Is Sony going to ever fix the quality control with their controllers?

Jesb

Jesb

Member
I just bought a new controller just today to use for GeForcenow and literally out of the box the controller is completely fucked. My character spins in a circle non stop, not only that but the character is shooting its gun without me even touching anything. I was on the brink of getting vertigo trying to use this controller. Did I just get some bad luck or is this a problem with most of their controllers?

I don't understand how their old controller is more reliable than a new one. I am now back to using a dual shock 4. I'm wondering if I should exchange the controller for another one or just get my money back and forget about it.
 
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  1. Yes, exchange it. That's how you deal with this. How is starting a here thread going to help you?
  2. You assume because you bought one apparently defective controller, there is a QC issue with the entire product line?
  3. I've bought 3 Dualsense controllers and they're all great. Why does Sony have such great QC for their controllers?
Come on, man.
 
Kids and I all have at least 1 with issues. Triggers lost resistance on one, and multiple have stick drift. My favorite controller but I think build quality and price are out of touch personally.
 
Just exchange it. You never know how it was handled before you got it. Sony uses crap packaging.
 
It could be a severe case of bad luck. But yeah, all my Playstation controllers (since PS4) suffered, pretty quickly, from drifting issues. And the worst thing is that where I live they're super expensive, so I can't replace them as easily as I wished. On the other hand, my Xbox and Switch controllers are still good after years... and I hope they keep working as fine as they do for a long time. I still have an Xbox 360 controller that I bought 2010, and it's working perfectly.
 
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Sony leads the world in quality controllers, I had a loose joystick as well and off it went in the mail for repairs. I like the DualShock 3, one thing is it's durable 9/10.
 
Still waiting for my launch DualSense to start stick drifting (two years), bought a black DualSense one year ago and it still has no drift.

I will put in hall effect joysticks when the time finally comes. Since warranty for controllers is only 1 year. And they are finally here, on the market here in Poland. Lots of shops here repair controllers with those lately for a friction of a price of a new controller. Not dropping a dime on a new controllers with the stuff I am reading.

And Edge controller is too expensive.

That being said. You should exchange yours, and if you will get another faulty controller, exchange it also- that's what warranty is for.

I bet I could go the the shop I bought my black controller too and try to RMA it, even past Sony 1 year warranty, since in Poland by consumer rights all of the products bought privately and not on company invovce have 2 years warranty.

But this would fall on the shop, not Sony to exchange it or repair it.

But I am already keen on hall effect joysticks so much, I will just pay $30 to $38 per controller and be done with it.

Since apparently they don't get stick drift ever, it's on magnets so no parts rub against each other like in regular analog stick - so in theory they don't get stick drift like ever.

Dunno if there's any grease or oil in those, but if it's on magnets than probably not.

I feel a bit of deadzone on my current DualSense controllers and I hear oils just slosh about in the analog sticks.

Curious if I will get those on hall effect joysticks or not. I think not, no rub, no oil or grease, no slosh, no deadzone but that's just my common sense thought process.

Anyways it's worth testing out in the near future.
 
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Kssio_Aug said:
It could be a severe case of bad luck. But yeah, all my Playstation controllers (since PS4) suffered, pretty quickly, from drifting issues. And the worst thing is that where I live they're super expensive, so I can't replace them as easily as I wished. On the other hand, my Xbox and Switch controllers are still good after years... and I hope they keep working as fine as they do for a long time. I still have an Xbox 360 controller that I bought 2010, and it's working perfectly.
Click to expand...

360 controllers were a nightmare for me with stick drift. In as little as a month and in no more than six months...drift. Never had issues with any other controller but I never use Joy Cons so that probably helps.
 
I've never had issues with controllers until this year. My son dropping them on the tile floor could be the reason. I don't let him touch mine now and he can use the broken ones.
 
Thats just bad luck. The best way to deal with the eventual malfunctions of a joystick, is just to get a pro controller, like the Dualsense Edge. That way you you can replace the parts yourself. If you know how to solder lead, then there are options if you want to mod your controller for reliability. You can even replace the battery for a bigger size.
 
not only that but the character is shooting its gun without me even touching anything
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I believed you until this part. That's not stick drift.
That's not a controller problem, its whatever you have it plugged into.
 
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Never had issues out of the box and even then warranties exist for this product.

It's their longevity that's my problem. Specifically, stick drift.
 
I'll chalk this up to very bad luck. Atleast try and give it another chance. Is there any model # to look for or a certain colour that has a different model# than the others or are they all basically the same? If it matter I bought the one that's all black.
 
for now, all you have is a temporarily fix, by getting an edge controller. Then you can easily replace the module stick.

The shooting part has nothing to do with stick drift though
 
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The only issue Ive had with a dualsense in over 3 years is the rubber on top becoming loose so it "spins" and slides when I move my thumb. Highly annoying but not that bad.

Wonder if theres a fix for that.
 
Jesb said:
I just bought a new controller just today to use for GeForcenow and literally out of the box the controller is completely fucked. My character spins in a circle non stop, not only that but the character is shooting its gun without me even touching anything. I was on the brink of getting vertigo trying to use this controller. Did I just get some bad luck or is this a problem with most of their controllers?

I don't understand how their old controller is more reliable than a new one. I am now back to using a dual shock 4. I'm wondering if I should exchange the controller for another one or just get my money back and forget about it.
Click to expand...

Get your money back and get a better controller.

8Bitdo Ultimate Bluetooth Controller with Charging Dock, Wireless Pro Controller with Hall Effect Sensing Joystick, Compatible with Switch, Windows and Steam Deck (Black)
https://a.co/d/7zMlMVi
 
ALPS is the bane of the industry in general (and they suck even at car buttons to some extent, my 1997 Volvo S90 Royal is on it's fifth turn signals relay from them). Just exchange it, Sony is quite robust with this kind of failures, no need to start a thread.
 
I've just gotten a new controller as both my originals have stick drift, one left one right.
The first was the right stick which only started happening late last year so I just switched to my other but this one is on the left stick and it happened very quickly.
The controller themselves looks new though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I call it Call of Duty drift as it's those games that it's seem to manifest from.
But COD does have a dead zone adjustment so I just use them for that.
Never had this problem with the DS2 or 3
 
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SmokedMeat said:
Get your money back and get a better controller.

8Bitdo Ultimate Bluetooth Controller with Charging Dock, Wireless Pro Controller with Hall Effect Sensing Joystick, Compatible with Switch, Windows and Steam Deck (Black)
https://a.co/d/7zMlMVi
Click to expand...
Great controller with amazing battery life, I am still on my first charge.
The problem with DualSense controllers is stickdrift after a while, what OP described is not that. I think it's something not related to the controller.
 
Jesb said:
I just bought a new controller just today to use for GeForcenow and literally out of the box the controller is completely fucked. My character spins in a circle non stop, not only that but the character is shooting its gun without me even touching anything. I was on the brink of getting vertigo trying to use this controller. Did I just get some bad luck or is this a problem with most of their controllers?

I don't understand how their old controller is more reliable than a new one. I am now back to using a dual shock 4. I'm wondering if I should exchange the controller for another one or just get my money back and forget about it.
Click to expand...
Sounds like you got a bad one. Why would you do yourself a disservice buying a dualsense for GFN? Either get a dualsense edge or get an 8bitdo pro with backbuttons.
 
TGO said:
I've just gotten a new controller as both my originals have stick drift, one left one right.
The first was the right stick which only started happening late last year so I just switched to my other but this one is on the left stick and it happened very quickly.
The controller themselves looks new though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I call it Call of Duty drift as it's those games that it's seem to manifest from.
But COD doesn't have a dead zone adjustment so I just use them for that.
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bender said:
360 controllers were a nightmare for me with stick drift. In as little as a month and in no more than six months...drift. Never had issues with any other controller but I never use Joy Cons so that probably helps.
Click to expand...
Your powerful robot hands probably overdid it
 
SmokedMeat said:
Get your money back and get a better controller.

8Bitdo Ultimate Bluetooth Controller with Charging Dock, Wireless Pro Controller with Hall Effect Sensing Joystick, Compatible with Switch, Windows and Steam Deck (Black)
https://a.co/d/7zMlMVi
Click to expand...
Thanks I'll look into this one. Not familiar with these at all. But it looks like a good value if it even comes with a charging dock. Sony is ridiculous and doesn't even give you a cable for an expensive controller. Ridiculous.
 
Mr Moose said:
I believed you until this part. That's not stick drift.
That's not a controller problem, its whatever you have it plugged into.
Click to expand...
Actually I had stick drift and my character shooting randomly on PS4 Pro bought at launch with a launch controller 4 years ago or so. So it can happen. Never dropped my DualShock 4 controller or anything.

Had some spare parts from DualShock 4 v2 black controller. Even the foil paths thingies.

Replaced the path thingies from launch controller with v2 ones and triggers stopped malfunctioning- some gum parts even that act as a buttons I think and maybe new triggers. So yeah it can be a controller thing.

If I didn't had this situation before, I would be like it's not a controller thing, but based on my own experience it can be.

And I remember I took the damn thing apart and there was no visible damage, dirt etc even so I cleaned the buttons and contact paths plus gums even before replacing them with v2 and that sure did nothing- it still acted the same as if trigger was pushed in and it wasn't.

Only the replacment repaired the controller. Weird stuff but it happened to me... Still can't explain it...

Because v1 foil paths looked mint, so did gum buttons - and they were clean, so clean even IPA wasn't picking up any residue at all...

And it was plugged into PS4 only. So yeah. Weird stuff just happens.
 
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1 controller has mega drifting on both sticks holy shit I feel like puking playing an fps. The other (red) is starting to drift. I know this because when playing cyberpunk, the cursor would slightly favor the left side of the screen. I have 4 dualshock 4 and they all work pretty well still. Seems having more components increase the likelihood of fucking up. Who knew.
 
balls of snow said:
1 controller has mega drifting on both sticks holy shit I feel like puking playing an fps. The other (red) is starting to drift. I know this because when playing cyberpunk, the cursor would slightly favor the left side of the screen. I have 4 dualshock 4 and they all work pretty well still. Seems having more components increase the likelihood of fucking up. Who knew.
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Hmm, this doesn't necessarily have to do with more components, I personally think.

There's this company called Alps Electric. The do potentiometers, switches and analog sticks and whatnot. In 70s and 80s they did pretty hi-end potentiometers for integrated amplifiers mostly for volume knobs, in the 90s and early 00s pretty durable analog sticks for controllers.

Maybe Alps QA dropped like crazy hence stick drift.

All the analog modules in all modern controllers still use Alps analog sticks. And more and more of those get stick drift left and right, not only DualSense.

Sony does not make their own analog sticks modules. They just order a pair from Alps.

That's partially why someone for example Gullikit said f it, we're doing our own modules but with magnets (halla/ hall effect).
 
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I've had every PlayStation console and vr system and the only controller issue I've ever had was the R1 breaking on the launch PS4 controller. Which I traded in with the console for the PS4 Pro later on.
 
I must be lucky, because I never, ever, had issues with any of the PS controllers. Nothing. They all remained in mint condition untill last day.
 
Disappointing thread. Was hoping OP got five defective controllers all back to back.

One and you make a thread? Soft as puppy shit my man.
 
angrod14 said:
I must be lucky, because I never, ever, had issues with any of the PS controllers. Nothing. They all remained in mint condition untill last day.
Click to expand...
Do you play online competitive games? Or only single player games?

MP with lots of constant agressive stick movment can make this issue quickly apparent. Me and my friend play online and we at least had two controllers break one way or another.

SP with mostly gentle stick usage and occasional not so gentle usage is not so bad. Have a few friends like this and my brother and they haven't have had any issues.

So it may depend on a play style too.
 
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Loomy said:
  1. Yes, exchange it. That's how you deal with this. How is starting a here thread going to help you?
  2. You assume because you bought one apparently defective controller, there is a QC issue with the entire product line?
  3. I've bought 3 Dualsense controllers and they're all great. Why does Sony have such great QC for their controllers?
Come on, man.
Click to expand...
Church Saturday GIF
 
I'll be attempting a tear down and cleaning of my 2 year old console PS5 controller (maybe 150 hours of use). The right thumbstick makes the camera/character spin dizzingly to the left

Looked online and found a trick to push down and rotate counter/clock for a few minutes, and that worked for a bit, but went right back to spinning.

My launch Ps4 controller had the bad thumbstick plastic that fell apart, but there is no spin or other issues to this day ( I also have older console controllers with no spin issues. This is the first time I really dealt with it.

I'm torn, though, because I would want a 12-hour Controller, but there still is no word on the V2 version. I also have concerns with the Portal if those sticks start to wildy drift. I saw a video that they are easier to change, but it's they should last longer than they do.
 
Jesb said:
Thanks I'll look into this one. Not familiar with these at all. But it looks like a good value if it even comes with a charging dock. Sony is ridiculous and doesn't even give you a cable for an expensive controller. Ridiculous.
Click to expand...

Most standard console controllers don't come with a cable. But yes, 8bitdo Ultimate is a great controller and value.
 
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Loomy said:
  1. Yes, exchange it. That's how you deal with this. How is starting a here thread going to help you?
  2. You assume because you bought one apparently defective controller, there is a QC issue with the entire product line?
  3. I've bought 3 Dualsense controllers and they're all great. Why does Sony have such great QC for their controllers?
Come on, man.
Click to expand...
I mean, OP's issue is probably a one-off, so I wouldn't blame QA. But saying those controllers are great is something else. In terms of quality, almost all console controllers are pieces of shit. They intentionally use the cheapest parts possible to make you buy a replacement. People saying they have no issues probably never played any competetive games.
 
Jakk said:
I mean, OP's issue is probably a one-off, so I wouldn't blame QA. But saying those controllers are great is something else. In terms of quality, almost all console controllers are pieces of shit. They intentionally use the cheapest parts possible to make you buy a replacement. People saying they have no issues probably never played any competetive games.
Click to expand...
Great the same way a Honda Civic is great. Works fine, does the job well, and usually arrives in 100% working condition(or as intended). Not saying the Dualsense is the be all end all controller, but getting a maybe defective one is no reason to blame QA on the entire thing.?

My guess is almost 100% of controllers arrive, and perform within spec.
 
Bad luck. I have had 4 Dualsense for the last 2 years. My launch controller recently had the spring in the r2 break, I fixed it myself for $.99 and about 10 minutes of work. They apparently updated to a stronger spring shortly after launch because it happened to several folks. Aside from that, no issues whatsoever.
 
Loomy said:
Great the same way a Honda Civic is great. Works fine, does the job well, and usually arrives in 100% working condition(or as intended). Not saying the Dualsense is the be all end all controller, but getting a maybe defective one is no reason to blame QA on the entire thing.?

My guess is almost 100% of controllers arrive, and perform within spec.
Click to expand...
I would expect a basic car like Honda Civic to be reliable and be reasonably maintainable. That is not the case with Dualsense.

I agree with you that getting one defective controller out of the box doesn't mean the QA is bad. What I think is bad is the overall quality of the controller. But of course it's not the QA's job to make sure they design the controller properly and use quality parts.
 
Jesb said:
I just bought a new controller just today to use for GeForcenow and literally out of the box the controller is completely fucked. My character spins in a circle non stop, not only that but the character is shooting its gun without me even touching anything. I was on the brink of getting vertigo trying to use this controller. Did I just get some bad luck or is this a problem with most of their controllers?

I don't understand how their old controller is more reliable than a new one. I am now back to using a dual shock 4. I'm wondering if I should exchange the controller for another one or just get my money back and forget about it.
Click to expand...
Just buy a 8bitdo or a guilikit one. What are you doing
 
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