. Everything from iNNext/Retrolink/Gtron/no-name from ebay/no-name from AliExpress, to good quality Hyperkin Genesis controllers and iBuffalo SNES. Don't think it's happened on my 7 wireless controllers.

It's also EXTREMELY common to get the game list scrolling up or down when switching from one system to another as well (as if a key was stuck, when you haven't even touched it). This seems to be a common complaint with RetroPie/Raspberry Pi's – when all these controllers seem to work just fine on a PC.

[AlexMurphy]

@Dochartaigh Yeah, I have the iBuffalo plugged in while watching YouTube on Kodi and it's giving ghost inputs there too and randomly bringing up the info and seek bar. So it's a Pi thing rather than an Emulation Station or RetroPie thing.

[Rion]

Well then it seams like @dankcushions solution using a powered usb hub is the way to go.

[SkittleBrau79]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Good to hear I'm not going crazy.

I'll try some things when I get home. I'll start by moving it to another TV to see if it's an interference issue.

[SkittleBrau79]

@SkittleBrau79 What has me the most confused is that this only started a few days ago. Since nothing has changed with my controllers I just assumed that a setting or maybe a package/driver installation broke things. It's not that annoying in a game but very annoying in Emulation Station.

The only other thing I changed recently was moving my Pi3 to a new case with better cooling.

[RumblinBuffalo]

@SkittleBrau79 said in Gamepads making involuntary movements in Emulation Station:

@SkittleBrau79 What has me the most confused is that this only started a few days ago.

I found this to be the case with me as well. I had the Pi/Retropie setup (with 2 iBuffalo gamepads) for about 4 months and never "noticed" any problem using Retropie v3.8. It seemed to coincide/start with my switch to 4.1, but from reading alot of the posts it sounds like this is far more common so maybe for me it was just coincidence. It seems that only one of my gamepads has this problem though.

[Ponny]

Got the same problem with ONE of my iBuffalos. Will try fix on weekend.

[Xyb0t]

I suddenly had ghost inputs after reinstalling my image and updating it right away. I posted inhere, but was told "your controller is bad", but the funny thing is that both of them got the twitches, and it came about all of a sudden.

These are PS3 wireless bluetooth controllers btw, so i don't think that powering any kind of USB hub will do me any good :D

I see them do it when i install stuff from the retropie config thingie (in the terminal window), where weird chars can appear, just like if i pressed the controller.

[nesanders311]

I am getting crazy amounts of phantom button inputs with 2 Wii U Pro controllers via Bluetooth. 2 fresh installs both the same. Ibuffalos work just fine.

I am very new to this so please be gentle. It is happening often enough for me to take pictures for reference (which I cannot figure out how to post here).

link text

It does this with either Wii U Pro controller turned on and it happens every 3-5 seconds or so.

Please let me know if there is anything I can try to work this out.

[Dochartaigh]

Just want to correct my previous statement - I also get these phantom button movements on BLUETOOTH 8BitDo controllers as well....so it's definitely not something to do with physical USB controller connections or small voltage spikes or anything like that... I'm on 4.1.0 right now.

[filiphdan]

Anyone solved this issue?
Im also having this problem of ghosts inputs in emulation station, could this be a bug of the last update?

[goodpi31]

I use 2x PS3 controllers over bluetooth. After updating 4.1 a first time (dont remember the build number, maybe two months ago) I started experiencing ghost inputs. This not only happened in emulation station, but also in the retroarch menu (for example when trying to make a savestate it would suddenly move down and load instead or make a screenshot). I fixed it by removing the PS3 drivers from the setup screen, then after restarting the pi, I would reinstall the ps3 drivers and do the bluetooth setup again. This seemed to fix it. A while later I updated the pi again (dont remember the build number, about a month ago) and I had the ghost input problem again.

My solution for PS3 controllers over bluetooth: So now after updating the pi, I make sure the controllers are OFF, I remove the PS3 drivers, restart the PI, reinstall the drivers and then reconnect the controllers to bluetooth. Currently using 4.1.19 and have no problems with ghost input.

Hope this might help someone.

[DpM]

Using the Rey's 128gb attract mode image my 8bitdo NES30 PRO was fine. I then updated it and have been getting the issues people describe. I'm going to do a fresh re-image tomorrow just to make sure the issue was not there before the upgrade.

[megafacehead]

Hi

Just letting everyone know some updates on this situation.

I have 2 genuine wii u pro controllers.

Using either one seems to make no difference.The amount of ghost inputs while using emulation while these are connected via bluetooth is INSANE.

It will take approx 5 secs after booting into es for ghost inputs to appear.It usually seems to be a combination of button presses, the most common being right and a (so while your browsing your gameboy advance catalogue it will suddenly launch the first game in the gameboy colour catalogue [the next system over, which happens because it presses right and then a which launches the game]).

This issue was in ver 4.1.2.1 and ive just updated to 4.2.1 but alas it's still as bad as ever.

The ghost inputs don't just happen in es btw, it DOES happen in game-i did a test.

I opened super mario world, entered the first 'stage' (yoshis house with the speaker box right above you when you spawn in) and then left the controller.Came back twenty minutes later and the game had the speaker box dialog on screen, which means mario jumped (a or b button pressed) and hit the speaker box causing the message to appear.

I tested again, sat my phone down recording the screen and walked away, came back twenty minutes later and same thing.Watched the recorded video and around the 12 minute mark mario did a spin jump (a button pressed) via a ghost input.

12 mins for a ghost input is WAY better then 5 secs in emulation station, it literally goes haywire while trying to browse games, but still, any ghost input is bad.

To get around the problem i've been using the mayflash wii u pro controller wireless dongle.Google it.Simply sync your pro controller to the dongle, then the dongle tells the pi the wii u pro controller is actually a wireless xbox 360 controller and is detected as such in es when assigning buttons and i can say with 100% certainty there is no ghost input while using this adaptor.

I did the aforementioned super mario world test and set it up before bed and woke the next morning to find mario still standing with no dilaog box above his head;he did not jump in that 9-10hr period.

Is this a perfect fix?No, but its a good workaround if like me you believe the wii u pro controller is the perfect retropi controller, nothing comes close.Crazy good battery life, ergonomic, excellent d pad, excellent build quality, bluetooth without any dongles or mucking around, the correct amount of buttons to cover any emulator and a traditional button layout that will make snes/nes/psx players feel right at home.

It would be great if this issue was looked into a bit more, i think alot more people use the wii u pro controller then maybe the developers think.

p.s. the retropi project is the 8th wonder of the modern world imo, in case i was coming across as ungrateful, i do appreciate the work all involved do and only want to improve upon it.

[A Former User]

Ah, thank god I'm not the only one getting ghost inputs when switching between systems.
In emulator, It's perfectly fine. But in the RetroPie menu, I seem to have an issue where it automatically scrolls down.

[kulaus]

@megafacehead thanks for laying out your approach. After a couple months of continuously saving states on games so I wouldn't lose my progress due to random select+start presses, the mayflash wii u pro controller saved me. I haven't had any issues with the Wii U Pro Controller since.

[cardula]

@megafacehead - Thank you so much! I've been fighting with phantom inputs with my pi3 since the day I got it 2 months ago. The Mayflash adapter works very well. For the first time, I now have my Wii U Pro Controller along with my PS3 controller (using the custom Bluetooth driver) working in seamless wireless harmony.

Originally, I was using the on-baord Bluetooth adapter for the Wii U Pro Controller, and was getting phantom inputs randomly, about once every 30-120 minutes. Things got worse once I added a second controller. I was using the on-board Bluetooth adapter for the Wii U controller, and wiring the PS3 controller to a self powered USB hub (plugging it directly into the pi resulted in random under-voltage alarms with the lightning bolt symbol, I assume that charging the controller while using it drew too much juice). However, having both the Wii U Pro Controller along with the ps3 controller simultaneously connected caused the phantom input issue to increase 100 fold.

p.s. Agreed, the retropie project is indeed the 8th wonder of the world. FWIW, I'm very grateful for your suggestions.

[Daniel64]

I, too, have sever problems with my Wii U Pro Controller. I wouldn't mind the occasional button press, but it randomly ghost presses Select + Start every couple of minutes, which makes everything literally unplayable.

I don't want to invest another 20 bucks for the Mayflash and I also don't want any cables and stuff attached to my RetroPie 3.

Can someone tell me why the ghost presses happen? Is this a problem with the Bluetooth chip on the RetroPie, a kernel or something else? Can this be fixed by the RetroPie programmers?