Sega Genesis/MegaDrive Flashback 2018 controller 2 issue

[DoctorMike]

i bought a very cheap “buyer returned as faulty” Sega Flashback from eBay, which was pretty easy to fix :-) but the controller 2 on/off switch was broken; the little black piece snapped off. As this wasn’t the fault it was reported for, the seller agreed to swap it from one of the other returned items - all of the others were reported for crashing, etc, so I’d got the easiest to fix, as it was just the main power button I’d had to repair - because it seemed that pairing wouldn’t be a particularly complex affair, judging from the manual. That seems to say: Add batteries, turn controller on, turn console on, press buttons…

Sadly, I can’t get the player 2 controller to sync, or be recognised by the flashback :-( Without knowing how they should behave, I’m not sure how to proceed - I couldn’t test the original one at the time, because I’d not fixed the main fault on the console motherboard - so I don’t know if the replacement is broken, or just not communicating; its light comes on, but the console doesn’t seem to see it. Is using the second controller supposed to allow menu navigation? In two player games, like Golden Axe, is it (as I imagine) hitting Start on controller 2 that allows two player mode? For me, I get nothing.

I can’t imagine they are paired in any particularly clever fashion, if the online version of the manual is to be believed, so I’m stumped. Atari flashbacks have a sync mode (Up and Fire pressed when inserting batteries) but I can’t find any similar documentation for the Sega. Any ideas?

For now, I guess I’ll just have to see it as a bargain single player console for now; I only paid £20 for it :-) so I can afford a wired controller and still not be too out of pocket. However, if you have any ideas, I’d appreciate your thoughts.

 

[rrifonas]

Try these steps, I know they work for controller 1:
-> Turn off the console and the controller
-> Press A+UP and turn on the controller; The blue light will start blinking
-> Turn on the console, the controller will sync

 

[DoctorMike]

Yes! This works. Thank you

 

[albertinho82]

Hi, I recently purchased a used Genesis Flashback, but I've noticed there is an issue in the main menu: the option selector runs left infinitely till I press UP button. The selector stops and I can enter the selected game. When in-game, the issue persists (player walks left all the time).

I've tried the included remotes and an original Genesis wired 3-button gamepad, but the can't resolve the problem. Firmware update doesn't resolve the issue.