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MTA:SA fix

Controller or gamepad not working in MTA

MTA only uses the first controller Windows knows about. Make yours the first one, pick the joypad control style, and set the buttons in the Binds tab.

Steps

Try one step, then check whether the problem is still there. Follow any "only if" line before changing a setting.

  1. Make it the first controller

    The MTA FAQ says MTA only uses the first controller recognised by Windows. One way to be sure: unplug other controllers, wheels and joysticks, leave only the one you want, and start MTA again.

  2. Check the control style

    Press ESC, open Settings, then the Controls tab. Under Joypad options there are two styles: Standard controls (Mouse + Keyboard) and Classic controls (Joypad). Classic is the joypad style.

  3. Set the buttons in the Binds tab

    MTA's own note on the Controls tab says: use the Binds tab for joypad buttons. An MTA team member gave the method on the forum: in Settings, Binds, double-click an empty slot next to the action you want, then press the controller button.

  4. A remapping tool can hide the button

    Only if you use a controller remapping tool.

    If the Binds tab does not react to a button and you use a tool such as Xpadder, that tool may be turning the button into a key press. In the same forum thread the fix was to set that button to nothing in Xpadder, then bind it in MTA.

  5. Tune the sticks and triggers

    Only if those options are shown.

    With a controller connected, Joypad options can also show Vibration, Stick dead zone, Stick saturation, Trigger dead zone and Trigger saturation. A larger dead zone ignores small stick movements.

  6. If controls act strangely

    Only if controls do not work as they do in single-player.

    Open the console with F8 and type copygtacontrols to copy your single-player GTA controls into MTA. It can need a restart of MTA.

Still stuck? The Fix tool reads MTA's own log on your computer and points at the matching steps. Nothing is uploaded.

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Where this comes from

MTA wiki Known Issues FAQ (Gamepad support), MTA's settings code and an MTA team answer on the MTA forum · reviewed 3 October 2026

Read from these sources on 3 October 2026 and written in our own words here.