PS3 Controller issues

[RobertR1]

Playing through Resistance, start to finish, there were a handful of times (3-5) where I had to hit the PS button to reconnect the controller mid game. This is where the screen goes dim, game pauses and you get the message to hit the PS button to connect the controller.

Quite a few other times, 15+, I lose sync and it comes back after a few seconds. This is generally where the character starts spinning in circles, firing endlessly or running in one direction while you wait for the controller to accept commands again.

Having the controller plugged in while playing demo's did not have this issue. This was the first time I've used the "wireless" aspect of the controller for an extended period of time. There are no other bluetooth devices in the room and I'm sitting about 7-9ft away.

Anyone else having this issue? I'm hoping either a firmware fixes this, I'm on the latest fwiw, or I can call Sony to get a replacement unit.

Note: there is absolutely no need to bring up the Wii or 360 controller in this. Please simply share your feedback if you own a PS3.

 

[patsu]

Within a 5 feet radius, I have the PS3 together with a WiFi network of 3 PCs, plus a 2.4GHz intercom phone, and a Blue-tooth cell phone. No problem so far.

I did experience a drop-out in Best-Buy once when someone yelled into the store intercom system.

EDIT: BTW, did I play against you in one of the Resistance MP games (The aircraft carrier level) ? I met someone whose nick is very close to RobertR.

 

[rounin]

Sounds like a real issue that needs to be taken care of right away. I've seen this issue on several forums already.

 

[inefficient]

I have 2 controlers now and have been using the PS3 since launch week. I have not seen this issue even once yet.

I have is a wireless BT mouse on my PC. And I can pick up my neighboors Wifi signal, so I know that is humming through the air but don't use it. I do have other issues with the controler but the wireless problems is not one of them.

1. I think the dead zones for the analog sticks are still too big for FPS games. It's hard to adjust aim accuratly and quickly. It's an improvment over the DS2 though. Of course for non-FPS games I can see having a default deadzone that is too small could be a problem. If this is just a software setting and not a mechanical issue, I wish they would put a slider into the XMB to customize it.

2. I don't like how it is too easy to accidently depress L2/R2 I wish you could increase the dead zone on that. It should require a bit of a squeeze to set it off, not a light touch. This can be fixed with software and I wish they would either change the default deadzones or allow user customization.

3. Finally the buttons could be a little more responsive. I feel they are a bit sticky and don't spring back up fast enough.

 

[Crayon]

Within the first hour of playing, the character (camera?) in Resistance spun wildy to the right for a few seconds then went back to normal. Never happenned again. Possession?

 

[Tap In]

there have been several threads on NeoGaf about this issue and evidently some people have it frequently (the 1-2 second drop out)

the buzz on the street is it's interference with bluetooth but others say it's the controller. Some have even returned their controllers and had their issue fixed.... so... it's a mystery but you're not imagining it.

Edit:
oh and I seem to remember one thread where some concluded it had something to do with it searching for sync (or cycling?) when the battery was getting low.

 

[inefficient]

Within the first hour of playing, the character (camera?) in Resistance spun wildy to the right for a few seconds then went back to normal. Never happenned again. Possession?

Resistance has werid bugs. So it easily could have just been the game spazzing out

For example, just from my playing this last weekend I saw the following:

1. Sound dropping off completely and having to restart the game.

2. At one scripted event, there was supposed to be this mini boss guy that comes crashing through these gates in this open area. I was playing coop and instead of the event going down as scripted, there was some kind of werid tornado effect and the mini boss was flying around the screen in circles a couple feet off the ground.

3. 2 slaves models spawned inside of each other and were stuck motionless.

 

[myzhi]

Had few sync problems while playing GTHD. Was having a good lap, and next thing, car wouldn't turn.

 

[Rainbow Man]

there have been several threads on NeoGaf about this issue and evidently some people have it frequently (the 1-2 second drop out)

In resistance only or in all kinds iof games? It'd be a fairly huge bummer if it can happen in any game at any time. You wouldn't want to start spinning left/right wildly during a race in Need for Speed or such or maybe walking straight ahead over cliff edges in platofrmers/FPSes etc..

Mayvbe it's good that euros are made to wait while americans and japanese get to act guinea pigs until all the kinks are worked out of th esystem..

Peace.

 

[Tap In]

In resistance only or in all kinds iof games?

those threads referenced several games yes.

 

[TTP]

From my experience and investigations with friends I can tell you the following as FACTS:

1 - It's not a bug with some games code. It can occur (and occurred to me) anywhere, from the XMB to the web Browser, from GTHD to Gripshift.

2 - This is not an interference issue. I have no wirelss stuff working inside or outside my apartment. Well, except the TV antenna.

3 - If some ppl say they didn't experience this problem it doesn't mean shit. Its occurrence is very random. It might happen once after 3 hrs of play as well as 3 in 1. It has to be noted that there are also chances the problem occurs at moments where you don't change the input during those 2-3 seconds. ie: you are going straight forward in Resistance > controller input freezes > you don't notice cos you are still pushing the stick upwards anyway.

4 - It's not an issue with a specific controller. I tested three different Sixaxis, and occurred with all of them.

5 - It's not an issue withe a specific system. I tested two PS3s, and occurred on both.

6 - There are 99.9% chances it's a problem with the Bluetooth technology (similar issue has been reported about the Wiimote, which is also Bluetooth based). At the moment it is unknown if it's an unfixable hardware problem or a fixable software/driver one.

7 - Sony silence about the whole issue is not encouraging.

 

[Rainbow Man]

6 - There are 99.9% chances it's a problem with the Bluetooth technology (similar issue has been reported about the Wiimote, which is also Bluetooth based).

I doubt it's BT at fault. Or at least BT on a funsdamental level. More like BT as implemented in PS3 perhaps.

I have 2 different BT cellphones wiimote and BT headset etc. I have used 2 different BT mice in the past. Haven't had any issues at all. I got cordless phone and access point and Wii and at least 2 other wifi networks visible in my general area. No wiimote problems or cellphone or mouse problems etc.

I guess something must be funky wiht the PS3 or its controllers then because BT is pretty darn solid in my own personal experience. If not it's gotta be some kind of environmental issue that only affects some people. If this was widespread I suppose we'd hear more about it. Maybe it's some electric amchinery that triggers EM spikes or something when it starts up and causes interference..

Hope they fix it soon if it's a hardware issue even if it seems only some people are affected.

Peace.

 

[TTP]

Not that this is worldwide survey, but still, take a look at this:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=131113&highlight=sixaxis+issue+survey

 

[AntShaw]

This is an issue that Firmware will not resolve. It's the nature of the beast. While you can try and limit interference, your experience may vary.

Similar to 802.11b, Bluetooth devices operate within the 2.4 GHz band. The difference is that that Bluetooth uses frequency hopping (at 1,600 hops per second) to hop over the entire 2.4 GHz band. 802.11b, on the other hand, uses direct sequence and only occupies approximately one third of the 2.4 GHz band. As a result, Bluetooth hops all over 802.11b transmissions.

An 802.11 station (client or access point) is polite and first listens to the medium before transmitting. If the 802.11 station doesn't sense RF energy above a certain threshold (meaning that the medium is idle), the 802.11 station can transmit a frame. While the 802.11 station is sending the frame, other 802.11 stations will hold off their transmissions by following the same protocol. This provides a fairly good method of sharing a common RF channel among devices complying with the 802.11 standard.

A critical problem is that Bluetooth and 802.11b neither understand each other nor follow the same rules. A Bluetooth radio may haphazardly begin transmitting data while an 802.11 station is sending a frame. This results in a collision, which forces the 802.11 station to retransmit the frame when it realizes that the receiving station is not going to send back an acknowledgement. This lack of coordination is the basis for RF interference between Bluetooth and 802.11.

http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials/article.php/1379911?regioncode=NA

 

[habbe]

This is an issue that Firmware will not resolve. It's the nature of the beast. While you can try and limit interference, your experience may vary.



http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials/article.php/1379911?regioncode=NA

So are you saying that Bluetooth and wifi can't be used in the same room ?..

If so you are wrong..

I'm sitting right now in front of my wifi router and listening in my bt 2.0 headset a2dp profile and my phone is 10 feet away and no problems.

edit
One more thing just crossed my mind, My work laptop has built in Wifi and Bluetooth. I Use it every day with Wifi internet connectivity and the same bt headset connected to the same computer.. And it works fine...

 

[AntShaw]

So are you saying that Bluetooth and wifi can't be used in the same room ?..

If so you are wrong..

I'm sitting right now in front of my wifi router and listening in my bt 2.0 headset a2dp profile and my phone is 10 feet away and no problems.

Awww...Come on. How you even got that out of what I said, and what the article said, is amazing to me.

Your mileage with devices that are subject to interference will ALWAYS VARY. While you may be having NO issues, that doesn't mean you won't/can't have any issues. Please re-read that link.

 

[habbe]

Awww...Come on. How you even got that out of what I said, and what the article said, is amazing to me.

Your mileage with devices that are subject to interference will ALWAYS VARY. While you may be having NO issues, that doesn't mean you won't/can't have any issues. Please re-read that link.

Maybe i misunderstood our post, But you clearly stated "that it is not an firmware issue" and posted a link that about interference issues with bluetooth and 802.11.

But how should i read your posts. are you saying that sixaxxis issues are because of 802.11 interference ?
Or are you saying that if the issue with drop outs are of interference it can't be addressed with an FW uppgrade ( wich i can agree to).

 

[RobertR1]

Whatever the technicality is, let's let Sony be aware so they can address the issue.

Is there a place to submit issues online for the PS3?

 

[AntShaw]

Maybe i misunderstood our post, But you clearly stated "that it is not an firmware issue" and posted a link that about interference issues with bluetooth and 802.11.

But how should i read your posts. are you saying that sixaxxis issues are because of 802.11 interference ?

I am saying that the most likely cause of the said issues with the sixaxis dropping and reconnecting is due to interferrance in the 2.4ghz band range.

Or are you saying that if the issue with drop outs are of interference it can't be addressed with an FW uppgrade ( wich i can agree to).

If Sony can alter the opertating frequency of their BT controllers to a different band via a firmware update, that would be news to me.

 

[habbe]

I am saying that the most likely cause of the said issues with the sixaxis dropping and reconnecting is due to interferrance in the 2.4ghz band range.

Well i don't agree, Even if Sony is saying that the drop outs are due to interference.

Bluetooth and 802.11 coexist in many applications that and don't have any issues for ex. cellphones,pda,laptops,mp3-players and so on.

From Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth#Specifications_and_Features)

Bluetooth 1.2

This version is backwards compatible with 1.1 and the major enhancements include

* Adaptive Frequency-hopping spread spectrum (AFH), which improves resistance to radio frequency interference by avoiding the use of crowded frequencies in the hopping sequence