Tankstick MAX: Why the Trackball or Spinner Works but the Joysticks and Buttons Do Not

If the trackball or spinner works on your Tankstick MAX, but the joysticks and front buttons do not, start by checking the two separate USB paths before trying firmware changes.

Why This Happens

The current Tankstick MAX design uses two separate USB connections:

One USB connection handles the trackball / spinner mouse path.
A second USB connection handles the main joystick and button encoder path.

Because those paths are separate, it is possible for the trackball or spinner to work while the joysticks and buttons still do not.

What to Check First

Confirm the trackball / spinner USB connection is attached.
Confirm the main joystick / button USB connection is also attached.
Test the joystick and front buttons directly on the host system.

For keyboard-style testing, use:

<https://en.key-test.ru/>

If the trackball moves the cursor but the buttons do not appear at the keyboard tester, the next checks should stay focused on the main joystick/button path, not the trackball path.

Basic Troubleshooting Steps

Re-seat both USB connections.
Test on a different USB port.
Avoid USB hubs during testing.
Restart the host after reconnecting the controller.
If your unit has a mode switch, return it to the normal support-recommended mode for testing before changing anything else.

Important Note About Firmware

Do not start with firmware reflashing just because one half of the controller works.

When the trackball works but the joysticks/buttons do not, that usually means the symptom still needs to be isolated to the main joystick/button USB path first.

A recovered no-light case did not require a firmware flash

In one Tankstick MAX case, the trackball and spinners worked but the main controls and red LED did not, even on two Windows PCs. The customer reported that the XGaming Firmware Updater detected the controller after reconnecting the main USB while holding both Player Start buttons. They canceled without flashing, disconnected and reconnected normally, and the red LED and controls returned. Support then advised that a board replacement was not needed while it was working.

This is a customer-confirmed recovery observation, not proof of a failed PCB or a universal reset procedure. After the normal USB-path checks above, give support your exact Tankstick MAX board/revision and updater detection result before trying a model-specific recovery. Do not use Arcade2TV-XR or dongle firmware on a Tankstick MAX. If controls have returned, test both players in the intended input mode and report recurrence, the mode and what happened immediately beforehand; do not reflash or replace a working board solely because an earlier reply suggested it.

If It Still Does Not Work After These Steps

Send support:

a photo of both USB connections
whether the trackball/spinner works
whether the joystick/buttons appear at <https://en.key-test.ru/>
the exact host platform you are testing on

This helps support tell whether the problem is:

only the trackball/spinner path
only the joystick/button path
or both paths together

Source article: <https://support.xgaming.com/support/solutions/articles/12000108816-tankstick-max-why-the-trackball-or-spinner-works-but-the-joysticks-and-buttons-do-not>