G-Pad XYBA Wireless Rechargeable Bluetooth Pro Game Pad Joystick Controller (Samsung Gear VR, PC, PS3, and G-Box Compatible!)

If you are like me and discovered the awesome fun to play free games on the Amazon Firestick you will soon find out that trying to play these games with the Alexa Firestick remote just plain sucks, and you will be instantly looking for the game controller the games suggest. Out of the plastic this controller felt nice and sturdy, and comfortable in my hands, the buttons feel fluid like a playstation controller. The only thing lacking from this controller is vibration so if you want that you better off finding something else. But if you are like me and looking for a good low priced sturdy game controller, and don't care for vibration like I did than I would strongly suggest buying this controller. It is one of the best if not thee best low priced controllers for the Amazon Firestick, because all the games work really well with it no problems. Note this controller does not just instantly sync to Amazon Firestick out of the plastic, it should be charged for a little while first before trying to sync it. I tried to plug it in with usb and couldn't get it to sync, and the controller kept saying the charge was low, so I decided to wait till it was charged before trying to sync again. I also looked up online how other people said how to sync it. The awesome part I found out is it does sync and register as an Amazon Firestick gamepad so this is the bluetooth setting you will need to select to sync it under the Amazon Firestick bluetooth settings, not under remote or other bluetooth devices. All you have to do is press the M/home button and A at the same time and hold them, then when it syncs on screen it will show up as Amazon Firestick Gamepad or as a Game controller, select that and you are all set. The Game Controller works like it was just made for the Firestick and now syncs every time you turn on the Firestick by just pressing the M button. I was really amazed how well it worked with all the games I was playing, and the button set up for the games was right on. Also I love the controller never needs batteries, just recharge with usb thats it, and it lasts for hours of play.My step by step instructions for syncing this controller with Amazon Firestick. I would suggest following them in this exact order: Step #1 buy this game controller. :D Step #2 Open the plastic and take out the controller and usb cable. Step #3 Plug the micro usb end of the cable into the game controller and the usb end into either a computer usb port or a usb hub that can be used for charging. Charge for about a half hour or more. Step #4 Once it is charged for about a half hour to an hour. Go into the Amazon firestick settings and select Bluetooth devices, than select Amazon Firestick Game Controllers under that menu, and then press and hold the middle M Button+ A button on the Game Controller. On Screen you will notice it say something like gamepad or game controller select that and you're are all set to go that's it.

Ever since I've had Android boxes connected to TVs in my home, I've been on the lookout for good, new controllers. I've tried several over the last three years or so and none of them have completely satisfied. I've owned a Matricom branded controller before and it was one of the better ones so I was optimistic that this controller would be an improvement. I'm happy to report that it's pretty good.First off, this is a rebranded Gamesir GS3 controller. I don't say that just because it looks similar, I've taken it apart and it has the Gamesir branding all over the mainboard. I only mention this because that controller has been very well received, If you're familiar with that controller, the biggest difference functionality wise is that on this unit, the rightmost LED of the four indicators has been changed to a low battery indicator.This controller, the somewhat clumsily named G-Pad XYBA, feels great and is superior to most of the others I've purchased in the last few years. The build quality is respectable, the d-pad is great (a rarity in modern controllers) and the analog buttons and sticks are spot on. I'm using this primarily with my nVidia Shield TV and other Android devices, so that will be the focus of this review. It pairs easily, all the modes work - you can use this as a gamepad or mouse - and most apps I've tried have no problems recognizing it, including some Shield exclusive games like Portal.On the downside, even though the XYBA worked fine from a distance of about 15 feet most of the time, it occasionally lost its connection briefly. Now, the problem typically resolved itself in seconds, but in a heated action game that's incredibly frustrating. These momentary disconnects happen less frequently with this controller than other bluetooth gamepads I've used with Android devices however, they do happen. Other than these very rare hiccups, the XYBA performed admirably.The other slight annoyance I'll mention is that this controller just wouldn't work in any of the available modes (Android, Apple, PC, and Mouse) with a Raspberry Pi 3 running RetroPi 3.x. I'm not docking any stars for that since the Pi can be a bit fiddly in general, but its worth mentioning to anyone considering purchasing one for that reason. I was able to connect the controller in RetroPi from its bluetooth settings screen just fine, but the Pi only saw it as a keyboard and wouldn't recognize any of its buttons. Other bluetooth connection methods yielded the same result.As far as extras go, the XYBA also includes a button to assign turbo functionality to individual buttons and another button to clear turbo. To me this isn't a make or break function particularly since a lot of games and emulators these days have a setting for this as well, but it's still a nice feature to have.Finally, the battery life is quite good in the XYBA. I would estimate that it runs for roughly 30 or so hours between charges and uses a standard micro USB cable to charge.Unlike most of the other controllers I've reviewed, I only tried this one on various Android devices and the Pi 3, so I can't speak to its performance on any other OS or device type. Still, it's worked wonderfully on the Android devices I've tried it on and have used it extensively since purchasing it a few months ago. The other thing worth mentioning is that I got this on sale at Amazon for $9.90, which for a controller this good is frankly a steal. It normally retails for 3 to 4 times that amount. It seems to go on sale fairly regularly for a few days at a time so if you're only seeing it for $40 or so I'd suggest waiting unless you need something right away. Overall, highly recommended!