Controller Issues

[Jaden]

So the other day i went to turn on my PS3 and i pressed the PS button on my controller and it turned on. But, the controller just flashed 4 red dots on the top so i thought i needed to be charged. If i connect the controller with the USB cord it works but i will not work wirelessly even while fully charged. I looked up some fixes and i got a few that said i had to reformat my system or get a new system.... Seriously do i really have to loose everything on my PS3 or just have a dud console?

[cortjezter]

i would suspect the controller's internal battery before the system. try to see if any other controllers can sync and will work, then you'll know which is the culprit.

[thresholdXCI]

Does it work if you turn the console off and on again? Because in the past week this has started happening to me quite regularly. I'll turn the console on with the PS button on the controller but the thing won't actually connect (just the four flashing red lights). It'll work plugged in via the USB but the second I take it out again it starts flashing (and it's fully charged). If I turn the system off and then on again it works.

I also had this problem on and off for awhile with my Wii too. That seemed to sort itself out. Maybe it's a firmware thing?

[Androo]

A dude on NeoGaf had the very same problem. All you have to do [apparently] is to press the TINY reset button on the controller. It's somewhere on the back of it, in a tiny hole, reachable only with a needle.

See if that works.

[thresholdXCI]

A dude on NeoGaf had the very same problem. All you have to do [apparently] is to press the TINY reset button on the controller. It's somewhere on the back of it, in a tiny hole, reachable only with a needle.

See if that works.

Never worked for me. I had to make use of the old turn it off, turn it back on again trick. However apparently the new firmware 3.15 (which I downloaded today) is supposed to fix both this bluetooth sync glitch and the trophy sync problems. Obviously it's not been long enough to see whether the new firmware has actually worked out the controller issues, but it's promising. The trophy sync trouble has definitely been improved (if not fixed completely). Just in time for my first platinum!

[dandancc]

Any verdict? Did it really fix the issues?

[thresholdXCI]

Any verdict? Did it really fix the issues?

I've encountered neither issue since, so it looks like it's sorted. I'll let you guys know if I come across any of them again.

[cortjezter]

i actually had a few issues with my new ps3 slim.

first, they didn't install an OS on it, so i had to figure out a way to install one (required visiting the sony site, downloading it, getting a usb drive big enough--since they nixed the SD slots, which is stupid, because all my backed up game saves from previous ps3's are on SD cards, then going through the install process). thanks for that, sony.

then, since i already had an extra dual shock 3 bought in previous ps3 lives, i had trouble getting it to sync, and this was a brand new controller that did work just fine during the 8 hours my last 60gb model was alive. it too had the perpetual flashing lights. i wound up just plugging it in via usb cable, and restarting the machine manually (pushing its power button to turn off, and then back on). when you get back to the menu, you'll need to press the PS button on the controller to turn it on and since it's connected, it should have no problem being assigned a slot. after about 5-10 minutes, i unplug it to make sure it's had some time to charge (just in case). it should automatically still be assigned. if not, i press the PS button again and wait a little bit.. it usually re-syncs. if it doesn't, manually restart with the controller unplugged this time and see if it can sync.

good luck!

[thresholdXCI]

i actually had a few issues with my new ps3 slim.

first, they didn't install an OS on it, so i had to figure out a way to install one (required visiting the sony site, downloading it, getting a usb drive big enough--since they nixed the SD slots, which is stupid, because all my backed up game saves from previous ps3's are on SD cards, then going through the install process). thanks for that, sony.

Cort you flat out have to be the unluckiest guy on the planet when it comes to the PS3.

[Androo]

i actually had a few issues with my new ps3 slim.

first, they didn't install an OS on it, so i had to figure out a way to install one (required visiting the sony site, downloading it, getting a usb drive big enough--since they nixed the SD slots, which is stupid, because all my backed up game saves from previous ps3's are on SD cards, then going through the install process). thanks for that, sony.

Cort you flat out have to be the unluckiest guy on the planet when it comes to the PS3.

That is what I was going to say. Sony must either hate you Cort or you are simply jinxed. You're actually making me nervous. I hope I don't encounter any of this shovel when I open my Slim on Christmas day =(

[cortjezter]

let me add to the unlucky badge:

because i've had so many damn ps3's, the last one i had was activated on the PSN when i went through the initial system setup, and now that i bought a(nother) new one, i can't activate it for PSN's video content because my previous system still is--the one that died via yellow light within minutes of unboxing--and couldn't be repaired; i would have got a replacement system anyway. i wound up returning it for a refund instead since it died the same day as i opened it.

so yeah, because my clairvoyance was on the fritz that day and i didn't see its imminent failure coming enough to to deactivate that last ps3, now there's apparently no way to do it; you can only deactivate a ps3 system with the system itself, not from another. sony customer services told me to go f--- myself and create a new psn account. yeah right. like i'm really going to toss out everything i've bought up to this point, my screen name, and all my trophies. so stupid. why do they intentionally try to piss customers off?

anyway, i just realised something today relating to the controller syncing issue. if you have a mac, especially a laptop, try turning OFF the bluetooth feature, or at least it's 'discoverable' mode. i found that when my ps3 controller wasn't syncing with the system anymore, it had actually been registering with my macbook pro. oops.

you can use the bluetooth device manager to remove any controllers that have been registered to your mac.

[thresholdXCI]

like i'm really going to toss out everything i've bought up to this point, my screen name, and all my trophies. so stupid. why do they intentionally try to piss customers off?

It's hardly ideal but I suppose you could make a new user and ID just for PSN videos. Then when you go back to play games or whatever you could switch back to your old account to keep your trophies/ screen name. Maybe that'd work?

As I say, even if it does work, it's hardly ideal but that's all I can think of. Sony surely should have had the foresight to put in place some system for them to deactivate PS3s remotely.