Users say it loses connection constantly and breaks ‘all the time’
The gaming controller used to pilot the lost submersible vessel exploring the Titanic has received hundreds of poor customer reviews online.
Despite costing £195,000 per head, the OceanGate tourist vessel, the Titan, is actually steered using a $29.99 gaming controller that has received its fair share of criticism since being launched in 2010.
The Logitech G F710 Wireless Gamepad, which runs on two AA batteries, has a 4.2 out of five overall score on Amazon, but hundreds of one-star reviews dating back more than a decade claim the device suffers from irritating and regular connection problems.
Other themes among the negative reviews include problems with the controller’s analog sticks and that pressing certain buttons scrambled the entire pad.
Oxygen on the missing submersible is expected to run out at midday today UK time.
Those stuck onboard, dubbed the Titan Five, includes British billionaire Hamish Harding, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, French navy veteran PH Nargeolet and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman.
Banging noises have been detected from the search area of the vessel, but progress seems to have stalled since.
While the world anxiously waits for the crew to be found, many people have expressed their dismay at the shoddy tech being used on the craft.
The gaming controller features a 2.4 GHz wireless connection, which users said on Amazon say will drop periodically.
Despite crediting its small design and affordability, several reviewers have posted about its reliability.
One reviewer on Amazon titled their post as ‘Absolute garbage! Do not get! You’ve been warned.’
The review reads: “The controller constantly lose connection with the dongle so you’ll be dying a lot in your game. Logitech used to make really good controllers but now they’re just total trash.”
Another said they got a few months use out of it before the controller lost its functionality.
They said the “massive dead zones” are a concern, and the fact that it often cuts out for 5 minutes during gameplay.
Related links:
‘Claustrophobic’ photos show how small the submersible is that went missing during Titanic tour
Submarine that went missing on tour of Titanic will ‘run out of oxygen in 48 hours’
British billionaire among five still missing on Titanic submarine
Company which owns missing Titanic sub confirms people were onboard
