DS4 thumb sticks might have a problem?

My brother told me that his controller has started doing this. I'm sure mine will wear down soon too. I play a lot of killzone and resogun. I already have a sticky L1 but supposedly that's an easy fix.
 
Strange problem to have. As a materials engineer I really don't understand how you can fuck something like this up.
 
The texture on the rubber is definitely starting to wear out on mine. In the middle, you can still see it is textured but it feels slick and worn. The lips are still holding up but we'll see what happens over time.

I could tell from the beginning just by the feel of the rubber that it wasn't going to hold up. It's definitely not the same quality is that of the DS3 which was harder rubber.
 
i've had a ps4 since launch day in america and have been playing quite extensively ever since. noticed last night that the left thumbstick on my ds4 is now starting to peel. i'm pretty bummed out about it. hopefully this ds4 lasts until sony get this fixed and then i'll buy another one.

i agree with the poster above who is a materials engineer. how on earth did they manage to let this happen?
 
Yep. Have about 130 hours on my DS4 and was showing signs of wearing down, and a piece flaked off a week ago. Few days ago, a fairly large "flap" opened up. Still usable and all that, but ugly looking, and the rubber may not last a whole lot longer.

Edit: All "left stick".
 
Strange problem to have. As a materials engineer I really don't understand how you can fuck something like this up.

Do you have any input on what is chemically or foundationally wrong with this kind of rubber since you might be able to deduce it more accurately?
 
Throwing my hat into the ring. Left stick starting to peel. I'm constantly struggling not to slip off of it when sprinting during BF4. Really hope the covers i just ordered do the trick. Lame.
 
Has anyone received a replacement from Sony yet? I'm wondering if they already fixed the issue with the newest controllers. Mine started to peel last night after a four hours session of COD. I'd rather wait if there is a possibility that they will send me now a controller with the same defective rubber.
 
Do you have any input on what is chemically or foundationally wrong with this kind of rubber since you might be able to deduce it more accurately?

Someone from Sony said they were using a completely different material from what was used for the DualShock 3 sticks, so there are a lot of possibilities. Different molecular weights, additives, levels of cross-linking, etc.

It's possible that Sony made a gross misestimation of the lifespan or types of stress the sticks would have to endure, but I think a bad batch is more likely at this point since the wear problems don't seem to be universal.
 
Whatever the materials are they're using, I sure hope they don't change much, because I love the feel of these sticks under my thumbs. They pretty much feel perfect.

Also, I've got no peeling at all and I've put at least 20 hours of Call of Duty on them, and that game is very hard on that left stick.
 
Someone from Sony said they were using a completely different material from what was used for the DualShock 3 sticks, so there are a lot of possibilities. Different molecular weights, additives, levels of cross-linking, etc.

It's possible that Sony made a gross misestimation of the lifespan or types of stress the sticks would have to endure, but I think a bad batch is more likely at this point since the wear problems don't seem to be universal.

Kind of crazy that this sort of thing didn't show up in testing though? I mean, they've had dev kits and functioning units for a while (along with the controller). You would have thought Devs or the people at Sony would have their analog stick start to wear down.
 
Kind of crazy that this sort of thing didn't show up in testing though? I mean, they've had dev kits and functioning units for a while (along with the controller). You would have thought Devs or the people at Sony would have their analog stick start to wear down.

Yeah, that's what makes me think it's a bad batch. If this was an issue with the intended material for the sticks, they probably would have caught it by now with devkit controllers and demo stations at conventions. The latter is an especially high wear scenario, so they would definitely be tipped off if they were going through controllers at a higher than expected rate at E3 or what have you.
 
Do you have any input on what is chemically or foundationally wrong with this kind of rubber since you might be able to deduce it more accurately?

Hard to guess as an outsider, there could be many options. I doubt it's a design issue however. Most likely a bad material batch (like wrong additive ratios) or just bad manufacturing batch (wrong machine settings).
 
Hard to guess as an outsider, there could be many options. I doubt it's a design issue however. Most likely a bad material batch (like wrong additive ratios) or just bad manufacturing batch (wrong machine settings).

I'm on my 3rd controller now (finally decided to get the Grip-Its), and it's a problem on all 3. For the 1 millionth time, it's not a bad batch.
 
I'm on my 3rd controller now (finally decided to get the Grip-Its), and it's a problem on all 3. For the 1 millionth time, it's not a bad batch.

If we accept that they're all equally defective, what do you propose as an explanation for people who say they've used their controller extensively without significant wear? Some combination of them lying, not noticing the wear, or using the controller differently?
 
It could be a bad batch, but said batch seems to be pretty large. It's definitely not an isolated incident. No response from Sony yet?
 
I'm on my 3rd controller now (finally decided to get the Grip-Its), and it's a problem on all 3. For the 1 millionth time, it's not a bad batch.

If you are on your third controller, maybe, just maybe, you are the cause of it?

I'm not saying there is or isn't a problem with the controllers, but to be on your third already...

Just for reference I've put in close to 100 hours now on mine and it looks brand new still.
 
If you are on your third controller, maybe, just maybe, you are the cause of it?

I'm not saying there is or isn't a problem with the controllers, but to be on your third already...

Just for reference I've put in close to 100 hours now on mine and it looks brand new still.

This argument makes no sense, it's pretty safe to assume we're all gamers here, and sticks falling apart this early has never been a problem before for the people surprised by theirs falling apart.
 
7yqs.jpg


http://www.shopgripit.com/

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003NSLGW2/?tag=neogaf0e-20

$4.98.

pls guys. PLS.
 
Two controllers here, one an 01 and the other an 02, both with at least 50 hours, both flawless.

On one of them, the rubber felt a bit dry or overly grippy, and I conditioned it with just a touch of canola oil on my thumbs. Might sound crazy, but it worked.

I don't doubt that some of this is legit, but I also doubt it's as widespread as some seem to want it to be.
 
Two controllers here, one an 01 and the other an 02, both with at least 50 hours, both flawless.

On one of them, the rubber felt a bit dry or overly grippy, and I conditioned it with just a touch of canola oil on my thumbs. Might sound crazy, but it worked.

I don't doubt that some of this is legit, but I also doubt it's as widespread as some seem to want it to be.

For what it's worth, I didn't start to notice any significant wear until about... 70-80 hours in. Then it was a pretty rapid degeneration due to the nature of the wear. Not saying that's going to be the case, just saying that at 50 hours, I didn't notice any problem either.
 
For what it's worth, I didn't start to notice any significant wear until about... 70-80 hours in. Then it was a pretty rapid degeneration due to the nature of the wear. Not saying that's going to be the case, just saying that at 50 hours, I didn't notice any problem either.

I noticed my right stick beginning to smooth out on the 16th. I haven't had that much time to play recently (since launch) and both sticks are ridiculously smooth. It's just not right. And for all of those mentioning grip-its, we realize that there are work-arounds, but that's just lipstick on the ol' pig.


ALSO, dealing with this now, as opposed to waiting and using some 3rd party stick grip, will stop Sony from potentially denying warranty claims under the "normal wear and tear" provision that is more likely than not in their T&C of the hardware warranty.
 
I can no longer play with the part of my thumbs where you would take a fingerprint. The thumbsticks now slip down to under the knuckle of my thumb(boney part).
 
Either going to buy some pads to place on top of my sticks, or replace the analogs with my DS3 ones. I'm simply not a fan of the concave design. For whatever reasons it feels like I don't have as much precision with them. I think it's a preference and there's nothing wrong with how the sticks are now.

FYI, my thumb sticks are just fine on the DS4, no wearing down. Been playing Resogun (Platinum), Blacklight, Need For Speed, Contrast, and Trine 2 non stop, sticks look flawless.
 
I noticed my right stick beginning to smooth out on the 16th. I haven't had that much time to play recently (since launch) and both sticks are ridiculously smooth. It's just not right. And for all of those mentioning grip-its, we realize that there are work-arounds, but that's just lipstick on the ol' pig.


ALSO, dealing with this now, as opposed to waiting and using some 3rd party stick grip, will stop Sony from potentially denying warranty claims under the "normal wear and tear" provision that is more likely than not in their T&C of the hardware warranty.

Mine went from pretty normal, to having stress cracks in the rubber, and then having large chunks of it starting to flake off due to those stress cracks.
 
I mean what if it happens to a pad that comes with the console? I'm not willing to trade in everything just for a pad.

Why would you trade everything?

Surely your retailers would just swap the controller out of their new package. They do here in Australia.
 
Yeah my left thumbstick has started peeling already too, haven't even been playing all that much. My dualshock 3s, and heck my dual shock 2s are all still flawless.
 
My sticks are fine too, been playing since launch, lots of ac4.

Considering the many different ways people hold controllers, its safe to assume that people use different levels of force and angles on the sticks, and some of those are causing issues, while others use the sticks in other ways that dont hurt the grips. In other words

yer doing it wrong
 
My sticks are fine too, been playing since launch, lots of ac4.

Considering the many different ways people hold controllers, its safe to assume that people use different levels of force and angles on the sticks, and some of those are causing issues, while others use the sticks in other ways that dont hurt the grips. In other words

yer doing it wrong

I think generally that a quality controller shouldn't look like i shot it in the face after about 130 hours of gaming under the same amount and type of use that my original DS3 controller has been under since I got it without any issue.

Whether or not it's being caused by "certain types of use" - those types of use fall under "normal or expected usage" and it still points to a quality control problem.
 
My sticks are fine too, been playing since launch, lots of ac4.

Considering the many different ways people hold controllers, its safe to assume that people use different levels of force and angles on the sticks, and some of those are causing issues, while others use the sticks in other ways that dont hurt the grips. In other words

yer doing it wrong

There's no way that should be considered acceptable, though. Nobody should be wearing out sticks already. It did not happen that quick with older consoles and should not happen that quick now.

It's got to be a bad batch, or else all the controllers are fucked and some people are just going to take longer to notice.
 
I don't understand the argument that this is a user error. I always take very good care of my electronics, I don't man handle my controllers, and every controller I own besides DS4 is in fine condition. My dualshock 2 and 3s are even still textured on the sticks, where friend's sticks are completely smooth after years of abuse.
 
Every PS4 owner on GAF should have posted in this thread then.

As I said earlier, they will eventually.

Assuming they all use the same material (why wouldn't they), then at SOME point, this will happen to every controller. You can literally see it's going to happen. The rubber they're using is horribly cheap and flimsy.
 
I don't understand the argument that this is a user error. I always take very good care of my electronics, I don't man handle my controllers, and every controller I own besides DS4 is in fine condition. My dualshock 2 and 3s are even still textured on the sticks, where friend's sticks are completely smooth after years of abuse.

We're being trolled from the "yer doing it wrong" folks. But you're right, I went back and looked at my Dualshock 2 - which went from 2002 through 2007 - and both sticks still had texture, albeit slightly worn. My Dualshock 4 - which has been in my possession for just over two weeks - is smooth. There's definitely an issue and it isn't my chemical composition nor am I "doing it wrong."
 
Been playing different games on PS4 every night since launch and now notice the left analog stick has a tiny flap at about 1 o'clock to center.

I'm going to agree that the rubber is not a good choice and Sony needs to harden the material used for future batches. This is way too early for material failure.

Guess I'll buy those fugly grip-its.
 
those just look fucking silly, plus no concave design..

my controller isn't wearing down yet, but I want something less dumb looking that those

Been using them on mine since day 1. and they don't look silly. they're just rubber covers sitting on the sticks that you don't look at anyway. Let your sticks turn into ass if you want to. I bet mine will look better than yours in a month's time, that's for damn sure.
 
Been using them on mine since day 1. and they don't look silly. they're just rubber covers sitting on the sticks that you don't look at anyway. Let your sticks turn into ass if you want to. I bet mine will look better than yours in a month's time, that's for damn sure.

So you never plan using the sticks without the covers?
 
Been using them on mine since day 1. and they don't look silly. they're just rubber covers sitting on the sticks that you don't look at anyway. Let your sticks turn into ass if you want to. I bet mine will look better than yours in a month's time, that's for damn sure.

Do the black ones come in the package? Aesthetically, I'm not fond of the blue ones.
 
There's no way that should be considered acceptable, though. Nobody should be wearing out sticks already. It did not happen that quick with older consoles and should not happen that quick now.

It's got to be a bad batch, or else all the controllers are fucked and some people are just going to take longer to notice.

Oh, i agree, it shouldn't happen, period, with normal use. Whatever materials they are using, they must have not tested it under lots of normal use, in a VARIETY of different ways people normally use the sticks. Or...its just really cheap materials.

Maybe they should make those sticks out of the hard plastic the ds4 was made out of, but of course keep the shape of them the same.
 
And everybody was so sure those initial reports were BS... some very adamantly so.

A friend of mine that got his PS4 on launch day just started having this problem this past weekend; left stick rubber worn down, with a bit of a rip along one of the inner contours.

There are enough reports of it at this point that I doubt it's just a bad batch. Some people will just take a lot longer to begin to notice the problem. Hopefully they fix it soon. Wonder if they'll do anything for the people with the initial bad ones..

Like everyone said, I can't believe this didn't come up, then get fixed during prerelease testing...
 
And everybody was so sure those initial reports were BS... some very adamantly so.

A friend of mine that got his PS4 on launch day just started having this problem this past weekend; left stick rubber worn down, with a bit of a rip along one of the inner contours.

There are enough reports of it at this point that I doubt it's just a bad batch. Some people will just take a lot longer to begin to notice the problem. Hopefully they fix it soon. Wonder if they'll do anything for the people with the initial bad ones..

Like everyone said, I can't believe this didn't come up, then get fixed during prerelease testing...

I spoke with Sony and my post is on page 28. Long story short, the call center managers know of the problem and will replace your pad with a new one. You just will be without a controller for "a week and a half."
 
My sticks were/are doing fine. My issue happened with the R2 trigger. The small plastic dowel inside the controller, where the trigger pivots, broke after 2 weeks. The trigger stopped springing back up into position, causing it to feed the trigger input to the console constantly, making the rest of the buttons completely unresponsive.

Amazon CS is sending me a free replacement, but I went and bought another new one from Walmart in the meantime. Hopefully this isn't a widespread issue, I haven't heard other reports of this happening.
 
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