How to test Arcade2TV-XR haptics kit features on Windows

Useful Answer

To open the Windows Game Controllers test panel, press Windows key + R, type joy.cpl, and press Enter. Select the controller and open Properties.

Use this panel to verify button inputs, plunger movement, and nudge sensor / accelerometer movement. If the controller is connected through a Wingman adapter, it may appear as a PlayStation controller in Windows; that is normal.

For plunger testing, put the controller in Pinball Mode first, shown by the blinking purple light. The analog bar should move when the plunger is pulled.

In Keyboard Mode, shown by the red blink, the plunger can also be tested as mouse scrolling. Open a web page and pull the plunger; the page should scroll if the plunger input is registering.

With the haptics kit installed, the analog plunger replaces the digital launch button for launch-button table actions. If a table used the launch button for a feature such as a magnetized effect, pulling the plunger is the expected way to trigger that action.

For speakers and haptics modules, connect the Haptics Kit to the PC and play audio with bass. The speakers should play sound and the haptics modules should vibrate from the mounted back-panel modules.

If the haptics, nudge, and plunger inputs work but the speakers do not play sound, separate the audio source from the kit before replacing parts. Connect a phone, MP3 player, or other known-good external source to the haptics kit's 3.5mm audio input. If the external source also produces no speaker audio, inspect the speaker wiring under the speakers and confirm the small speaker connector is fully seated; a wire can look inserted while being slightly pulled out of the connector housing.

For a support-directed one-side speaker comparison, disconnect wall power and external cables before changing internal plugs. If both physical speakers work from only one output, record the failed channel as a signal-path symptom, not proof that the main Haptics PCB requires replacement. See the failed-replacement branch below.

The Pinball Haptics system is audio-driven. For stronger vibration in pinball games, set the VR headset volume to maximum before connecting the 3.5mm cable to the haptics kit, keep the game's master/physics volume high, reduce music/voice/SFX if they create unwanted vibration, set the haptics panel Audio knob low, and set the VIB knob around 75% or higher. If the headset volume is too low, the vibration motors may not trigger even when the solenoids and tilt/nudge inputs work. The 2.4G dongle connection is not Bluetooth; working flipper buttons are enough to confirm the dongle connection.

For PCVR / Virtual Desktop setups, do not expect haptics audio to pass wirelessly through the Meta headset. The haptics kit needs the game audio over the 3.5mm input, so the supported path is a physical 3.5mm audio cable from the PC audio output to the haptics kit. Wireless audio adds latency and is not the intended haptics path. The controller input can still connect wirelessly to the Quest through the dongle while the haptics audio uses the cable.

For Meta Quest native play, the haptics kit communicates through the included 2.4G wireless dongle, not Bluetooth or a USB cable from the controller to the headset. Current Quest pinball integration is for the Arcade2TV-XR / Tankstick VR hardware path; older X-Arcade controllers are not supported for that Meta Quest haptics workflow.

For a vibration-only test:

If one area does not vibrate, first confirm all four haptic vibration modules are connected. Then isolate the fault by swapping motor plugs on the haptics PCB. The two left-side motors connect to the two left-side ports, and the two right-side motors connect to the right-side ports. Swap plugs on the same side to see whether the issue follows the motor or stays with the board port.

If only the left and right flipper solenoids fire when pressing the pinball buttons, that can still be normal depending on the test path; separate solenoid diagnosis requires checking the SOL control state and internal wiring.

If the plunger moves in steps inside Pinball FX VR, that can be a software-side limitation rather than a hardware defect. The physical plunger is analog; compare behavior in other Zen titles such as Star Wars Pinball VR or Pinball Classics VR, and verify the hardware in joy.cpl.

If the plunger passes the hardware tests but does not work in one Pinball FX VR table, check the table design before replacing hardware. Some tables, such as Medieval Madness, launch the ball with a button instead of a physical plunger, so the plunger is not expected to work on that table. If supported tables still ignore a plunger that passes hardware tests, update or reinstall the game; one confirmed case started working after a game reinstall.

The haptics PCB firmware version is not always visible through the software. Haptics PCB v1.8 is generally only needed if the unit disconnects every few minutes, but it can improve plunger input delay and nudge consistency when used with controller firmware v3.64. If the plunger is already working correctly on the tested tables, updating the haptics PCB firmware is optional rather than mandatory.

If solenoids work but the plunger does not respond after firmware updates, reseat the plunger cable before replacing parts. One confirmed install recovered flipper solenoids and plunger behavior after applying controller firmware v3.64, haptics PCB v1.8, Gen2 dongle firmware v3.43v2, and reseating the plunger cable.

If a Pinball FX VR flipper vibrates, flutters, or will not hold cleanly, check whether Turbo is enabled for that player before replacing the switch. In one confirmed case, pressing the P1 Turbo button again stopped the flipper vibration and restored normal gameplay, even though the symptom originally looked like a failing flipper microswitch.

If one physical flipper button stops registering entirely while the rest of the controller still works, inspect the internal wire at that flipper before assuming firmware failure. One right-flipper failure was not fixed by firmware update or factory reset; the customer found that a short wire had pulled loose from vibration, and reseating it restored the button.

For Star Wars Pinball VR, the LB / RB control option may not appear until the player moves around with the stick from the options screen. If only LT / RT appears at first, move with the stick and recheck the control options before treating the mapping as broken.

Source Context

The customer had installed the X-Force Haptics Kit on an Arcade2TV-XR, updated to firmware 3.64, and wanted a way to separate feature testing from configuration. Support corrected an earlier shortcut mistake: the Windows Run box is opened with Windows key + R, not Ctrl+R. Later resolved or authoritative threads added keyboard-mode plunger scrolling, motor isolation by swapping same-side plugs, confirming all four haptic modules before diagnosing cable mismatch, Pinball Haptics audio tuning, analog-plunger replacement of launch-button actions, optional haptics PCB v1.8 update guidance, Meta Quest 2.4G dongle compatibility boundaries, and the Pinball FX VR stepped-plunger limitation. A separate resolved thread found that working haptics with no speaker audio was caused by a slightly disconnected speaker wire under the speakers. Another no-vibration case was solved when the customer raised the VR headset volume, confirming that low 3.5mm input can prevent vibration. Additional validated cases added one-side speaker socket isolation, the distinction between plunger hardware failure, table design, and game reinstall fixes, the need to tune Quest/game audio levels because the haptics are audio-driven rather than game-telemetry-driven, PCVR / Virtual Desktop haptics needing a physical 3.5mm audio path instead of wireless audio, plunger-cable reseating after firmware updates, Turbo accidentally causing flipper flutter, a loose short wire causing a right flipper button to stop registering after vibration, and the Star Wars Pinball VR LB / RB option appearing after moving with the stick.

Flippers work but plunger and nudge are dead: check independent haptics power

Scope: original Arcade2TV-XR with the separate X-Force Haptics Kit, not XR MAX. Working controller buttons, trackball, firmware detection or flipper input do not establish that the separate kit is powered. A reviewed customer already had Haptics PCB v1.8 and working game flippers after mode correction, but no plunger/nudge and dark SOL/ACC indicators. After support pointed out the inline 24V power switch, turning it on restored operation. This was a combined correct-mode and independent-power recovery, not a firmware-only fix.

  1. Check the supplied 24V adapter connection and its inline switch; the brick's green light alone is insufficient. Observe the panel's SOL/ACC indicators. Keep the controller's appropriate data/power connections separate from the kit's 24V supply.
  2. Verify the required input mode using the actual input test, not decorative light colours. For Windows, press Windows key + R, enter joy.cpl, then open each relevant controller's Properties and identify which responds. The legacy app's missing XInput display does not prove a missing device. Use the documented Pinball/XInput path for analog plunger/nudge testing.
  3. Test plunger and nudge, then SOL control and audio-driven vibration separately. Two flipper solenoids are not the same as the four audio-driven exciters. A bass-audio test checks vibration, not every input.
  4. If the kit stays dark or input still fails, report exact versions, mode, indicator states and already-completed tests to support. Do not keep reflashing an already matched set or guess a bad PCB. Disconnect wall power and external cables before any support-directed internal connector work.

In the same history, removing the spinner path and reconnecting the trackball directly stopped reported USB disconnects before the power fix. That is a separate observation, not proof of a failed spinner or a universal wiring change. Identify the exact mixer/board and connection layout with support before applying it to another setup.

One silent speaker channel after a main Haptics PCB replacement

Scope: original Arcade2TV-XR with the separate X-Force Haptics Kit, not integrated XR MAX. If both physical speakers work from the left output but neither works from the right, that isolates the symptom to the right-channel signal path; it does not prove the main Haptics PCB is defective.

In a reviewed case, replacing the main Haptics PCB did not restore the right speaker. The customer also reported much weaker right-side haptic output. Support then suspected the panel-side 3.5mm audio path and arranged a panel PCB replacement, but no installed-panel result was reported. The main-board repair was disproven in that case; the panel repair remained outcome unconfirmed.

Give support the exact source/cable tests, board labels, socket comparison and failed main-board replacement history. Do not repeat the same swap or automatically buy another board. Any support-directed internal connector comparison must be performed with wall power and external cables disconnected; reconnect only for the normal test after safe reassembly. A dim LED alone does not diagnose an amplifier. After an approved repair, verify both speaker channels and both sides of vibration separately, and report whether normal use stays stable.