Master Your Flydigi: How to Enable SteamInput for Apex 5 & Vader 5 Pro

If you've picked up one of Flydigi's heavy hitters like the Apex 5 or the Vader 5 Pro, you already know you're holding some of the best tech in the game. But as many of you in our Discord have pointed out, sometimes you want the best of both worlds: Flydigi's elite hardware paired with the deep, community-driven customization of SteamInput.

By default, Flydigi's Space Station software and Steam can sometimes bump heads. If you want Steam to "see" your back buttons or handle your gyro settings directly, you need to flip a specific switch.

Grab a coffee, and let's get your rig dialed in.

Before Steam can take the wheel, we have to tell Flydigi's software to step back.

1. Connect & Sync: Plug in your controller via USB or use the 2.4G dongle. Ensure it's in XInput mode
2. Open Space Station 4: Select your device (e.g., Apex 5).
3. The Handover: Head to the Settings icon in the bottom-left corner. Look for the toggle labeled:"Allow third-party apps to take over."

Screenshot: Space Station 4 Settings — 'Allow third-party apps' toggle

Now that the path is clear, let's head over to Steam.

1. Open Steam → Settings → Controller.
2. With that third-party toggle ON, you'll notice Steam now recognizes the controller's extended features. Suddenly, those Extra Keys (M1–M4) and Gyro settings will appear in the layout editor.
3. Customize away: You can now map those back buttons to keyboard shortcuts, macros, or even "Mode Shifts".

Screenshot: Steam Controller Settings — Flydigi controller recognized with Gyro and Extra Key options visible

For the power users who prefer reWASD over Steam, the process is exactly the same. As of version 9.3, reWASD has added official support for the Apex 5. Just ensure that "Allow third-party apps to take over" is active in Space Station, and reWASD will be able to "see" the hardware and map everything—including that sweet gyro—though keep in mind that adaptive triggers are still best handled through Flydigi's native software for now.

💡 Pro-Tip — Fixing Gyro Drift (The "Under the Hood" Fix)

Occasionally, some users experience "drifting" when using Steam's gyro. This usually isn't a hardware issue—it's actually a small quirk in how Steam saves its configuration files. If your crosshair is slowly crawling across the screen, try this manual fix:

1. Close Steam completely.
2. Navigate to your Steam configuration folder. It usually looks something like this:
   \steamapps\common\Steam Controller Configs\[YourID]\config\preferences_xxxx.vdf
3. Open the .vdf file with Notepad and find these lines. Change the values to match:

"antidrift_enabled_sw" "0" "gyro_stationary_noise_tolerance" "0.258640" "accelerometer_stationary_noise_tolerance" "2.38133883476257324"

Screenshot: Editing the .vdf file with gyro drift fix values in Notepad

Save and restart Steam. This manually resets the noise tolerance and usually snaps the gyro back to perfect stability.