When I was first flying the sim on hotas and controller this was a real nuisance because I just couldn’t set the squawk quickly enough due to lack of precision. Once I added the mouse to the xbox it became non-issue as I can set the code quickly enough to avoid trouble with ATC. Adding the mouse was a massive benefit to the whole cockpit flying experience and I wouldn’t be without it.
I agree that it would be nice to have the option to disable this assist but if you’re serious enough to want to set your own squawk code then spend 20 bucks and get a mouse, it’ll be the biggest bargain.
I’m sure most gamer types couldn’t care less about squawk codes.