GameSir Nova Lite (T4 Nova Lite): user guide
How to connect the GameSir Nova Lite to each device, what its lights mean, how to calibrate it and what you can set up on its buttons. To see every button, stick and trigger while you test it, use the gamepad tester.
A personal, unofficial guide based on the official manual and GameSir’s FAQ. GameSir and Nova Lite are trademarks of their manufacturer.
The buttons
| Button | Where | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Home | In the middle, with the GameSir logo | Turns the controller on and off. Its light shows the mode, connection and battery. |
| View | Left of Home (two windows) | Select / View. With Menu it changes the mode; with Home and Menu, it calibrates. |
| Menu | Right of Home (three lines) | Start / Menu. |
| Capture | Below Home | Screenshot. With Home it forces pairing mode. |
| M | At the bottom, in the middle | Turbo, vibration, dead zone and button swap. |
| LS RS | Left and right sticks (Hall effect) | They can be pressed (L3 and R3). |
| LB RB LT RT | On top | Bumpers and analog triggers. |
| USB-C | On top, in the middle | Charging and wired connection. |
| Reset | Hole on the back | Forces it off (with a paper clip). |
| USB receiver | Separate (sold separately in some versions) | It has its own light and a pairing button. |
Turning it on and off
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Turn on | Home (back to the last mode), or A, B, X or Y + Home to choose the mode (see the next table). |
| Turn off | Hold Home for 5 seconds. |
| Auto power-off | After 10 minutes without use; after 1 minute without connecting in pairing mode, and after 3 minutes in reconnection mode. |
Modes and colors
Each mode has a color on the Home light. To choose one, with the controller off, briefly press the combination until the light blinks fast, then release.
| Color | Mode | Combination | For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue | DS4 (Bluetooth) | B + Home | PC with Windows 7/10 or later; iPhone and iPad with iOS 13 or later |
| Green | Receiver (XInput) | X + Home | PC with Windows 7/10 or later; Android 8.0 or later |
| Red | NS Pro (Bluetooth) | Y + Home | Nintendo Switch |
| Yellow | Android (Bluetooth) | A + Home | Android 8.0 or later |
Wired to a PC, the light stays solid green. For the gamepad tester, the receiver or the cable (XInput) is the easiest: the browser sees it with the standard mapping.
Connecting step by step
PC with the receiver (green)
- Plug the receiver into a USB port and press its pairing button: its light blinks fast.
- With the controller off, briefly press X + Home until the light blinks fast, then release.
- When the receiver’s light stays solid, like the controller’s green one, they’re connected.
The receiver’s button also clears previous pairings.
PC with a cable
- Plug the USB-C cable into the PC: the controller’s light stays solid green.
PC via Bluetooth (blue)
- With the controller off, briefly press B + Home until the light blinks blue, then release.
- In the PC’s Bluetooth list, choose “Wireless Controller” and connect.
- Solid blue light: connected.
If the PC can’t find it, remove “Wireless Controller” from the paired devices and try again.
Nintendo Switch (red)
- On the Switch, go to “Controllers”, then “Change Grip/Order”, and wait on that screen.
- With the controller off, briefly press Y + Home until the light blinks fast in red, then release.
- Solid red light: connected.
Android (yellow)
- With the controller off, briefly press A + Home until the light blinks fast in yellow, then release.
- In the phone’s Bluetooth settings, choose “GameSir-Nova Lite” and connect.
- Solid yellow light: connected.
iPhone and iPad (blue)
- With the controller off, briefly press B + Home until the light blinks fast in blue, then release.
- In Bluetooth, choose “DUALSHOCK 4 Wireless Controller” and connect.
- Solid blue light: connected.
If it doesn’t show up, forget “DUALSHOCK 4 Wireless Controller” in Bluetooth and try again. If it still won’t connect, update the firmware (see below).
Afterwards, to go back to the same device, just turn the controller on with Home. To pair it with another device in the same mode, hold Capture + Home for about 3 seconds, until the light blinks fast.
What the light means
On the controller (Home)
| Light | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Slow blink (once a second) | Reconnecting: looking for the last device paired in that mode. |
| Fast blink (twice a second) | Pairing: new devices can find it. |
| Solid | Connected. |
| Orange, blinking twice a second | Battery below 10%. |
| Red, blinking twice a second | You’re using a button with turbo. |
On the receiver
| Light | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Slow blink | Reconnecting: it only connects to the last paired controller. Its button clears the pairings and pairs again. |
| Fast blink | Pairing. |
| Solid | Connected. |
| Off | Standby: it reconnects when you turn the controller on. Its button wakes it up and starts pairing. |
Battery and charging
If you charge it while it’s off, the Home light blinks in the color of the charge level:
| Color | Charge |
|---|---|
| Red | 0–25% |
| Orange | 25–50% |
| Yellow | 50–75% |
| Green | 75–90% |
| Green that goes off for 2 seconds | 90–100% |
Calibrating the sticks and triggers
If a stick moves on its own (drift), doesn’t reach the edge, or a trigger doesn’t go all the way, calibrate it:
- With the controller off, hold View + Home + Menu until Home blinks slowly in white.
- Press LT and RT all the way down 3 times.
- Rotate both sticks along the edge, at the widest angle, 3 times.
- Press A. When Home stays solid white, calibration is done.
Then check it in the gamepad tester: with the sticks released, the dot should stay inside the dead zone; rotating them along the edge, the trail should draw a circle, and the triggers should reach 100%.
Button functions
According to the manual, this is what you can set up on the controller itself. Everything is kept even when you turn it off.
Turbo (20 times a second)
Hold M and press the button you want with turbo (works with A B X Y LB LT RB RT). Doing it again removes it. Double-tap M to remove turbo from all of them. While you use a button with turbo, Home blinks red.
Swap A–B and X–Y
Hold M + A for 2 seconds. Useful, for example, so A and B are where the game expects them.
Zero dead zone
Hold M + LS (pressing the left stick) or M + RS (the right one) for 2 seconds to turn the zero dead zone of that stick on or off: it responds to the slightest movement. If the stick drifts, better leave it off.
Vibration strength
M + D-pad ↑ or ↓ raises or lowers the vibration in 5 levels: off, 25%, 50%, 75% (default) and 100%. Try it in the gamepad tester.
Locking the mode (receiver or cable)
Hold Menu + View for 2 seconds to switch between XInput, NS Pro and Android, and lock that mode for the connection you’re using (receiver or cable). To make it detect the platform on its own again, hold Home for 10 seconds to turn it off, then turn it back on.
Remapping any button
The controller can’t give one button another button’s function (except the A–B and X–Y swap). For that, use the device:
- PC: Steam Input (in Steam, Settings → Controller) remaps every button, per game too. Use the receiver or the cable.
- Nintendo Switch: System Settings → Controllers and Sensors → Change Button Mapping. In NS Pro mode, the console sees it as a Pro Controller.
- iPhone and iPad: Settings → General → Game Controller (shown while the controller is connected) → Customizations.
- Android: it depends on each game or app.
Updating the firmware
GameSir releases updates through the GameSir phone app (for example, the one that fixes the connection with iPhone):
- Connect the controller to the phone (an iPhone works too) in Android mode: A + Home.
- In the GameSir app, choose “GameSir Nova Lite”, then “Firmware Upgrade” and “Continue to Upgrade”.
- When it’s done, reconnect it in the mode you use (on iPhone, B + Home).
Common problems
- It won’t connect and the light blinks slowly
- It’s looking for the last device. Hold Capture + Home until it blinks fast (pairing); with the receiver, press its button too.
- On the PC the light isn’t green or the game misbehaves
- It may be in another mode. With the receiver or cable, hold Menu + View to change modes until XInput (green), the most compatible on PC.
- A button presses repeatedly on its own and Home blinks red
- It has turbo: double-tap M.
- A stick moves on its own or a trigger doesn’t go all the way
- Calibrate it (see above) and check it in the gamepad tester.
- The receiver’s light stays red and won’t change mode
- Update the controller’s firmware with the app and, if nothing changes, the receiver’s: GameSir publishes the file in its FAQ.
- The controller doesn’t respond at all
- Press the button in the hole on the back with a paper clip to force it off, then turn it back on.
Sources: official GameSir Nova Lite manual (PDF), manuals in other languages and GameSir’s FAQ, checked on November 3, 2026. If something doesn’t match your controller, follow the manual in your box.