Xbox controller buttons not working nut directional stick works.

josg88 · Jun 28, 2025 at 1:13 AM

I have an xbox one series x. Everything was fine until a couple of days ago when my controller A B Y and X buttons stopped working. I assumed it was a hardware issue so I bought a new controller which is an official xbox one. Then that controller started having the same issue and the old controller started working again and now they're both not working. I've tried applying updates and hard reset, wired connections re connecting it to the console. Nothing seems to work. It can't be the case that one brand new controller has a hardware issue the exact same as the old controller. I do have an adapter for some headphones that I plug into it but that's never been a problem or caused an issue. I suspect it is an issue on Microsoft's part rather than my controllers but I can't play at the minute I can scroll the menus on the home page no issues I just can't click A to go into any games!

:)

SweetMonet

Hi, Josg88! It's my pleasure to assist you with this today.

Kindly try to do these steps and check if it will fix the issue.

Press and hold the Power button on the front of your Xbox until the console turns off.

Unplug everything from the back of your Xbox.

Wait 3 minutes, and then plug the power cord and HDMI back in.

Then, please check if that fixes the issue.

If that doesn't work, try to reset the console this way.

IMPORTANT: Make sure to remember the email and password for the account before taking these steps.

Press the Xbox button to open the guide.

Select Profile & system > Settings > System > Console info > Reset console.

Select "Reset and keep my games & apps

Let me know if that works. Thank you!

JohnGratton1

I had the same problem and it drove me nuts.

I found that the trigger button on my joystick worked every time.

Probably any button on the stick at all will work.

XA JJKILLERs

I switched on my xbox after a long time, a successful software upgrade happened. After that I am not able to use few keys from my wired controller. Down movement of left stick not working, on selecting "A" button you can observe a blink but selection
is not happening, pressing down button on directional pad the selection moved down but immediately comes back. Tried connecting a USB keyboard then also down button not working, similar to directional button behavior.

You can stay updated on the service outage here https://support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-live-status

Heavycap

The regular xbox one controller works, even the trigger buttons but the Mad Catz Fight Stick triggers do not.

I dont really understand why the game pad works and the fight stick doesn't, there both technically the same controller with the same buttons except one that fits in your palm and the other is 4 times the size and sits on your table.

They both work on the xbox one, so with the controller drivers installed under windows it should be the same.

Hope this gets resolved.

Nohra369

As Said above with the button, If this does not work i find just plugging the controller into the console will sync the controller direct.

Xbox controller buttons not working nut directional stick works.