Tool

PS5 controller drift test

Connect a DualSense by USB-C cable or Bluetooth, press any button on it, let go of both sticks and press Record. This page shows how far the left and the right stick rest from the center, as a number. A healthy stick reads close to 0. A DualSense Edge and a PS4 DualShock 4 are measured the same way.

Run the test on a DualSense

  1. Connect it. A USB-C cable is the quickest start. To pair instead, hold the PS button and Create until the light bar flashes, then pick the controller in the computer's Bluetooth list.
  2. Press any button, so the browser shows the controller to this page.
  3. Put the controller down, or hold it without touching the sticks, and press Record 5 seconds at rest.
  4. Read the card under each stick: the verdict, the average and the largest distance from center, and the deadzone that would hide it.
  5. Press Start the circle test, roll each stick slowly around its edge for two full turns, then press Finish the circle test.

Test on the cable first. A cable rules out a weak Bluetooth link, so drift that shows on it is the stick itself.

Read the numbers

The numbers are distances from the center on a scale where 1 is full tilt. The verdict comes from the largest one:

  • Centered. Under 0.03. The stick rests where it should.
  • Slight offset. From 0.03 to 0.08. Most deadzones cover it without anyone noticing.
  • Noticeable drift. From 0.08 to 0.15. A camera or a pointer creeps unless the deadzone is raised.
  • Strong drift. Over 0.15. The deadzone needed to hide it starts to cost real stick travel.

These bands are my rule of thumb, not a standard. What matters is whether the largest number is smaller than the deadzone of whatever reads the stick.

If your DualSense drifts

Climb this ladder, smallest step first:

  1. Reset the controller. Sony's troubleshooting page starts here: press the reset button, in the small hole on the back, for at least 5 seconds, then connect the controller by USB and press the PS button.
  2. Update its firmware. Updating a PS5 controller's firmware says where Sony's updater runs.
  3. Hide it with a deadzone. Set one just above the number, in the game or in Steam Input. For anything InputConfig drives on a Mac, the inner deadzone is on the stick row. Stick drift on a Mac walks through each case.
  4. Rewrite the stored center. A DualSense whose center is simply off can have it rewritten, a bigger step with no undo. How to calibrate a controller on a Mac covers it.
  5. Ask Sony. Its page sends analog stick problems to PlayStation Repairs, and its United States warranty for accessories covers defects for one year. On a DualSense Edge the stick modules come out, and Sony sells replacements.

A deadzone hides drift. It does not repair the stick, so run this test again in a month and compare.

If the controller does not show up

Climb this ladder, smallest step first:

  1. Press a button. A browser hides every controller from a page until a button is pressed while that page is in front.
  2. Click the page, then press again. The tab has to be the active one when you press.
  3. Reconnect it. Unplug the cable and plug it back in, or turn the controller off and on so it pairs again.
  4. Check that the computer sees it. On a Mac, a connected PlayStation, Xbox or Switch controller is listed in System Settings under Game Controllers. If it is missing there, the fix is pairing: controller connected but not working on a Mac has every step.
  5. Try a second browser. Browsers read controllers in different ways, so one that is missing in one browser can show up in another.

What this test can miss

The page samples the sticks once per screen frame, about 60 times a second on most screens, for five seconds. A stick that drifts only now and then can pass, so run it twice, and once more after rolling the sticks around. If both sticks read exactly 0.000 at rest, something between the controller and the page is probably applying a deadzone of its own. The stick drift test page explains each number in more detail, and what stick drift is covers why it happens.

It works. Now give it a job

A tester tells you the controller is fine. On a Mac, InputConfig is the app I make for the next step: it turns the buttons and sticks you just tested into keys, the mouse pointer, clicks and scrolling, in any app or game. It is free, and its Live Visualizer draws the same live picture inside the app, with the touchpad and motion sensors a browser does not pass to a page. Test it here, then put it to work there.

Questions

How do I test a PS5 controller for stick drift?

Connect the DualSense by USB-C or Bluetooth, press any button, let go of both sticks and press Record 5 seconds at rest. The page shows how far each stick rests from the center. A healthy stick reads close to 0.

How much drift is normal on a DualSense?

By my rule of thumb, a largest value under 0.03 is a stick resting where it should, and anything over 0.08 shows in a game with a small deadzone. No standard defines the line.

Can I fix PS5 controller drift without opening it?

You can hide it. A deadzone a little larger than the drift makes a game or an app ignore it. Sony's own first step is the reset button on the back, and its page sends analog stick problems to PlayStation Repairs.

Does this drift test work with a DualSense Edge or a PS4 controller?

Yes. A DualSense Edge and a DualShock 4 are read the same way in a browser, and both sticks are measured the same.

Related

Download InputConfig on the Mac App StoreFree. macOS 14 or later. No account, nothing leaves your Mac. Open source on GitHub.