Which button activates Skywalker's lightsaber, and why is it inconsistent?

Question

You can tell from this video that Finn is actually pushing that button to activate the lightsaber

It seems like there are different on-buttons or something because the toys say the big rectangular one near the middle is the on-button.

From this video:

Is there more than one on-button? Or is this just a continuity error? Where is the official on-button, and

why the seeming inconsistency?

Considering your avatar, shouldn't you ALREADY know the answer, since you claimed it was "yours"? :) — DVK-on-Ahch-To, Jan 03 '16 at 23:12
Actually, I think the first time Finn uses the saber (after he gets it from Maz) he presses on the protrusions (fins) above the blade-length adjustor. — Clockwork-Muse, Jan 04 '16 at 05:05
The answer to "why the inconsistency" is "because the 'activation matrix' nonsense is very bad design". If it looks like an "on" button and clicks like an "on" button, it better damn well be an "on" button. It's those little things on the side that should do things like adjust the length or brightness. — Martha, Jan 04 '16 at 23:46
So probably not a canon answer, but if you had a sword with an on/off switch, wouldn't you want more than one button on there? I mean you might be skilled as hell, but the one time you grab it wrong and have to fiddle for the button - bam, you're dead. I'd want a couple of buttons. — Misha R, Jan 25 '16 at 12:28
Maybe adjusting the blade length requires the lightsaber to be activated, so it turns it on? No one realizes they're doing it wrong because it seems to work. — Chris B. Behrens, Dec 25 '17 at 19:34

Valorum · Answer 1 · 2016-01-03T22:59:19.857

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From the Star Wars: Visual Dictionary and Force Awakens: Visual Dictionary.

The "on button" is the big shiny thing on the handle.

edited Jan 03 '16 at 22:59

answered Jan 03 '16 at 22:54

Valorum

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If you press the quick-recharge port expecting it to turn on, you're gonna have a bad time. – Valorum Jan 03 '16 at 22:59
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Is it USB-C or microUSB? – DVK-on-Ahch-To Jan 03 '16 at 23:10
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@DVK - It actually looks like some kind of dual-prong connector – Valorum Jan 03 '16 at 23:15
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I know, but USB is the cool new thing.... – DVK-on-Ahch-To Jan 03 '16 at 23:24
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Looks like the backside of a refrigerator magnet in the picture on the right – xdhmoore Jan 04 '16 at 04:46
Why is the recharge port so far from the battery? Why is it not magnetic or an induction loop? It makes my heart hurt. – Gusdor Jan 04 '16 at 12:07
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@Gusdor - it's quite far from the battery, but very close to the Energy Modulation Circuits. Best guess, they serve a dual purpose in ensuring that the energy flow (to the beam) is steady and also that the charger doesn't overload the battery when charging. – Valorum Jan 04 '16 at 12:11
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The idea that someone worried that lightsabers need to be charged makes me sad. – mattdm Jan 04 '16 at 12:26
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@mattdm - I'm guessing this is you... :-P – Valorum Jan 04 '16 at 12:38
@Richard sir, that is some grade A technobabble and I love it! – Gusdor Jan 04 '16 at 13:06
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@Gusdor - Years of listening to treknobabble has made me the man I am. – Valorum Jan 04 '16 at 13:09
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@Richard Heh. Yeah basically, except this being Star Wars and not Star Trek, I don't want to have to really think about it. I want that heirloom weapon found locked in a trunk for years to just work. – mattdm Jan 04 '16 at 13:36
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@mattdm - There's no reason it should run down when not being used. Luke only had it on for a few seconds before getting his hand cut off. – Valorum Jan 04 '16 at 13:38
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Yes, because blue energy cubes hold a charge forever! :) – mattdm Jan 04 '16 at 13:41
Any comments on why it's inconsistent? – RedCaio Jan 23 '16 at 21:16
@RedCaio - I see no inconsistency. Although they seem to press the uppermost button, their fingers are on the activation matrix. – Valorum Jan 23 '16 at 21:20
@Richard: No it's not. Look at Finn's hand; there's no way any of his fingers could reach the board. Also, in the battle at star killer, he very obviously presses the button. It is inconsistent, and it's well known in the saber community (yes... I collect lightsabers...). Why... we don't know. – Ed Swangren Feb 16 '16 at 05:27
@EdS. - He's clearly squeezing it with his palm. – Valorum Feb 16 '16 at 07:35
It might be worth noting that Pablo Hidalgo addressed this just recently here and here. Basically in TFA it was a mistake and it's still supposed to activate with the plate in the middle. One assumes the same applies to the TCW episode. – Kris Feb 02 '17 at 22:19
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@Kris make that into an answer, and I'll upvote and probably accept. Just hurry before Valorum does it. ;) – RedCaio Feb 03 '17 at 00:32
@RedCaio - I was just going to say exactly that. – Valorum Feb 03 '17 at 00:41

score 25 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 16 '20 at 09:31

Straightforward answer: Yes, as Pablo Hidalgo of the Lucasfilm Story Group recently said here and here, it's a mistake and that the lightsaber is still supposed to activate with the plate in the middle.

Q. Why in the Force Awakens does Finn clearly press the blade adjustment button on Luke's lightsaber to turn it on? Is it Snoke?

‏@pablohidalgo - It's a mistake.

_{^{Via Twitter}}

and

Q. Will Anakin's lightsaber ignition button be corrected in future movies to fit how it was in the ot [Original Trilogy]?

‏@pablohidalgo - If you're asking if the same mistake made in TFA will happen again, I'd say I hope not.

_{^{Via Twitter (with grammar corrected)}}

One assumes the same applies to the TCW episode.

score 7 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 04 '16 at 05:05

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Let's say it has both the activation button and the length adjust control as depicted in the dictionaries. Presumably the activation button would cause the blade to quickly jump up to the set blade length. However, if you left it on, but turned the length to 0, maybe holding the length adjust button down would cause it to extend in a slow, cool, way! That way, both the OP images could make sense.

answered Jan 04 '16 at 05:05

SWUberFan

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Ah, hibernation mode. – Mr Lister Jan 04 '16 at 09:52
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That would be a poor user interface if you could leave it on and turn the blade length down to zero. Imagine you get jumped by somebody, pull out your weapon, activate it, and...nothing happens. That's because you just turned it off! You left it on, remember? You desperately try to activate it again and you still get nothing, because the blade length is zero! Good luck with that. – Mohair Jan 04 '16 at 18:43
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@Mohair And then we have the awkward scene where the villain rolls his eyes at you and waits for you to figure it out. – Jan 04 '16 at 19:00
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@Mohair if you are having trouble with that, you should not be using a weapon that can kill you in one absentminded motion – Andrey Jul 26 '17 at 16:10

score 3 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 26 '17 at 14:41

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It's like a TV remote - I can turn on the TV by pressing the red 'standby' button, or by pressing a channel number.

answered Jul 26 '17 at 14:41

Roj

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Er... no. Thats not how it works. – amflare Jul 26 '17 at 14:47
Just to make it clear to any reviewers. This is an answer to the question. – Edlothiad Jul 26 '17 at 15:31
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I like this. My TV remote works like this too. You can press either button just like the lightsaber. +1 from me and welcome to the site! – Edlothiad Jul 26 '17 at 15:32

score 1 · Answer 5 · edited Feb 16 '16 at 01:42

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In episode 2 of the unfinished episodes of the Clone Wars, which I believe are canon, Anakin turns his lightsaber on by pushing the big red button in the front. This, added to the many ways you cited by which this lightsaber can be turned on, leads me to believe that there is in fact more than one way to turn it on.

edited Feb 16 '16 at 01:42

CHEESE

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answered Feb 16 '16 at 01:24

Luke Anderson

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If you have any quotes or pictures to back this up, that would be great. Otherwise, good answer. – CHEESE Feb 16 '16 at 01:44

score 1 · Answer 6 · answered Nov 17 '17 at 19:35

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I would say it works like a dimmer switch. One switch just controls off and on while the other can control blade length and intensity while also controlling the on off capabilities. Redundancies built into the weapon to make it more useful. This also explains why Darth Vader comes out at different speeds. Sometimes he uses the blade length adjustment knob sometimes he uses the on off switch

answered Nov 17 '17 at 19:35

Brian

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This is reflected in Legends (if not canon). If you could find the source for that and include it, it would make your answer a lot better. – amflare Nov 17 '17 at 19:43

score -1 · Answer 7 · answered Jan 16 '21 at 08:16

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I'm Star Wars fan almost for 20 years, and I remember that in old sources Younglings and Padawans has to HOLD the button if they want lightsaber to be on, and when they were ready, they adjust switch which can be blocked in ON mode (for example to throw saber). BTW there are flashlights that have similar two switches, one to push and blink, the other to slide and be on still.

answered Jan 16 '21 at 08:16

Horus

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Which "old sources"? – Valorum Jan 16 '21 at 08:33

score -2 · Answer 8 · answered Dec 25 '17 at 05:29

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I think the answer is simple, you can turn the light saber on from two locations, the adjustment button and the activation matrix. You clearly see Fin start the lightsaber from the adjustment button and that movie is canon so that mean it can be started from there. You also see Luke start it from the activation matrix so you can start it from there too. It’s got 2 power buttons, simple.

answered Dec 25 '17 at 05:29

user94159

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Nah, just a goof. Even the director admitted it – Valorum Dec 25 '17 at 08:51

score -3 · Answer 9 · answered Feb 19 '17 at 22:07

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If you look closely their fingers lineup to both of the buttons so obviously they're turning it on and adjusting the blade at the same time by pressing both simultaneously

answered Feb 19 '17 at 22:07

Nick Dodd

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score -3 · Answer 10 · answered Dec 01 '17 at 00:00

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calm down. Lightsabers are actually activated by pressure, not a switch. The people who activated it before could have just pressed it on a different area. Besides this movie is forty years old it would make sense that they could've gotten it mixed up in production.

answered Dec 01 '17 at 00:00

CrimsonNerd

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True; I forgot internal consistency was only invented in 1989. – jwodder Dec 01 '17 at 00:21
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We already have an answer indicating that it was a mistake. It doesn't really seem necessary to back down to saying it might have been mixed up. Also, you provide no citation for the assertion that the other area is a valid location while several well cited answers assert the reverse. – Brythan Dec 01 '17 at 00:21

score -4 · Answer 11 · answered Jun 02 '17 at 15:36

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Anakin probably wired multiple activation buttons just in case he turns it off mid battle. Then he could use a button in a different location to make sure it stays on. There could be many different buttons on anyone's lightsaber.

answered Jun 02 '17 at 15:36

user84280

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Can you provide sources for your answer? – Edlothiad Jun 02 '17 at 15:40

score -5 · Answer 12 · answered Jan 23 '16 at 22:42

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Jedis tend to make their own light sabers and can fiddle around with button configurations howsoever they wish. Ask anyone who has programmed a macro for playing a MOBA or MMORPG and they'll tell you the power of custom mapping.

answered Jan 23 '16 at 22:42

Broklynite

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Except this question is about why different people turn on the same exact lightsaber using different buttons. We're not talking about all the various lightsabers constructed by various Jedi; we're talking about one particular lightsaber, originally constructed by Anakin Skywalker, tried out by his wife Padmé, inherited and lost by their son Luke, recovered by Maz Kanata, and used by Finn and Rey... and it seems every one of those people use a different button to turn it on. – Martha Jan 24 '16 at 00:00
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Perhaps I'm being unclear here- my point was that once the light saber ends up in a Jedi's hand, they can reprogram the trigger button howsoever they wish. – Broklynite Jan 24 '16 at 10:48
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Are you telling me that in the few short seconds after Padmé picked up her husband's lightsaber, she reprogrammed the thing to use a different trigger button? What about Finn? When did he have a chance to fiddle with the saber, and how the heck did he learn how to do so? – Martha Jan 24 '16 at 18:34
I hadn't realized the timing was that close together- never watched the movies, not my kind of thing. – Broklynite Jan 24 '16 at 22:17
@Broklynite. Why do I get the feeling that last comment was a joke? – John Bell Jan 25 '16 at 11:57
@JohnBell whose, mine or Martha's? – Broklynite Jan 25 '16 at 15:06
@Martha I dunno about few seconds (I see the clip of someone I assume is Padme activating the lightsaber) but did they show Anakin activate it and then turn it off and hand it over and then Padme activate it? Did it show anything where he explains how to use it? As for Finn- so the lightsaber's been around for years, you think nobody during that time could have fiddled with it? And here's a crazy possibility- what if someone leaves it on all the time and just hits the length button? Or maybe they activate it with their gripping fingers which are never quite visible on the activation matrix? – Broklynite Jan 25 '16 at 15:13
@Broklynite your comment on never watching the movies. Got to be joking here right? – John Bell Jan 25 '16 at 16:26
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@JohnBell nope. Not my taste. Tried 'em, didn't like 'em. Ditto Harry Potter. – Broklynite Jan 25 '16 at 22:07

Francesco · Answer 13 · 2016-04-20T22:13:44.557

I noticed that right away. The way Rey and Finn turn it on, seemed to me just a stupid mistake. Obviously the young actors grew up with silly cartoon versions and prequel of SW (where is not clear which button they switch, since it changes all the time), they do not know where the actual switch on button was in the original trilogy (where Luke actually turns on the lightsaber always in the same rectangular spot in the middle of the handle, and the replica has the exact same design), and apparently no one, either in pre-production, or on set of Ep.VII TFA, bothered to check for continuity purpose, not even the director! Lame...

Which button activates Skywalker's lightsaber, and why is it inconsistent?

why the seeming inconsistency?

13 Answers13

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