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How to Disable M1 and M2 Secondary Shortcuts on the ASUS ROG Ally

Stop accidental ROG Ally M1/M2 shortcuts by disabling their secondary-function mappings in Armoury Crate SE, globally or in an individual game profile.
Length4 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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To stop the ROG Ally’s rear M1 and M2 buttons from activating shortcuts, open Armoury Crate SE, edit the relevant control profile, select each button, and turn off Set as Secondary Function. For a device-wide change, use Settings > Control Mode > Configure; to affect only one game, edit that game’s profile. This removes the buttons’ modifier shortcuts, but does not necessarily remove a primary action assigned to either button.

What disabling M1 and M2 changes

M1 and M2 can work as modifier buttons: hold one while pressing another control to trigger that control’s secondary function. That can be useful for extra commands, but it can also cause accidental shortcuts, such as opening the on-screen keyboard.

Armoury Crate SE treats a control’s Primary Button assignment separately from its Secondary Function. Turning off Set as Secondary Function stops M1 or M2 from modifying other controls. It does not by itself guarantee that pressing M1 or M2 alone will do nothing; that depends on the button’s primary assignment.

Disable the shortcuts across the Ally

ASUS documents the global setting in Armoury Crate SE. Gamepad Mode and Desktop Mode are configured separately, so change both if the unwanted shortcut occurs in both controller-supported games and Windows navigation.

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  1. Open Armoury Crate SE.
  2. Go to Settings > Control Mode > Configure.
  3. Select Gamepad Mode or Desktop Mode, depending on where the shortcut occurs.
  4. Select M1 in the control layout and clear Set as Secondary Function.
  5. Select M2 and clear the same setting.
  6. Save or apply the configuration if Armoury Crate SE presents that option. Repeat for the other control mode if needed.
  7. Test by holding M1 or M2 and pressing a control that previously triggered the shortcut.

ASUS’s ROG Ally Series FAQ identifies this setting for the global control configuration as well as game profiles.

Disable the shortcuts in one game

Choose a per-game change if you want M1/M2 shortcuts in some games but not in a particular title. Armoury Crate SE supports custom control profiles for individual games, and a game profile may override the global layout.

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  1. Open Armoury Crate SE and go to Game Library.
  2. Select the game you want to change and open its profile or control-editing options. The exact prompt can vary by software version.
  3. Open the control configuration for the mode the game uses.
  4. Select M1 and turn off Set as Secondary Function, then do the same for M2.
  5. Save the profile. If the game still uses the old mapping, close and relaunch it.

For background on game profiles and remapping, see ASUS’s ROG Ally button-remapping guide.

If M1 or M2 still does something

  • The shortcut happens in another context: Check both Gamepad Mode and Desktop Mode. Their mappings are independent.
  • It happens only in one game: Open that game’s profile and inspect its mapping instead of relying only on the global configuration.
  • Pressing a paddle alone still produces an input: Inspect its Primary Button assignment as well as its secondary-function setting. The documented checkbox only removes the modifier behavior.
  • The old shortcut persists: Save the profile again, close and relaunch the game, then reopen Armoury Crate SE to verify the setting was retained.
  • The setting is missing or will not stick: Confirm you are editing the intended mode and check Armoury Crate SE’s version in its settings or application information. ASUS’s control documentation specifies Armoury Crate SE version 2.1.10.0 or later for the documented interface; labels can vary between releases.
  • Armoury Crate SE is failing to apply settings: Use ASUS support’s Armoury Crate SE installation or reinstallation guidance. Reinstallation is a recovery option, not a guaranteed fix.

Other remapping utilities or Windows features may also interpret inputs, so if the Armoury Crate profile is correct and the shortcut remains, check whether another input-mapping tool is active.

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Can you make the paddles completely inactive?

ASUS’s documented method disables the secondary-function assignment. Whether you can also remove the primary action depends on whether your installed Armoury Crate SE version offers an unassigned or disabled choice for the primary M1/M2 mapping. If it does, use that control to remove the primary action; if it does not, the documented secondary-function setting alone cannot be described as making the physical buttons completely inert.

Armoury Crate SE is the Ally-specific interface. ASUS’s support documentation, updated December 23, 2025, covers the ROG Ally series, including the 2023 ROG Ally and 2024 ROG Ally X, and describes separate modes and customizable mappings. Consult the ASUS Armoury Crate SE documentation if your menus differ from these labels.

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  • XBOX GAME BAR INTEGRATION Launch Game Bar with a tap of the Xbox button or play your favorite titles natively from platforms like Xbox Game Pass, Steam, Epic Games, or Windows games on the go.
  • ALL YOUR GAMES, ALL YOUR PROGRESS Powered by Windows 11, the ROG Xbox Ally gives you access to your full library of PC games from Xbox and other game stores. With Xbox Play Anywhere, you can pick up right where you left off on your PC or Xbox and jump back into the game anytime.
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Which setting should you choose?

  • Global change: Turn off the secondary functions in each relevant mode if you do not want M1/M2 modifier shortcuts anywhere.
  • Per-game change: Use the game profile when the paddles are useful in other titles or a specific game overrides the global layout.
  • Remap rather than remove: If you want to keep using the paddles, assign a less disruptive function or retain them only in selected profiles. Disabling secondary functions also removes useful M1/M2 combinations.

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