Start / Select / Home Button Test
Press Start, Select, and Home and watch each one register the instant it's pressed. This controller start select home test reads all three system buttons, so you can confirm they respond cleanly and count exactly once per press.
These buttons pause your game, open menus, and bring up the system overlay — small jobs until one stops working. The tool below also runs as a Start/Select CPS test: press the buttons and see your clicks-per-second, then take the timed challenge to test how fast you can press Start, Select, or Home. Everything runs in your browser through the standard Gamepad API — no download, no signup, nothing leaves your device.
Press a button to begin
Connect via USB or pair over Bluetooth, then press Start, Select, or Home so the browser detects your pad.
Start / Select / Home speed test
Press Start, then press any of the three buttons as fast as you can for 10 seconds.
Counters and speed reset when you start a new test.
Outside the timed test, every press still counts — a healthy button registers one press per tap.
What the Start/Select/Home test checks
Start, Select, and Home are digital buttons — each one either registers a press or it doesn't. They're labelled differently across brands: on a PlayStation pad they're Options, Share, and the PS button; on an Xbox pad they're Menu, View, and the Guide button. The controller start select home test reads all three regardless of label and watches two things — whether each button registers at all, and whether it registers exactly once per press.
The speed side of the tool turns that into a number. A Start/Select CPS test counts your presses over ten seconds and reports clicks per second, so a button's response is something you can measure rather than guess at. A healthy button holds a steady rate; a worn one stutters or skips.
Reading your results
Healthy button
Registers instantly, counts one press per tap, and holds a steady clicks-per-second rate through the timed test.
Double-registering
One press adds two or more to the counter — a worn switch bouncing, which leads to menus opening and closing on a single tap.
Missed or stuck press
Taps that don't count, or a button that stays lit while idle, point to a tired switch or debris under the cap.
A note on the Home button
The Home button behaves a little differently from Start and Select. Many systems intercept it for their own overlay before the browser ever sees it, so on some controllers and operating systems it won't report to a Home button CPS test at all. That's expected behaviour, not a fault — if Start and Select register cleanly but Home stays quiet, your system is simply reserving that button. Start and Select are read on virtually every pad.
When to run it
Run the test when a pause or menu starts feeling unreliable, after a controller takes a knock, or before a warranty claim or second-hand purchase. The press counter and CPS reading give you clear evidence of how the system buttons actually behave.
The system buttons, in context
Start, Select, and Home rarely get attention until one fails. Here's where they actually do their work, the myths worth clearing up, and a short checklist for reading your test with confidence.
Start
Pauses the action
The button you reach for mid-game — pausing, opening the pause menu, confirming a prompt. It takes the most presses of the three over a session.
Select
Opens the extras
Maps, scoreboards, capture and share features. Used less often, but a dead Select quietly locks you out of a whole layer of the game.
Home
Leaves the game
Jumps to the system dashboard or overlay. Often handled by the console itself, which is why a browser test may not see it at all.
Myths worth clearing up
"If the Home button doesn't register, the controller is broken."
Most systems reserve the Home button for their own overlay, so the browser never receives it. A quiet Home with working Start and Select is normal.
"System buttons don't wear out — they're barely used."
They use the same switches as face buttons. Light use means slow wear — but a worn Start switch still double-registers, opening and closing menus on one press.
"A high CPS score means the button is healthy."
Speed and health aren't the same thing. A steady rate with no skipped or doubled presses tells you far more than a peak number ever will.
Reading your test — a quick checklist
Run through these while the tool is open. If every line holds true, your system buttons are in good shape.
- ✓ Start registers instantly. No delay between the press and the tile lighting up.
- ✓ Select registers instantly. The same crisp response as Start, with no lag.
- ✓ One press, one count. Tap ten times — each counter should read exactly ten.
- ✓ Nothing fires while idle. With your hands off the pad, no tile should light.
- ✓ The CPS rate stays steady. No sudden drops or skips during the timed test.
- i Home may stay quiet — that's fine. If your system reserves it, the browser won't see it. Judge controller health on Start and Select.