Has anyone successfully calibrated the deadzones on the ipega 9023? - Shield Tablet Accessories

I really want to edit the deadzones on the ipega 9023 telescopic bluetooth controller. I have seen very little information regarding this gamepad (and if it is even possible to adjust the deadzone successfully at all).
All I know is that I have to edit the .kl file for the ipega 9023, but I can't find the .kl file for this device at all. All I have to go on is the following:
First download root power explorer
Mount rw
Go to root
System/usr/keylayout
Search for your controler id vendor if u cant find it just go through all of them till you find this
# Left and right stick.
# The reported value for flat is 128 out of a range from -32767 to 32768, which is absurd.
# This confuses applications that rely on the flat value because the joystick actually
# settles in a flat range of +/- 4096 or so.
axis 0x00 X flat 4096
axis 0x01 Y flat 4096
axis 0x03 Z flat 4096
axis 0x04 RZ flat 4096
I wnt to the directory above and found nothing for the ipega. I also installed a terminal emulator and typed cat /proc/bus/input/devices to see all connected devices. I saw info on a device called "Broadcom Bluetooth HID" with vendor 1949 product 0402, but I saw no .kl file at all with that vendor id or product id.
Has anyone successfully calibrated the ipega 9023 and edited the deadzones at all? Should I just give up and deal with the deadzones?

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Search this thread here https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2033780
Just search for your specific controller. I'm sure someone has already configured your controller, also with the correct vendor ID and product ID as they did mine, the file I found also had the Vendor ID as 1949 and the Product ID as 0402, but my controller is the iPega PG-9021.
I also read somewhere in that thread there is a tutorial to make your own .kl file. Worth a look!

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Ok, thanks for the info!

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Don't bother, the dead zones on the Ipega controllers are hard coded into the microcontroller on the gamepad itself. Yes Android keylayout files can then add their own additional deadzone, which is what you're looking at, but lowering it from 4096 won't do a damn thing because the Ipega's deadzone is already MUCH larger than that.

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moeburn said:
Don't bother, the dead zones on the Ipega controllers are hard coded into the microcontroller on the gamepad itself. Yes Android keylayout files can then add their own additional deadzone, which is what you're looking at, but lowering it from 4096 won't do a damn thing because the Ipega's deadzone is already MUCH larger than that.
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yeah, i've been stuck with the same problem also. i've read somewhere that relodering a ps3 analog stick helped with the problem, but not much. i wish there was some way to fix the deadzones, the gamepad would be perfect

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lukas.trop said:
yeah, i've been stuck with the same problem also. i've read somewhere that relodering a ps3 analog stick helped with the problem, but not much. i wish there was some way to fix the deadzones, the gamepad would be perfect
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Sorry to resurrect an old thread. New ipega offering on the market. Ipega 9083. Can't find any info on deadzone improvement or changes. Form factor is better than 9023 so maybe they tweaked internals as well. Any one want to gamble?

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i threw my 9023 in the bin it was terrible

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Canadave1 said:
Sorry to resurrect an old thread. New ipega offering on the market. Ipega 9083. Can't find any info on deadzone improvement or changes. Form factor is better than 9023 so maybe they tweaked internals as well. Any one want to gamble?
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Hi, just saw this new model myself and was looking for the same info. In the end I finished ordering it since it's not so expensive (which is not really a good sign per se, I should add). Should arrive in about a week, I'll let you know then! Fingers crossed!

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Definitely post back. If you don't mind me asking what will you be using it on and what will you be playing?
Sent from my SHIELD Tablet K1 using Tapatalk

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Canadave1 said:
Definitely post back. If you don't mind me asking what will you be using it on and what will you be playing?
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It'll be coming from China, so it'll take more than expected (should arrive by the end of the month, I could swear it was a Prime product so I thought it was a next-day deal, but oh well).
The main thing is that I fear it could be a rebrand of another pad I tried in the past, the STG-ONE (look for it on Google) which was utter **** as not only it had the same deadzone troubles, it also didn't record analog sticks clicking (L3 and R3 inputs, in other words) even if the sticks clicked themselves, and bluetooth connectivity was completely unreliable.
Sure it looks identical, but anyway for 30 euros or so it's a test I can undertake.
EDIT: I've tried the STG-ONE again just to be sure and it's not as ****ty as I remembered, the deadzones are a bit better than i remembered (but still difficult to use in aiming for FPS games, tried on Dead Trigger 2), but the L3/R3 thing is a bummer. I'll try again the PG-9023 as soon as it charges enough, to see STG-ONE deadzones are at least better than its ones, or if they're the same.
Plan is to use with my Galaxy Tab S2 with Moonlight to stream PC games on it, the streaming works surprisingly well and is almost completely lag-free (works better on my S9 but i prefer the bigger screen). Also emulators, of course, MAME in particular, but such old games don't usually need analog sticks so the pads I already own are more than enough for them.

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brigcam said:
I'll try again the PG-9023 as soon as it charges enough, to see STG-ONE deadzones are at least better than its ones, or if they're the same.
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Tried it. In hindsight, they pretty both suck. Will update when the PG-9083 arrives!

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Hello everyone,
so, the PG-9083 arrived a couple days ago, but I've found just now the time to write here.
TL;DR: The analogs still suck, unless you connect the pad with an OTG cable and your phone supports Xbox 360 pads
So as soon as the package arrived I connected the pad to an USB cable coming from my PC, and I noticed the pad got recognized as an Xbox 360 controller. Didn't care much about it at that moment, but it actually was an important detail.
So I bluetooth connect the PG-9083 to my Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 and after many tests the conclusion is that the analog sticks still suck. I even rooted the tablet and tried messing up with the keyboard layout files, but even changing the deadzone settings there didn't improve anything.
Then, I don't even remember why, I connected the PG-9083 directly to the Tab S2 with an OTG cable. The tablet didn't recognize the pad (for some reason Samsung didn't include Xbox 360 gamepad drivers in its Tab S2 and its Galaxy S9, which are the two devices that I own), but then I tried starting Moonlight (which is the main reason I'm interested in an Android pad) which has an internal custom Xbox 360 driver, and lo and behold, it worked like a charm, with the analog sticks performing perfectly.
So some final considerations:
- It seems it's a software problem rather than a hardware one, although it seems to be on the driver level and not on the keyboard layout one
- Even when using the faulty bluetooth mode, I achieved some good results in Shadow of War (again, streaming it from my PC by using Moonlight) by reducing the stick deadzones to zero in the game's settings. Why does it work when changing the settings in-game, but not from the keyboard layout file? No idea!
- Can't exclude it could be some quirk in Samsung devices
- I've tried the OTG method just with Moonlight, can't say if the sticks would be fine also with other apps or with devices that natively support Xbox 360 pads
- The sticks are fine when connected to PC, both via USB (in which case the PG-9083 acts as a standard Xinput, Xbox 360 pad) and, surprisingly, via bluetooth (in which case the PG-9083 acts as a standard DirectInput pad, I had to try this with the first Dead Rising since most recent games seem to accept Xinput pads only)
- So which other Android pads can work as an Xbox 360 pad when used via USB? Our old friend the PG-9023 doesn't, and neither the STG-ONE (surprisingly, since the PG-9083 seems a relabel of it). PG-9055 also works via USB (but the USB cable must be placed on the left handle, making it impractical to use when connected). Good old PG-9037 also works via USB. Mars Gaming MGP1, nope.
So I hope this was useful and maybe could shed some light in how Android handles gamepads and maybe inspire someone to write some custom driver to fix everything?
Cheers!

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I wanted to post up on this thread that I too just received a pg-9083 and tried it out with my nvidia tablet.
It is exactly as brigcam says. The bluetooth mode on Android has the deadzone issue but the PC usb method does not. I did not try PC Bluetooth or Android OTG.
So who would need to fix this??? I emailed iPega but don't expect a helpful resolution. I will try tincore with a rooted tablet i have to see if it can change the deadzones, but I don't want to root my k1.
brigcam said:
Hello everyone,
so, the PG-9083 arrived a couple days ago, but I've found just now the time to write here.
TL;DR: The analogs still suck, unless you connect the pad with an OTG cable and your phone supports Xbox 360 pads
So as soon as the package arrived I connected the pad to an USB cable coming from my PC, and I noticed the pad got recognized as an Xbox 360 controller. Didn't care much about it at that moment, but it actually was an important detail.
So I bluetooth connect the PG-9083 to my Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 and after many tests the conclusion is that the analog sticks still suck. I even rooted the tablet and tried messing up with the keyboard layout files, but even changing the deadzone settings there didn't improve anything.
Then, I don't even remember why, I connected the PG-9083 directly to the Tab S2 with an OTG cable. The tablet didn't recognize the pad (for some reason Samsung didn't include Xbox 360 gamepad drivers in its Tab S2 and its Galaxy S9, which are the two devices that I own), but then I tried starting Moonlight (which is the main reason I'm interested in an Android pad) which has an internal custom Xbox 360 driver, and lo and behold, it worked like a charm, with the analog sticks performing perfectly.
So some final considerations:
- It seems it's a software problem rather than a hardware one, although it seems to be on the driver level and not on the keyboard layout one
- Even when using the faulty bluetooth mode, I achieved some good results in Shadow of War (again, streaming it from my PC by using Moonlight) by reducing the stick deadzones to zero in the game's settings. Why does it work when changing the settings in-game, but not from the keyboard layout file? No idea!
- Can't exclude it could be some quirk in Samsung devices
- I've tried the OTG method just with Moonlight, can't say if the sticks would be fine also with other apps or with devices that natively support Xbox 360 pads
- The sticks are fine when connected to PC, both via USB (in which case the PG-9083 acts as a standard Xinput, Xbox 360 pad) and, surprisingly, via bluetooth (in which case the PG-9083 acts as a standard DirectInput pad, I had to try this with the first Dead Rising since most recent games seem to accept Xinput pads only)
- So which other Android pads can work as an Xbox 360 pad when used via USB? Our old friend the PG-9023 doesn't, and neither the STG-ONE (surprisingly, since the PG-9083 seems a relabel of it). PG-9055 also works via USB (but the USB cable must be placed on the left handle, making it impractical to use when connected). Good old PG-9037 also works via USB. Mars Gaming MGP1, nope.
So I hope this was useful and maybe could shed some light in how Android handles gamepads and maybe inspire someone to write some custom driver to fix everything?
Cheers!
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Click to collapse

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Anyone try an Xbox one or other "good" controller paired to their tablet or phone using bluetooth? In words is the deadzone problem android based foe any controller over bluetooth or specific to the ipega controller?
Sent from my SHIELD Tablet K1 using Tapatalk

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So, I have tried the Nvidia Controller 2017, and it works great ofc. Don't have any other controllers to try unfortunately.
Other weird things:
1. If I open up my gamepad tester app I can see that the hardware is registering the axis values of the sticks with no deadzone, so the hardware is working properly. So I don't get where in software the deadzone is being enforced. Earlier posters said that changing the .kl files do nothing, and anyways I don't want to root the tablet and lose access to other apps.
2. I connected the controller to my clamshell Nvidia portable and there are no deadzone issues! Admittedly there's no use for the controller in this context but why does it work on this device and not the other??? Is it because of the Android versions?
Canadave1 said:
Anyone try an Xbox one or other "good" controller paired to their tablet or phone using bluetooth? In words is the deadzone problem android based foe any controller over bluetooth or specific to the ipega controller?
Sent from my SHIELD Tablet K1 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse

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The only reason I can think of is that its trying to emulate a keyboard WASD instead of a joystick or its in some conflict with the keyboard selection when connected via bluetooth. The DS4 controller has no issues with deadzone on the gamepad tester via Bluetooth. Its actualy detected as a wireless gamepad and has a gamepad logo on the bluetooth screen. That being said I can be totally off and android has other issues with bluetooth

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Canadave1 said:
Anyone try an Xbox one or other "good" controller paired to their tablet or phone using bluetooth? In words is the deadzone problem android based foe any controller over bluetooth or specific to the ipega controller?
Sent from my SHIELD Tablet K1 using Tapatalk
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Its an ipega issue. With xbone controller over Bluetooth there are no analog stock issues. Games control like being played with gamepad on the PC or console.
I'm now using my Shield K1 with a clip that attaches to my xbone controller. Too bad since I like ipega form factor.
Sent from my SHIELD Tablet K1 using Tapatalk

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I see that iPega have released an updated version of the PG-9083 controller. Any improvement with this dead zone issue?

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I got the PG-9083S (which I assume is the updated version) this afternoon and the dead zones are massive and not configurable in any way obvious to me. Galaxy Tab S6+, tried a bunch of FPS games with steam link and game pass cloud streaming. Playable but very much still an annoyance with this hardware.