Updated: September 3, 2026 · AceGamer Editorial

Quick answer — To program a back button on the AceGamer HyperShadow D4, hold M together with the back button you want — M1, M2, M3 or M4 — for three seconds until the indicator light turns solid red, press the action or the sequence of actions you want it to perform (up to 24 inputs), then press that same back button again to save and exit. To clear a button, enter programming mode the same way and press the back button again without entering anything. Out of the box the four buttons map to B, A, L3 and R3. Everything happens on the controller, with no app, and the assignments work the same on PS4, PC, Switch and mobile. This guide covers single-button remaps, multi-step macros, clearing, what to program for different games, and what to do when a macro misbehaves — all drawn from the D4's user manual.

What are the M1–M4 buttons, and what can they hold?

M1, M2, M3 and M4 are the four programmable back buttons on the rear grips of the D4, positioned under your middle and ring fingers. Each can hold either a single-button remap — a copy of one existing button — or a macro, a recorded sequence of up to 24 inputs that plays back from one press.

The manual describes them as user-definable macro back buttons that record up to 24 actions per button, and lists the factory defaults: M1 = B, M2 = A, M3 = L3, M4 = R3. That default set is a sensible starting point — the two most-used face buttons and the two stick clicks — and many players never change it. The value of programmable buttons is that you press them without moving your thumbs off the sticks, so an action that would normally interrupt your aim or movement no longer does.

A remap and a macro are programmed the same way; the difference is how many inputs you enter. Press one button during programming and the back button becomes a copy of it. Press several and the back button plays them back in order. The D4's 24-step limit is generous — enough for long fighting-game combos or multi-step build sequences — and it is unusual to find on-controller macro recording at all under $50. What the manual does not specify is whether the timing between your presses is captured or whether stick directions can be recorded, so this guide does not claim either; the section on inputs below explains how to find out for your game. The wider case for back buttons, and how to use them well, is in controller back buttons explained.

How do you program a single-button remap?

Hold M and the target back button for three seconds until the indicator turns solid red, press the button you want copied, then press the same back button again to save. That is the entire procedure for the most common use of back buttons.

1. Power the controller on and connect it in a wireless mode — Bluetooth, 2.4G or P4. The reason for avoiding wired PC mode is covered under platforms below.
2. Hold M and the back button you want to program — say M1 — for about three seconds. The manual specifies that the indicator light stays solid red to show programming mode has started.
3. Press the button you want M1 to become. For a jump remap that is usually the jump button; for a reload, the reload button. One press is enough.
4. Press M1 again to save the assignment and leave programming mode.
5. Test it in a game or a controller tester. Pressing M1 should now do exactly what the copied button does.

Two habits make this smoother. First, decide the four actions you most want off your thumbs before you start — commonly jump, reload, crouch or slide, and melee or weapon swap — and program them in one sitting. Second, program with the game paused or at a menu, so a stray press during recording does not fire an action in play. The whole sequence takes well under a minute per button once you have done it once.

How do you record a macro of up to 24 inputs?

The steps are identical to a remap; you simply enter more than one input before saving. The manual states that the D4 supports sequences of up to 24 actions per button, recorded in the order you press them.

1. Plan the sequence. Write down the button order — for a fighting-game combo, the exact inputs; for a build command, each step — and confirm it is 24 inputs or fewer.
2. Hold M and the back button for three seconds until the indicator is solid red.
3. Press each input in order. Work deliberately; a mistaken press becomes part of the recording, and the fix is to clear the button and start again.
4. Press the same back button to save and exit programming mode.
5. Test in the game the macro is for. A sequence that reads correctly on paper may need adjusting once you see how the game responds to it, especially where the game expects a pause between inputs.

Three practical notes. The manual's wording is "press desired action buttons in sequence," so a macro is built from button presses; treat anything beyond that — held inputs, stick movements, precise timing — as untested until you try it, and keep the first macro simple to learn how the D4 plays a sequence back. If a combo depends on timing the game enforces, a straight playback may run too fast or too slow for it, which is a limitation of any button-sequence macro and not specific to the D4. And keep a note of what each button holds; the controller does not display its assignments, so a written list saves confusion later.

How do you clear a back button?

Enter programming mode for that button — hold M and the back button for three seconds until the indicator is solid red — then press the same back button again without entering any inputs. The manual describes this as clearing the function.

Clearing a button removes whatever it held, whether a remap or a macro. There is no way to edit a macro in place; if one step is wrong, clear the button and record the whole sequence again, which is why planning the sequence first matters. To return every back button to its factory assignment at once, a factory reset — hold L1, R1 and Home together for three seconds until the indicator turns white — restores the defaults along with vibration, sleep and brightness settings, so use it only when you want everything reset rather than one button.

One thing to be aware of: after clearing, the manual does not state whether the button reverts to its factory default or to no function at all. If you want M1 to be B again after clearing, the safe route is to program it as a remap of B rather than assume it has reverted.

Which inputs can a macro contain?

The manual specifies action buttons pressed in sequence, up to 24 of them. The factory defaults include L3 and R3, so stick clicks are certainly assignable. Beyond that, the manual does not list which inputs are capturable, so the honest answer is to test.

Here is a sensible way to find out what your D4 records without guessing. Program a back button with a short, distinctive sequence — three face buttons, say — and confirm it plays back correctly in a controller tester on PC or in a game's training mode. Then try adding the input you are unsure about, such as a trigger pull or a D-pad direction, and test again. If it plays back, it is supported; if the sequence skips it, it is not. Two minutes of testing settles the question for your setup far more reliably than a guide can, and it avoids building a long combo around an input that turns out not to record.

Whatever the D4 captures, one boundary is fixed: a macro is a fixed sequence, and it will not react to what is happening on screen. It suits inputs you would otherwise perform the same way every time, not decisions.

What is worth programming, game by game?

Start with single-button remaps, which give most of the benefit of back buttons in every genre. Reserve macros for sequences you perform identically every time. And check a competitive game's rules before using macros in ranked play.

Shooters. Jump and crouch or slide on two back buttons keep both thumbs on the sticks during a fight; reload and melee on the other two round out the set. Macros are rarely useful here and are often against ranked rules, so remaps are the whole story. Pair them with the D4's micro-switch trigger mode and FPS zero-dead-zone mode, covered in FPS zero-dead-zone mode explained.

Fighting games. This is where macros earn their place. A multi-button special or a set combo on one back button removes execution errors from moves you have already learned, and the 24-input limit covers long strings. Two cautions apply: online ranked modes and tournaments commonly restrict macros beyond simple button-combination shortcuts, and combos that depend on precise timing between inputs may not play back correctly from a straight sequence.

Building and survival games. Repeated multi-step commands — placing a structure, cycling to a tool, opening and navigating a menu — suit macros well, since the sequence is the same every time and no timing is involved. This is the genre where a 24-step macro saves the most repetitive effort.

Racing and driving. Remaps only: a handbrake, a camera change or a rewind on a back button, alongside the D4's linear trigger mode for throttle control. Macros have little use here.

Role-playing and strategy games. Menu shortcuts and consumable use on remaps; longer navigation sequences on macros where the menu structure is fixed. Test a menu macro carefully, since one extra press can land on the wrong item.

If you want a single starting layout that works across most genres, try this: M1 jump, M2 reload or interact, M3 crouch or slide, M4 melee or weapon swap. It keeps the two movement-critical actions under your stronger fingers and leaves the factory stick clicks free for games that use them. Adjust from there once you notice which button you reach for most.

A rule that applies everywhere: program what you repeat, not what you decide. A macro fires the same way regardless of context, so anything that depends on the situation belongs on a remap or on the standard buttons.

Do the assignments work on every platform?

Yes, with one documented exception. Because remaps and macros are stored on the controller rather than in an app, they work identically on PS4, PC, Switch, Switch 2 and mobile. The exception is wired PC mode, where the manual states that settings are not saved, so program the buttons while connected wirelessly.

This platform independence is the main advantage of the D4's on-controller approach. A controller whose macros live in a companion app carries them only where that app runs; the D4's travel with it. Switch the rear selector from P4 to Bluetooth to 2.4G and the four back buttons do the same things on each.

The wired-mode note deserves emphasis because it is easy to trip over. In its PC wired connection section, the manual states that settings are not saved — there is no memory function — in wired mode. Program remaps and macros in Bluetooth, 2.4G or P4 mode, confirm they work, and then use wired mode for play if you prefer it; the assignments made wirelessly are the ones the controller keeps. Mode switching is covered in switching D4 modes, and PC connection in connecting the D4 to a PC.

How do macros fit with the other M-button functions?

The M button is the D4's central configuration key, and it does different things depending on what you press with it and for how long. Knowing the full set prevents accidentally triggering one function while trying to set another.

The distinction that matters most: a short M-plus-button press sets Turbo, while a three-second hold of M with a back button enters programming. If the M light flickers instead of the indicator turning solid red, you have set Turbo on a button rather than entered programming mode; hold M for five seconds to clear all Turbo and try again with a longer hold. The Turbo and trigger functions are covered in full in the D4 Turbo and trigger settings guide.

What if a macro does not work?

Work through these in order.

1. Confirm programming mode started. The indicator must be solid red. If it is not, you released too early or triggered Turbo instead; hold M and the back button longer.
2. Check which mode you programmed in. Assignments made in wired PC mode are not saved. Reprogram while connected over Bluetooth, 2.4G or P4.
3. Clear and re-record. A stray press during recording becomes part of the macro. Enter programming mode, press the back button with no inputs to clear it, then record again slowly.
4. Test the inputs individually. If a sequence skips a step, that input may not be capturable; confirm with a short test macro as described above.
5. Check the game. Some titles block macro playback or need a pause between inputs that a straight sequence does not provide. Try the macro in a controller tester to separate a controller problem from a game one.
6. Factory reset as a last resort. Hold L1, R1 and Home for three seconds until the indicator turns white. This restores the factory back-button defaults and other settings, after which you can program again from a clean state.

If the back buttons do not respond at all after a factory reset, that is a hardware question for AceGamer support through the contact page, covered by the store's one-year free replacement policy on the warranty page. Broader troubleshooting is in D4 not connecting: fixes.

How does the D4's approach compare with rivals?

Most pro controllers at and above the D4's price configure their extra buttons through companion software. The D4's on-controller recording is simpler and platform-independent; software offers a visual editor, profiles and finer tuning. Each has a real cost.

The 8BitDo Ultimate 2 assigns its two back paddles and L4/R4 bumpers in Ultimate Software V2; the GameSir G7 Pro assigns its L4/R4 back buttons and L5/R5 bumpers in GameSir's software; the Flydigi Vader 4 Pro maps its six macro buttons through Space Station. All three give you a screen to see and edit assignments, save multiple profiles and tune details, and all three tie full customisation to the app. The D4 gives you four back buttons, 24-step recording and no app — assignments that travel with the controller to any platform, at the cost of no visual editor and no stored profiles beyond the current assignments.

Which suits you follows from how you play. A single-platform tinkerer who enjoys profile editors will prefer software. A player who moves a controller between a PS4, a PC and a phone, or who wants to set four buttons once and forget the app exists, will prefer the D4's method. The comparisons are in D4 vs 8BitDo Ultimate 2, D4 vs GameSir G7 Pro and D4 vs Flydigi Vader 4 Pro, and the budget field in the best controllers with back buttons under $50. The D4's full specification is in D4 specs and price, and AceGamer's pro pads in pro controllers.

View the AceGamer HyperShadow D4 →

Frequently asked questions

How do I program the back buttons on the AceGamer D4?
Hold M and the back button you want - M1, M2, M3 or M4 - for three seconds until the indicator turns solid red, press the action or sequence you want it to perform, then press the same back button again to save. Do this while connected wirelessly, since the manual states settings are not saved in wired PC mode.

What are the default M1 to M4 assignments?
M1 is B, M2 is A, M3 is L3 and M4 is R3 from the factory. A factory reset - holding L1, R1 and Home for three seconds until the indicator turns white - restores those defaults along with vibration, sleep and brightness settings.

How many inputs can a D4 macro hold?
Up to 24 per back button, pressed in sequence during programming mode. That is enough for long fighting-game combos and multi-step build commands. A macro plays back as a fixed sequence, so it suits inputs you repeat identically rather than decisions that depend on the situation.

How do I clear a macro on the D4?
Enter programming mode for that button by holding M and the back button for three seconds until the indicator is solid red, then press the same back button again without entering any inputs. There is no in-place editing; to change one step, clear the button and record the sequence again.

Do the D4's macros need an app?
No. Remaps and macros are recorded and stored on the controller with button combinations, so they work identically on PS4, PC, Switch, Switch 2 and mobile with nothing installed. The trade-off is no visual editor and no saved profiles beyond the current assignments.

Why does my macro disappear after I switch to wired mode?
The manual states that settings are not saved in wired PC mode. Program remaps and macros while connected over Bluetooth, 2.4G or in P4 mode, confirm they work, and the controller keeps them; wired mode can then be used for play.

Can a D4 macro record stick movements or timing?
The manual describes pressing action buttons in sequence and does not specify whether stick directions or timing are captured, so this guide makes no claim. Test with a short macro in a controller tester: if the input plays back, it is supported. Stick clicks L3 and R3 are certainly assignable, since they are factory defaults.

Why did I set Turbo instead of entering programming mode?
A short M-plus-button press sets Turbo, shown by the M light flickering; entering programming mode needs a three-second hold of M with a back button until the indicator is solid red. Hold M for five seconds to clear all Turbo settings, then try again with a longer hold.

Are macros allowed in competitive games?
It varies. Many online ranked modes and tournaments restrict macros beyond simple button-combination shortcuts, and some block playback entirely. Check the rules for your game before using a macro in ranked play. Single-button remaps are generally accepted and give most of the benefit of back buttons.

What should I put on the D4's back buttons for shooters?
Remaps rather than macros: jump and crouch or slide on two buttons so both thumbs stay on the sticks in a fight, and reload and melee on the other two. Combine them with the micro-switch trigger mode and, if you like a hair-trigger stick, the FPS zero-dead-zone mode.

Sources & methodology

Every button combination, default assignment, indicator behaviour and limitation in this guide is taken from the AceGamer HyperShadow D4 user manual (version 2.1) and the official product listing as of September 2026. Where the manual does not specify a behaviour — capture of stick directions or timing, the state of a cleared button — this guide says so and recommends testing rather than assuming. Rival controllers' configuration methods are as described in the linked comparisons. No test measurements were taken.

• AceGamer HyperShadow D4 — product page · user manual.
• Specifications — D4 specs & price.
• Related settings — Turbo & trigger settings · switching modes.
• Hub — pro controller guides.