Zwift Play Controller. Steering Problem!

Bugs and Support
1

Hello, I have a problem with my left Zwift Play controller. The left control button is stuck somehow. not mechanically, but software-related. That means my avatar always drives to the center line of the road. I updated both controllers, unfortunately it didn’t help. The problem already existed with the old software. I could try recalibrating both controllers.?

Does anyone know this problem?

2

You need to speak with Zwift support. Go through the chatbot and keep telling it that its suggestions don’t help, and eventually you’ll get to a form that you can fill in to contact support.

3
4

I’ve asked the Zwift Support. Erick wrote that i should calibrate the Controllers. After that, the Problem is solved.

Ride on !

2 Likes
5

I had the same problem in the last few days.
Calibration and the latest firmware 1.3 only helped for a few days.

6

How does one ‘calibrate the controllers’? I have this exact issue and no firmware update will solve it. thanks in advance

7

See Calibrating Your Zwift Play

1 Like
8

Hi @Mark_McKinnon Welcome to the Forums! I’m Norman from Zwift. Before calibrating, it’d be ideal to check your in-game-generated logs from the Zwift Play controller!

Please help us by letting us know about your case, just contact us to get started.

Ride On.

9

Hi @Norman very happy to do this. whenever I use the contact us link I just end up down a bot blind ally. If there is someone who can help me generate the in game logs please tell me how!

10

The in-game logs are generated automatically.

Keep telling the bot that its suggestions don’t help and it should eventually let you contact Zwift support directly.

11

Hi @Mark_McKinnon, thank you for using the Zwift Forums!
Fernanda here, part of the support specialist team at Zwift.

I can see that you already reached out to Zwift Support via email. Let’s continue that email conversation so we can help you get this figured out. This will allow us to check the information on your controller’s behavior in the App.

My team will be happy to continue assisting you via e-mail.

12

Hi there Fernanda,

Are you and team happy to instruct me on how best to get to the bottom of the issue? I understand you might want to see some game logs?

I can give you access if you explain how :blush:

Regards,
Mark

13

Hi @Mark_McKinnon! I’m Gian from Zwift.

We’re very happy to continue helping you! Please reach out to us using this link. You can skip the bot’s suggestions to connect with one of our colleagues.

We’ll wait for you to reach out so we can continue assisting you.

14

I have the same problem 2 last TTT on WTRL was destroyed by this problem. Anybody that have the solution or what to do for fixing.

15

Hello,

I have the same problem. I have tried:

  1. A long hold of the play controller power buttons. I believe this does a reset. When one powers on again the lights cycle through different colours before flashing the normal pre-connection blue.
  2. I have checked and made sure I have the latest firmware and latest game version. (I do.)
  3. I tried the callibration procedure. Did not work. When pressing turn left I never get the vibration. When pushing the left paddle to the right (braking) I sometimes get the vibration but not always. The fact that it doesn’t vibrate when turning left during calibration makes sense to me in a way because this indicates it is never reaching the limit and that is why in game it just keeps turning left and never stops turning left.
  4. Seems when I fully charge the controllers the problem goes away briefly but… it comes back when the controllers are only very, very, very slightly discharged. (The battery indication on screen still shows full.).
  5. Today I started fully charged - at 16km the problem came back. I tried to do a controller reset - didn’t work. I exited and re-entered the game cycle powered the controllers - didn’t work. I plugged the left controller in to power for a minute or two. It then worked again for about 18km before failing.

I don’t want or need the steering but I love to control the game from the handle bars. I would be more than happy with the play controllers with steering disabled. When it gets stuck on left it destroys the whole game experience. I hate it. I love virtual shifting so I want to use the controllers but this stuck in left mode is very, very, very annoying.

Cheers

Adrian

1 Like
16

Have you tried using them while the charging cables are plugged in? Sounds to me like they need replacement but that sometimes helps.

17

Hi Paul

I did try. When I plugged the left controller in the light turned green and the Bluetooth connection dropped immediately. My avatar moved from left limit to the middle of the road but I had no left controller and I couldn’t reconnect the Bluetooth unless I unplugged the charging cable.

Thanks

Adrian

18

Hello.
It seems to be working again now. I always activated Bluetooth and had an ANT+ dongle plugged in at the same time. And according to Zwift Support, the ANT+ dongle can interfere with the Bluetooth signal. I have now unplugged the ANT+ dongle. Then restarted the PC. Since then there have been no problems.

19

Hello Sebastian, All,

Glad yours are working. In my case I have no ANT+ devices. I live in an apartment building but I am very, very confident none of my neighbours have ANT+ devices. I am pretty sure ANT+ is not my issue!

I am waiting patiently for someone from Zwift support to get back to me. Bad time of the year I guess with peak numbers of people on Zwift.

Cheers

Adrian

20

Hello again, All,

So… Zwift replaced my controllers. The new set worked well for a month and then the right controller started shifting to the highest gear and continuously vibrating. No way to get out of the highest gear. None of the following worked:
Checked latest firmware
Hard reset
Calibration
I eliminated the Bluetooth bridge by connecting directly to my MacBook. I have made sure not to cross signals in the “line of site” sense to avoid interference between Bluetooth and WiFi.
What is strange is I had a 3h20 minute ride yesterday with zero issues. Today right controller started changing up after 30 minutes.
So…
Can the controllers be broken and have these intermittent failures or is it more likely that some outside interference kicks in and causes the failure? How likely is it that I would be unlucky enough to have two sets of dud controllers? Surely it is more likely that there is some other external interference that is causing the problem - but what is it? How do I identify it? How do I prevent it? Is there something Zwift can do in software to “lock” the bluetooth connections and ignore all other outside signals once the connections are in place?
I don’t know. I do know that it is massively frustrating. I love virtual shifting but this lack of reliability means I am faced with no choice but to abandon the play controllers unless I can find a reliable solution.

Cheers

Adrian