GBA (Not SP) Aftermarket Buttons

Started by Jedi Master Baiter, October 31, 2025, 07:44:26 pm

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Jedi Master Baiter

October 31, 2025, 07:44:26 pm Last Edit: November 01, 2025, 08:11:31 pm by Jedi Master Baiter Reason: added a note about the SP
So I bought a GBA mod (IPS Screen, Speakers, Battery) and everything is awesome

...except the buttons. They are aftermarket, and it feels like there's extra distance to register a press. The d-pad is very noticeable: I'll tap a direction and nothing will happen, but if I push harder, I'll feel a hard 'click' and that's annoying to have to do.

Is this caused by the buttons or the membrane? Any aftermarket recommendations? Should I just find OEM buttons? OEM membranes? Both?

Edit: I'm used to the GBA SP buttons. I've read that original GBA buttons are 'mushy' compared to the 'clicky' SP. The problem is... these don't feel mushy. They feel clicky, but with more distance to travel to fully depress, and there's two clicks: first a soft click that doesn't register anything, and a second hard click that will actually register a press.

P

Two clicks huh? That's pretty weird. I would guess it's using cheap membranes... Do the buttons look any different from original ones?

I have the original GBA and the SP, both unmodded. My original GBA has buttons similar to the Famicom controller or other typical Nintendo controllers (so not clicky at all), perhaps even a bit more mushy than the Famicom buttons. They are not as mushy as the buttons of certain really cheap poor quality controllers though.
The SP has indeed kinda clicky buttons, they are not microswitch-clicky but definitely more clicky than any previous Nintendo controller. I heard that they have very little contact bounce (which is considered a good property for buttons in general).