Support NeoGAF

[Trogdor1123]

Never had an issue with a controller on ps1, ps2, ps3, ps4, ps5, Xbox 360, Xbox 1, or Xbox ones on pc.

Same thing with Nintendo controllers.

I don’t think any of them have qc issues.

 

[crackajack]

I believed you until this part. That's not stick drift.
That's not a controller problem, its whatever you have it plugged into.

The left stick of my ds4 can't do diagonal inputs anymore but drifts up when pushing the left trigger.
I believe anything anyone tells about their controllers.
The DS3 seems to be Sony's last good sturdy controller. Move too but those have no stick anyway and shouldn't malfunction as easy.

 

[Damigos]

Every PS controller i ve ever bought, around 10, work perfectly with no issues

 

[kikii]

Im on my third controller since launch. Sucks

how u ppl manage to break em ? too much CoD or BF ? i still have 2 day1 controllers and works fine ^^

 

[Mownoc]

"Did I just get some bad luck or is this a problem with most of their controllers?" Yes most of their controllers are completely broken out of the box. You should have bought multiple just in case.

 

[Physiognomonics]

They already improved the controler in many ways compared to launch. But yeah it could still be better.

 

[BeardSpike]

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.

I did that with my DualShock 4 and it did nothing, there's also a recalibrate analog button hidden in the back of the controller, you have to push it in woth a toothpick. That did also nothing in my case. So yeah.

Ain't gonna try it with DualSense too if I get stick drift- since there's 99% chance it will not help at all, I will just put hall effect joysticks. And test those.

 

[OuterLimits]

Haven't bought a PS5 yet. Is the controller battery life as shitty as the DS4?

 

[DenchDeckard]

I gad one duelsense at launch that the r2 trigger snapped but I've since had 3 with no issues

 

[Putonahappyface]

Two original controllers and one Cosmic Red one killed in action. Both my Galactic Purple controllers are solid though.

 

[StueyDuck]

i just got an Email from Herman, he said nah brah, git gud

 

[kikii]

Haven't bought a PS5 yet. Is the controller battery life as shitty as the DS4?

uhmm i dun remember but buy 2 so no need to care abt it also dim its lights and slap haptics off =)

 

[STARSBarry]

God if you think Sony's QA sucks, you should try the Elite or Elite 2 controller by Microsoft. Its like the launch Xbox 360 of controllers, and you can't even wrap it in a towl to fix it.

I just don't get how xbox can release a premium controller twice that breaks in the exact same way twice, I went through 3 Elite 1's and just binned it in the end. My Edge has already lasted longer than any of them, I use a regular xbox controller for PC, I don't get why they can nail those but not the Elite.

 

[BeardSpike]

God if you think Sony's QA sucks, you should try the Elite or Elite 2 controller by Microsoft. Its like the launch Xbox 360 of controllers, and you can't even wrap it in a towl to fix it.

I just don't get how xbox can release a premium controller twice that breaks in the exact same way twice, I went through 3 Elite 1's and just binned it in the end. My Edge has already lasted longer than any of them, I use a regular xbox controller for PC, I don't get why they can nail those but not the Elite.

I'm 100% sure it's QA at analog stick manufacturer at fault now, the more stuff I'm reading. Probably a combination of QA and cost cutting. Something has to be done in this space. I'm curious if we get Gulikit modules in DualSense 2 or something for PS6. It's patented so it depends if they can strike a good deal.

Sony probably just does QA on modules they get and if they work within a specified range, they pass. But breakage during usage in a short ammount of time, that's on QA or cost cutting or culmination of both by the manufaturer of said modules.

If I were Sony or MS and I would get a lot of warranty calls for controllers because of analog modules, I personally would look for a new supplier with nextgen console next time.

But as always it's all about the money. If someone offers them a deal for a few cents they will get those instead. I would love to be wrong though.

For example my friends PSX DualShock with analog sticks is still going strong. So yeah, cost cutting it is.

 

[Panajev2001a]

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.

D-Pad quality is a step down compared to PS4. This needs to be called out.

 

[Bojji]

I had more problems with Xbox controllers, Xbox one controller is just shit (I loved 360 controller) and series controllers are great but I hate how fucking noisy they are, at night I have to switch to DS to not wake up my woman.

I have zero problems with DS since 2021.

 

[NeonDelta]

I have two dual sense I bought at launch and they are as good as they were when first opened

 

[Skifi28]

I've often had issues with drifting, but thankfully I've always managed to fix it myself without any costs. Still using a dualsense from launch as well as a DS4 from 2017. I've repaired each about 3-4 times, but hey, they work!

 

[The Shepard]

I had 2 stick drifting ps5 pads and this fixed it on both. The one returned about 8 months later, done it again and it's still good today.

 

[MonkD]

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.

I have 5 controllers and 3 of them have drift issues.

 

[alienator]

in my 38 years of gaming i never had a controller get drift, im still using old dual shocks on my ps1 and 2, my launch ps3 controller still works perfectly, i own 2 ps4 controllers and 3 dualsense controllers, i make 100's of hours on gaming on these old systems every year, my ps5 gets a weekly workout with many games and i never got any stickdrift. what on earth are u doing to your controllers? Dont want to wave the problem away because its real and it exists, but im starting to feel left out of the stickdrift club.

 

[Audiophile]

What they need is...

...

...

"Quality Controllers"

 

[Jesb]

Haven't bought a PS5 yet. Is the controller battery life as shitty as the DS4?

Maybe the console is draining these batteries quick? I use my ps4 controller right now on gfn and did an 8 hour session and it’s still going on that charge.

 

[buenoblue]

how u ppl manage to break em ? too much CoD or BF ? i still have 2 day1 controllers and works fine ^^

Putting in them hours lol. I do play rocket league quite a bit and PS5 is my main platform. My 2 first controllers have drift, One left stick the other one right stick. Both controllers had broken springs on the right trigger too but I replaced those.

I did knock the first controller off the couch to a hard wood floor but it's only about 15 inches. I pretty much babied my second controller but after a year still got severe drift.

 

[Aenima]

Haven't bought a PS5 yet. Is the controller battery life as shitty as the DS4?

Slightly better, compared to my DS4, my Dualsenses last 2 hours longer. Battery life will always depend on how much of the controller feautures the game uses, with how frequent it uses it and the settings you defined for your controller.

Buy a charging station so you dock charge your controller every time you are not using it, and you dont have to worry with battery. I bought a second DS thiking i was going to run out of juice and need to switch controllers, but in my gaming sessions i just end up using 1 controller cuz its always fully charged when i pick it up and i dont play long enough to completly drain the battery.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

They have no incentive to do that as they make tons of revenue from selling dualsense controllers (most people don't bother fixing controllers with stick drift and instead they buy new ones). Just check the monthly NPD/Circana reports, the dualsense is always number 1 in the accessory charts.

 

[Jakk]

in my 38 years of gaming i never had a controller get drift, im still using old dual shocks on my ps1 and 2, my launch ps3 controller still works perfectly, i own 2 ps4 controllers and 3 dualsense controllers, i make 100's of hours on gaming on these old systems every year, my ps5 gets a weekly workout with many games and i never got any stickdrift. what on earth are u doing to your controllers? Dont want to wave the problem away because its real and it exists, but im starting to feel left out of the stickdrift club.

Do you play competetive games like Rocket League, NHL, FIFA, CoD?

 

[Aenima]

I had 2 stick drifting ps5 pads and this fixed it on both. The one returned about 8 months later, done it again and it's still good today.

The controller that came with the console started drifting after a year and blowing up on the thumbsticks fixed the drift for me every time untill around the 2nd year where i think the drift became permanent and i think it can only be fixed by replacing the module. My second controller that i bought also at launch, still hasent shown any signs of drift.

 

[The Shepard]

The controller that came with the console started drifting after a year and blowing up on the thumbsticks fixed the drift for me every time untill around the 2nd year where i think the drift became permanent and i think it can only be fixed by replacing the module. My second controller that i bought also at launch, still hasent shown any signs of drift.

The last part where you press the sticks in and turn them is the bit that works for me, didn't even bother blowing in them the second time. I did this originally 2 years ago and my pads are still working now with no drift. Both controllers are launch controllers to.

 

[Aenima]

The last part where you press the sticks in and turn them is the bit that works for me, didn't even bother blowing in them the second time. I did this originally 2 years ago and my pads are still working now with no drift. Both controllers are launch controllers to.

Gotta try that in my OG controller to see if changes anything.

 

[Jigsaah]

I use a 6 year old Dual Shock 4 for Tekken 8 and other fighting games on PC. IF it ain't broke, don't fix it. Never had a problem

 

[GHG]

Have 3 dualsense controllers, never had an issue with any of them. By this stage the rubber on my PS4 controllers were rubbing off.

One bad example does not indicate a "quality control issue".

They have no incentive to do that as they make tons of revenue from selling dualsense controllers (most people don't bother fixing controllers with stick drift and instead they buy new ones). Just check the monthly NPD/Circana reports, the dualsense is always number 1 in the accessory charts.

That's because they are selling the most consoles and most people will buy an extra controller or two.

That and the fact that it's rocketing in popularity on PC of late.

 

[alienator]

Do you play competetive games like Rocket League, NHL, FIFA, CoD?

no just walking sims, why?

all bad jokes aside, mainly racers and arcade / fighting games, so they get a good workout i can assure u.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

This is one of the main reasons I am not really feeling left out of the curren-gen by not having a PS5, and just being satisfied with my Series X, Steam Deck and Switch. I constantly hear how terrible the Dual Sense is, and between that and how incredibly ugly the console design is, I'm just in wait-and-see mode maybe with a possible PS5 Slim in 2025 or later, with a much bigger SSD.

And honestly there still hasn't been that *big* first-party amazing AAA game from Sony yet that makes me want to go out there and buy in yet. For all the big third-party games and back compat, I'm fully satisfied with my Series X, and honestly it's like the best controller I have ever played with. If it ever happens, Ghost of Tsushima 2 might entice me to buy in, or maybe a full-on Bloodborne remaster and promise of a Bloodborne 2.

 

[Aenima]

The last part where you press the sticks in and turn them is the bit that works for me, didn't even bother blowing in them the second time. I did this originally 2 years ago and my pads are still working now with no drift. Both controllers are launch controllers to.

Bruh, I think that method fixed the permanent drift from my OG controller lol.
I test the drift using GT7 patch notes. If the mouse pointer moves, then thers drift in the left stick and if the text scrolls up or down thers drift in the right stick. This controller had drift in both sticks, more severe in the left stick. Now after that thumbstick yoga workout, thers no drift in any of the sticks. Gonna play a bit with it to see if it comes back or not.

 

[Fbh]

I guess I've been lucky these last 2 gens.
Never had an issue with a Dualshock 4 and my only Dualsense still works flawlessly. Hell even my (near) launch joycons are still usable, they only have a slight drift and it's not constant.

That said I think Sony/Nintendo/MS don't really feel any big pressure to improve their controller quality. They all have their issues and for the vast majority of people controller build quality just doesn't seem to be a major factor when deciding which system to get.

 

[Jakk]

no just walking sims, why?

all bad jokes aside, mainly racers and arcade / fighting games, so they get a good workout i can assure u.

I would say the games I mentioned put much more stress on the sticks than racers/fighting games. Mainly the left stick. I think almost every DS4 and Dualsense I had started stick drifting at least a little after a year or so of playing NHL competetively.

 

[llLeonhart]

Still using my Day 1 Dualsense with no issues. Shit luck unfortunately & you should try to return it.

I think you might be just very lucky. I've owned 4 Dualsenses (1 came with console, 1 is the Edge) All of them presented drift issues eventually. The edge luckly has replaceable analogs, And I've even managed to fix one of the controllers by opening it up and using WD40 on it.

I just hope Sony and MS adopt the Hall Effect analogs sooner rather than later.

 

[Roxkis_ii]

My Ds4 controllers lasted me half the life of my Ps4 before I had to replace them for drift issues.

I've had my ps5 since Feb 2021 and I'm 6 controls deep. Three for me and 3 for my wife.
We treat our controls really well and neither of us are heavy handed or use any thrid party accessories.

I'm starting to think it was engineer this way on purpose. The dualsence 5 isn't the best selling controler for no reason.

 

[SkylineRKR]

My launch dualsense has stick drift since a week or 2. It seems the no tools solution only seem to work temporarily. So I probably need to open it up, or buy a new one down the line.

With PS4 I essentially never had it. But on that controller the coating would tear off like a few months after the system launch. Didn't happen with the revision.

 

[Bond007]

Out of the 6-7 PS5 controllers to come into my house- across 4 consoles. Only one launch controller suffered drift after numerous years.
They been solid for me. But also dont treat my controllers like a monster.

Additionally, factory defects do happen. Just return and exchange

 

[TropicanaTwista]

I truly wonder what some of you do to your controllers. I get part of this is maybe a little luck, but I havent had a defective controller in years, between multiple consoles. The only thing I can remember was the launch of the dualshock4, the rubber on the thumbsticks was ass and would peel after a couple months. But even that wasn't the biggest of deal as you could just buy some 99 cent thumb grips.

 

[Sushi_Combo]

I think you might be just very lucky. I've owned 4 Dualsenses (1 came with console, 1 is the Edge) All of them presented drift issues eventually. The edge luckly has replaceable analogs, And I've even managed to fix one of the controllers by opening it up and using WD40 on it.

I just hope Sony and MS adopt the Hall Effect analogs sooner rather than later.

Got a 2nd controller as well with zero issues. The only gripe I have is how shit the battery life is on these things.

 

[llLeonhart]

Got a 2nd controller as well with zero issues. The only gripe I have is how shit the battery life is on these things.

Curious, I play a lot. like 20+ hours a week.. How much do you play?

Or maybe could be a region thing? They send all their shitty ass controlers to 3rd World Countries or something?

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

Standard acceptable <1 year failure rates for electronics is 3-5%. That's why you have return periods and warranties.

 

[Imtjnotu]

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.

Nah chalk this up to user error

 

[Sushi_Combo]

Curious, I play a lot. like 20+ hours a week.. How much do you play?

Or maybe could be a region thing? They send all their shitty ass controlers to 3rd World Countries or something?

My playtimes vary but I average out between 8-15 hours a week.

 

[FrankWza]

Drift is a product of the stick manufacturers. Has nothing to do with Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft.

Got a 2nd controller as well with zero issues. The only gripe I have is how shit the battery life is on these things.

If you're using a standard DualSense do a battery upgrade. There are batteries that last 15-20 hours with full haptics. It's really simple and takes about 10 minutes

 

[Quantum253]

I did that with my DualShock 4 and it did nothing, there's also a recalibrate analog button hidden in the back of the controller, you have to push it in woth a toothpick. That did also nothing in my case. So yeah.

Ain't gonna try it with DualSense too if I get stick drift- since there's 99% chance it will not help at all, I will just put hall effect joysticks. And test those.

I've heard of the Hall effects ( I think they are magnetic sensors). I'd have to pick up some soldering equipment to remove. I'll probably end up picking up a black or red controller and then try to experiment on the one with issues. I wanted to make the PS5 Black and Red themed anyway. If I can successfully fix the non-functioning controller, I might go ahead and purchase joystick replacements to replace any further controllers I get

 

[Games of Today]

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.

Who makes hall effect sticks for them?

I've opened mine up before for battery purposes, is it easy to install the new sticks?