The controller

The controller

This page covers everything about the Thor's controller: which screen it works on, the combos (Home, Back or the AYN button + a button), the AYN button, the cheat sheet, the input layer, and what to do if the controller stops working.

Everything here is in Wayfinder → Controller. The page shows Combos, Test the controller and Which screen the controller works on first. The rest — Home needs two presses, Face buttons, Button names and the input layer — is behind More options at the bottom of the page.

Which screen the controller works on

The Thor has two screens but one controller. Wayfinder decides which screen gets the buttons.

Go to Controller → Which screen the controller works on and pick one:

Choice	What it does
Follows touch	The controller works the screen you last touched.
Stays where sent (default)	The controller stays on the screen you send it to. Touching the other screen doesn't take it.
Always top	Always the top screen, whatever you touch.
Always bottom	Always the bottom screen, whatever you touch.

Goes with a game you move (under the choice, for Follows touch and Stays where sent): when you move or swap a game to the other screen (hold Back, or the Move / swap apps tile), the controller goes with it, and a message says so. Off, the controller stays on its screen. On for new installs; off after an update from an older version, until you turn it on. Each game can have its own choice, Usual / Goes with it / Stays: in Games → the game, or in the game with Home + X → More. With Always top or Always bottom, the controller always stays where they say.

Send the controller (default combos):

• Home + right stick up — Controller to the top screen.
• Home + right stick down — Controller to the bottom screen.

"Right stick up" means a quick push (a flick) of the right stick while you hold Home.

Lock / unlock: Home + R3 (click the right stick while holding Home) — Lock the controller. It keeps the controller on its screen, so touching the other one won't move it. Press again to unlock.

There is also a Controller lock tile for the Quick panel.

When the bottom screen goes dark: if the controller was on the bottom screen when it turned off (3 fingers, the AYN button, the "when unused" timer…), the controller moves to the top screen. With Always bottom, it stays on top until the bottom screen wakes, then goes back.

Not sure where the controller is? Hold Home: the first line of the cheat sheet tells you.

Combos

A combo is Home or Back plus something:

• Home or Back alone, with a tap, double-tap, triple-tap or hold (hold = 1 second), or
• hold one button and press a second one, like Home + X. The AYN button can be that first button too (AYN + X) — see below.

The second button of a combo can also be tapped once, twice, three times or held. So Home + B, Home + B twice and Home + B held can each do a different action.

Combos that start with Home or Back never reach the game.

The default combos

Combo	What it does
Back · tap	Back (Android's normal Back)
Back · double-tap	Recent apps
Back · triple-tap	Close background apps
Back · hold	Move / swap apps
Home (tap)	Home, on the screen that has the controller
Hold Home	The cheat sheet of all your combos
Home + X	Game controls (see Game controls)
Home + Y	Keyboard & mouse (see Keyboard & mouse)
Home + R1	Screenshot
Home + R2	Brighter (both screens)
Home + L2	Dimmer (both screens)
Home + right stick up	Controller to the top screen
Home + right stick down	Controller to the bottom screen
Home + R3	Lock the controller
AYN button	Quick panel (see Quick panel)
Home + Back, held 5 seconds	Emergency off for the input layer (see below)

Because Back has double and triple taps, a single Back press waits a tiny moment before it acts.

If you chose Just switching screens, only the screen-switching combos work; the others are kept for later. See Features & simple setup.

Actions with no combo yet

These actions exist but have no combo by default. Give them one if you want:

• Close this app
• Close the other screen's app — closes the app on the screen the controller isn't on, and goes home there
• Bottom screen off / on
• Stay awake
• Sleep
• Guide & notes
• Mouse mode (AYN)
• Gyro on / off
• Quick panel (the AYN button already opens it)
• AYN's drawer — AYN's own drawer, as the AYN button opened it before Wayfinder
• Frame rate (FPS)
• Record the screen — starts or stops a video of the top screen (saved in Movies / Wayfinder)
• Top screen brighter, Top screen dimmer, Bottom screen brighter, Bottom screen dimmer — one screen's brightness
• Louder, Quieter — both screens, keeping their difference
• Top screen louder, Top screen quieter, Bottom screen louder, Bottom screen quieter — one screen's volume
• Home on the top screen, Home on the bottom screen, Home on both screens — send that screen (or both) home, wherever the controller is. See Two screens.
• Home on the controller's screen — what a Home press does, for another combo or button
• Swipe up, Swipe down, Swipe left, Swipe right — a finger swipe across the middle of the screen that has the controller. For example: the next video, scrolling, the next page or photo. They're in the Touch group of + Add a combo.

Every action in this list can also go on the AYN button (tap or hold) or on a game button in Game controls (Actions tab).

The Combos page

Go to Controller → Combos — Home, Back and the AYN button. The page shows:

• AYN BUTTON — the AYN button's tap and hold (see below).
• YOUR COMBOS — only the combos you have, sorted by their first button. Each shows its buttons.
• OPEN WITH A COMBO — your combos that open an app, a pair or a page (see below).

Add a combo

1. Go to Controller → Combos — Home, Back and the AYN button.
2. Press + Add a combo. A list of actions opens, in groups: Screens & apps, Controller, Brightness & volume, Wayfinder, Android & the Thor, Touch. An action that already has a combo shows it ("now: …").
3. Pick the action. A card appears: first "Get ready…", then "Listening — press the buttons for …".
4. Press your combo:
   • Home or Back on their own, or
   • hold one button and press a second one (the AYN button too: hold AYN, press a button).
5. Choose how it's pressed: Tap, Double-tap, Triple-tap or Hold. For a two-button combo, this is for the second button: the card says "Keep first button held, and second button:".
6. Press Save.

How to make Home + B, held, close the other screen's app

1. Controller → Combos — Home, Back and the AYN button → + Add a combo.
2. Pick Close the other screen's app.
3. When it says "Listening", hold Home, press B, then let go of both.
4. Choose Hold.
5. Press Save.

Now hold Home, then hold B for a second: the app on the other screen closes.

Change or remove a combo

1. On the Combos page, under YOUR COMBOS, press the combo.
2. A card shows it, with Change the buttons, Cancel and Remove the combo.
3. Change the buttons listens again: press the new combo, choose how it's pressed, then Save. Remove the combo leaves the action with no combo.

Good to know:

• B on its own cancels while it listens.
• A single button other than Home or Back isn't allowed ("…alone would break games").
• The AYN button can only start a combo (AYN + a button). On its own, it has its own tap and hold — see below.
• If another action already uses that combo, the card warns you: "Currently used by … — saving moves it here."
• A combo that starts with a normal game button (not Home or Back): that first button still reaches the game; only the second one is hidden from it.
• Reset (top right) puts back the default combos. Press it twice to confirm.

Open an app, a pair or a page with a combo

At the bottom of the Combos page, under OPEN WITH A COMBO:

• + An app — pick an app from a grid (with a search box). It opens on the screen you choose (see below).
• + An app pair — opens both apps, each on its screen.
• + A Wayfinder page — opens that page of Wayfinder.

Then press your combo and Save. You can make several of these, each with its own combo.

Opens on (apps only): after you press the combo, the card shows Opens on:

• The controller's screen (default) — the app opens on the screen that has the controller.
• Top screen — always on the top screen.
• Bottom screen — always on the bottom screen.

The combo's name says where, for example "Open app on the bottom screen". If the app is already open on the other screen, it's moved there. To change the screen of a combo you already made, press it in the list, press Change the buttons, press the combo again, pick Opens on, then Save.

How to open an app on the bottom screen with Home + L1

1. Go to Controller → Combos — Home, Back and the AYN button and scroll to OPEN WITH A COMBO.
2. Press + An app and pick the app.
3. When it says "Listening", hold Home and press L1, then let go.
4. Under Opens on, choose Bottom screen.
5. Press Save.

The AYN button: tap, hold and combos

By default, a tap on the AYN button opens Wayfinder's Quick panel. You can give the tap and the hold other jobs.

At the top of Controller → Combos, under AYN BUTTON:

• AYN button — tap (default: Quick panel)
• AYN button — hold (default: Same as a tap)

A hold acts after about 0.6 seconds (1 second if you have AYN combos, to leave time for them), while you still hold the button. The AYN button never reaches the game.

Each one can be any action from the Combos list (except Back), for example Bottom screen off / on, Screenshot, Louder, Home on the bottom screen or AYN's drawer. The list starts with Quick panel and AYN's drawer: to put Wayfinder's panel back on the tap, pick Quick panel.

These two choices are also on the Quick panel page. They only show while The AYN button opens the quick panel is on (see Quick panel).

How to turn the bottom screen off by holding the AYN button

1. Go to Controller → Combos — Home, Back and the AYN button.
2. Under AYN BUTTON, press AYN button — hold.
3. Pick Bottom screen off / on.

Now hold the AYN button to turn the bottom screen off, and hold it again to turn it back on. A tap still opens the Quick panel.

How to keep AYN's drawer on the AYN button's hold

1. Go to Controller → Combos — Home, Back and the AYN button.
2. Under AYN BUTTON, press AYN button — hold.
3. Pick AYN's drawer.

Now a tap opens Wayfinder's Quick panel, and a hold opens AYN's own drawer. (This needs the Thor's system service.)

AYN + a button: the AYN button can also start a combo, like Home and Back. Hold the AYN button and press another button — for example AYN + X.

1. Go to Controller → Combos — Home, Back and the AYN button → + Add a combo.
2. Pick the action.
3. When it says "Listening", hold the AYN button, press the other button, then let go.
4. Press Save.

When you press an AYN combo, the AYN button's own tap and hold don't run. Hold the AYN button for a moment to see its combos, like Home. If you also gave the AYN button a hold action, the list's last line is keep holding, followed by that action (for example bottom screen off / on): keep holding without pressing another button, and the action runs and the list closes. (AYN combos need The AYN button opens the quick panel to be on.)

The cheat sheet: Hold Home

Hold Home for about half a second: a list of your combos appears on the screen that has the controller. It says where the controller is, then "Keep Home held and press:" and each button with what it does.

• Press one of the buttons to run that combo.
• Let go without pressing anything: nothing happens. You don't go Home and you don't leave your game.
• A quick press of Home alone still goes Home.

The same kind of list shows when you hold Back or the AYN button, if they start combos. You can make it show Later (only after a longer hold, so quick combos never flash it) or turn it Off — the combos still work. See Hints & pop-ups.

"Your controls" on the bottom screen: while Wayfinder's Hub is open on the top screen, the bottom screen shows Your controls — every combo, the 3-finger gesture (if it's on), the AYN button's tap (when it does something other than the Quick panel) and hold (when you gave it an action), and a Close background apps button. You can turn it off in More → Hints & pop-ups → "Your controls" on the other screen.

Combos for one app only

In Games, each app has Wayfinder combos (if you don't see it, press Change something for app):

• Normal — your usual combos.
• Custom — combos just for this app. Press Edit › to change them. Only this app is affected.
• Off — no Wayfinder combos at all in this app: all buttons go to the app. Home and Back work as usual there (Android's own Home and Back). If you hold Home in that app, a hint says "Wayfinder's button combos are off in app".

"Which app?" = the app on the screen that has the controller. See also the Games page → let one app keep Home and Back.

AYN's "press Home twice" must be off

AYN has an option that holds back the first Home press (to avoid pressing Home by accident). While it's on, Home combos can't work.

If it's on, Wayfinder shows a button Home combos can't work yet on the Hub and the Controller page. Press it to turn AYN's option off.

You can also switch it on the Controller page: More options → Home needs two presses (on = AYN's protection, off = Wayfinder's Home combos work).

Face buttons and button names

Both are on the Controller page, under More options.

Face buttons — all apps: Nintendo (as printed on the Thor, A on the right) or Xbox (A at the bottom, B on the right). This is AYN's own controller style — the same setting as AYN's drawer and the Face buttons tile of the Quick panel. For one game only, use Game controls.

Button names on screen: how Wayfinder names A, B, X and Y in its hints and pages:

• Automatic (default) — follows the face-button style above.
• As printed — A on the right, B at the bottom.
• Xbox — A at the bottom, B on the right, X on the left, Y on top.
• PlayStation — symbols: ✕ at the bottom, ○ on the right, □ on the left, △ on top.

Your combos stay on the same physical buttons whatever you choose.

The input layer

What it does: games get an identical copy of the Thor's controller. This makes Game controls, gyro and macros possible, and keeps Home and Back combos out of games. The copy stays controller #1, so emulators keep their saved button settings.

Where it runs

Controller → More options → Input layer — where it runs:

Choice	What it does
Everywhere	The input layer runs in every app.
Only games I set up	It runs only in the games you set up in Game controls (Home + X). Everywhere else, apps get the Thor's own controller.
Nowhere	Game controls, gyro and macros do nothing.

A new install starts with Only games I set up. If you updated from an older version, it stays Everywhere, as before.

"A game you set up" = an app with its own face buttons or other changes in Game controls, or with a game inside it that has them. As soon as you change something in Game controls, the layer starts for that game.

When you switch between apps, the layer starts or stops once the new app has been in front for about a second and a half. The controller changes for a moment when it does.

Your combos work in every case.

One app differently

Some games don't like the copied controller. For one app, you can choose Automatic, On or Off:

• in Games → the app → Input layer (if you don't see it, press Change something for app), or
• in the game: Home + X → More › → Input layer for app.

Automatic = what where it runs says. On = always, for this app. Off = this app gets the Thor's own controller (its Game controls then do nothing).

Emergency off: hold Home + Back for 5 seconds

If the controller ever acts strangely in a game, hold Home and Back together for 5 seconds. The input layer turns off (it's set to Nowhere) and AYN's own controller comes back. You'll see: "Input layer off (Home + Back) — turn it back on in Wayfinder: Controller → More options → Input layer".

To turn it back on: Wayfinder → Controller → More options → Input layer — where it runs. Or press the Input layer row in More → Help & status → System access: it goes back to where it ran before.

This emergency switch only exists while the input layer is running.

Test the controller (stick drift)

Controller → Test the controller shows what the controller really sends: both sticks, L2 / R2, and every button lighting up.

Fix stick drift for every game

1. Open Test the controller.
2. Move both sticks a little, let go, and leave them alone for 3 seconds.
3. Wayfinder shows how far each stick sits from the centre at rest, and a Suggested deadzone.
4. Press Start to Use the suggestion (or Select to Remove it).

This deadzone applies to every game that doesn't have its own stick settings in Game controls. Press Back (or touch) to leave the page.

Bluetooth and USB controllers

Bluetooth and USB controllers work alongside the Thor's controller. Wayfinder's input layer only takes over the Thor's own controls.

See also

• Game controls — a game's own buttons (Home + X).
• Quick panel — the AYN button's panel.
• Features & simple setup — turn parts of Wayfinder off.
• Help, troubleshooting & FAQ — when combos or the controller don't work.